Arriving on Faial by yacht: Horta marina, clearance, anchoring and the 2026 fees

Horta is where most yachts crossing the Atlantic stop in the Azores, and the marina works on a simple rule: it does not take bookings. Berths go to whoever arrives, in order, so what you can plan is the approach, the hour you get in and what you will do if the pontoons are full.

Noonsite calls Horta's harbour sheltered from winds of every direction and the most popular stopover in the islands for yachts in transit. Portos dos Açores, the regional port authority that runs the marina, says it is about 50 metres from the town centre and has held the Blue Flag since 1987. It is on the 2026 Blue Flag list as well.

The port authority lists 240 berths. Noonsite's figure of 300 includes boats rafted alongside each other, and in the busy season you may lie up to three deep along the wall of the northern basin. Rally and race fleets also call here, ARC Europe and Les Sables-Les Açores-Les Sables among them, and in those weeks the marina is at its fullest. If your passage plan is flexible, check the rally calendars and avoid arriving at the same time as a fleet.

You cannot see the harbour until you clear the last headland. Noonsite's advice is to steer for the end of the southern breakwater, and once you are round it the marina breakwater and the reception berth are in view. Noonsite gives the harbour entrance at 38° 32.1′ N, 28° 37.18′ W.

The port authority's line in is the Boa Viagem leading line by the Igreja do Carmo, on 285°, until the two harbour lights line up. The entrance has 4 metres of depth. Both sources add cautions:

• Tidal streams in the Faial channel are strong. The flood runs north and the ebb sets hard into the bay.
• Give the entrance mole a wide berth. The Pico ferry and fishing boats come out of the harbour, often at speed.
• On summer nights, expect yachts at anchor off the southern end of the marina, some of them unlit.

Call the marina before you enter. Noonsite (April 2026) says to use channel 16 on the approach and 09 once you are in Horta. The port authority lists channels 10 and 16 and the call sign "hortamarina". Start on 16 and they will tell you which channel to switch to.

Horta is one of the Azores' ports of entry for yachts arriving from outside the EU. According to Noonsite, everything is done in one building: the marina office shares it with immigration, the maritime police, customs and the GNR, and the marina staff tell the skipper in which order to visit them, on arrival and again on departure.

On arrival:

• After the breakwater entrance, turn to port and follow the breakwater to its end. The reception quay is beside a two-storey white building with fuel pumps at its northern end. It has at least 3.5 metres of water at low tide.
• Tie up there if there is space, and go to the office.
• Every non-Schengen crew member, not only the skipper, has to go to immigration for fingerprints and a photo, on arrival and on departure. This is the EU's Entry/Exit System, now in force at every external border.
• The office assigns you a berth once clearance is done.

The port authority gives the office hours as 08:00 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 20:00 in summer, and 08:00 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 17:00 in winter. Noonsite adds that it opens seven days a week in the high season, which it puts at April to June. If you arrive after hours, stay at the reception quay until the office opens in the morning.

Most visiting yachts are rafted against the wall of the northern basin. The office allocates pontoon berths when it can, and because boats leave every day, new places keep opening up. You may be asked to move more than once. Long mooring lines help when you are the third boat out.

The marina's showers, toilets and laundry are in the new buildings at the southern end, just below Peter Café Sport. They are easy to find, but Noonsite (April 2025) times the walk from the northern end of the marina at about eight minutes. Noonsite also says the office is easier to reach by phone than by email. Its number is +351 292 391 693. The port authority's page prints +351 295 391 963, and both give marinahorta@portosdosacores.pt.

In the busy season many boats have to anchor, multihulls especially. The holding is poor: Noonsite describes a bottom of rock and a lot of debris with only a few sandy patches. A 2015 report passed on by the RCC Pilotage Foundation describes yachts whose anchors fouled on old chain and anchors left on the bottom from ship manoeuvres, and one of them needed a diver to get free. Use a tripping line.

Anchoring is not free. Noonsite (April 2025) says the marina charges boats at anchor 50% of the berth rate, which includes water, the toilets, showers and laundry, and a place for your dinghy. You get the rate sheet on arrival.

Two places are off limits to every boat, local or visiting: Porto Pim, the bay south of Horta, and the water off Praia da Boca da Ribeira, north-east of the ferry and cruise terminal. The reason is the undersea cables and a nature reserve.

Horta charges the same table as the other marinas run by Portos dos Açores. A visiting yacht pays the rate for owners without a tax address in the Azores. Daily rates for 2026, before VAT:

• 8 to 10 metres: €12.53.
• 10 to 12 metres: €15.13.
• 12 to 15 metres: €22.91.
• 15 to 18 metres: €31.68.
• 18 to 25 metres: €48.55.

On top of that come a waste-management fee of 6% of the berth rate, a 50% supplement for multihulls, and VAT on the total. So a week for an 11-metre monohull comes to about €112 before VAT. The monthly rate for the 10 to 12 metre class is €415.68, which works out cheaper than about 28 single days, so ask for it if you are staying a month. Showers cost €3, and the washing machine and the dryer €6 each, VAT included.

At anchor at half the berth rate, the same 11-metre boat would pay about €7.57 a day before the extras. These fees change every year, so check the current table before you budget.

The fuel pumps are on the reception quay, so you can fill up while you clear in. The marina has a 25-tonne travel lift, according to the port authority. If your boat is heavier than that, ask the office before you count on a haul-out here.

Horta's airport is about 9.5 km south-west of town. It has direct flights to Lisbon and SATA connections through Ponta Delgada and Terceira; flights to Faial in 2026 has the details. For buses and taxis from the airport, see getting around Faial, and for pharmacies, cash and the hospital, see practical essentials on Faial.

While you wait for a berth, the painted quay walls and Peter Café Sport are a few steps away. Horta's marina murals and Peter Café Sport explains the tradition of leaving a painting behind.

Can I book a berth in Horta? No. Noonsite says the marina does not take bookings and gives berths in order of arrival, except in emergencies. An agent may be able to put in an early request, mainly for larger boats.

What happens if I arrive at night? Wait at the reception quay, which has at least 3.5 metres at low tide, and clear in when the office opens. In summer it opens at 08:00.

How much is a night in Horta for a 12-metre yacht? In 2026 a monohull of 12 to 15 metres paid €22.91 a day, plus the 6% waste-management fee and VAT. A boat just under 12 metres falls in the 10 to 12 metre class at €15.13.

Can I anchor at Porto Pim? No. Anchoring is forbidden at Porto Pim and off Praia da Boca da Ribeira because of undersea cables and a nature reserve. In the harbour, anchoring costs half the berth rate.