Flores in spring and autumn: weather, birdwatching and what is open

Most trips to Flores are planned around summer, with its long days, lifeguards and extra bus, or avoided in winter, when storms ground flights and museums close at weekends. April, May and October sit in between. The island is quieter, the days are still long enough for a full walk, and the opening hours are the summer ones. There are trade-offs too: a cold sea in spring, more rain and the odd storm in autumn. This guide goes through the weather in each month, the sea, the services that run, and why October brings birdwatchers to the west coast.

Flores is wet all year, but spring is drier than autumn. The official 1991-2020 normals for Flores Airport, in Santa Cruz, give this picture:

• April: average high 18.2 °C, low 13.2 °C, about 114 mm of rain on roughly 13 days, about 130 hours of sunshine
• May: 19.7 °C and 14.6 °C, about 105 mm on about 11 days, about 168 hours of sunshine
• October: 21.8 °C and 17.0 °C, about 178 mm on about 16 days, about 118 hours of sunshine

May gets about 40% more sunshine than October and about 70 mm less rain. October is about two degrees warmer, and its sea is much warmer (see below). So if you want dry walking weather, go in May, and if you want to swim, go in October.

Daylight is generous in all three months. On 15 April 2026 the sun rose over Santa Cruz at about 07:26 local time and set at about 20:43. By 15 May it set after 21:00. On 15 October 2026 it rises at about 08:13 and sets at about 19:27. The clocks go back on 25 October 2026, so on the last day of the month the sun sets at about 18:06.

The Atlantic hurricane season is not over in October. Hurricane Lorenzo passed the western group on 2 October 2019 with gusts of 145 km/h measured on Flores; at Lajes das Flores it swept away the port building and damaged the dock. A storm that size is rare. Strong autumn wind is not, and wind grounds flights: SATA Air Açores put 57% of its 1,351 cancellations between May 2025 and April 2026 down to the weather. On an October trip, leave a spare day before any connecting flight home. The getting to Flores guide explains how rebooking works.

The long-term average sea temperature off Flores is about 16 °C in April, 17 °C in May and 21 °C in October. October is the only one of the three months when most people will enjoy a swim; in April and May it is a quick, cold dip.

There are no lifeguards in any of these months. The island's two monitored bathing places are the Piscinas Naturais do Altio in Santa Cruz, with a season from mid-June to mid-September, and the pools at Fajã Grande, monitored in July and August only. Outside those dates you swim at your own risk, and a rock pool is only as calm as the sea outside it. On a day with a big swell, stay out.

Spring and autumn are cooler than summer for walking. Trails get slippery after rain, and the official trail pages warn that streams rise after heavy rain. On the plateau around the crater lakes, the page for PR03FLO warns of rain and fog and tells walkers to watch the waymarks.

Check closures before you set out. On 2 October 2026 the alerts page at trails.visitazores.com listed PR01FLO, Ponta Delgada to Fajã Grande, as temporarily closed. Closures change after storms, so look again on the morning you walk. The hiking on Flores guide covers the routes and the transfers between trailheads.

Flores and Corvo are the westernmost islands of the Azores. In autumn, North American songbirds and waders blown off course by Atlantic weather systems turn up on them, and birders travel to the two islands to look for them. Fajã Grande is one of the best-known spots, especially for American waders.

One visiting birder's log from October 2014 gives an idea of a week on Flores: a Semipalmated Plover at Ponta Delgada from 8 to 10 October, a Bobolink there on the 9th, and a Scarlet Tanager at Ponta do Albarnaz the same day. The same log notes that Corvo had more than 40 birders that October, while only a handful worked Flores. If you would rather search for rarities without a crowd, Flores is the quieter choice, and the boat to Corvo is there if something turns up on the other island.

Spring and autumn give you the summer opening hours without the summer crowds. The Boqueirão Environmental Interpretation Centre in Santa Cruz, in the old whale-oil tanks of the whaling factory, opens every day from 1 April to 31 October, 09:00 to 12:30 and 13:30 to 17:00. From November it closes at weekends, and it may close in bad weather. The Museu das Flores in the São Boaventura convent opens Monday to Friday; phone before you go.

The UTC buses run Monday to Friday only, all year. Line 5, the direct morning and evening bus from Santa Cruz to Fajã Grande, runs only in July and August. In spring and autumn you reach the west coast on line 3 from Lajes or by car, and most visitors hire one. The getting around guide has the timetables and the rental desks.

The Atlânticoline boat from Santa Cruz to Corvo runs all year, but less often outside summer. In 2026 it sailed on Tuesdays and Saturdays in mid-April, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays in mid-May and in early October, and on Tuesdays and Saturdays again in the second half of October, leaving Santa Cruz at 10:00 and 17:00. It has 12 seats, and whether it sails depends on the sea. Check the timetable on atlanticoline.pt and book once your dates are fixed. The Corvo day trip guide explains what fits into a day there.

April is the coolest of the three. It is good for walking if you can live with showers, and the evenings are already long. May has the most sunshine and the least rain, which makes it the best month for walking and photography, though the sea is too cold for most swimmers. October has the warmest sea and the migrant birds, but also the most rain and the risk of a storm, so build in a buffer day.

Is May a good time to visit Flores? Yes, for walking. May averages about 168 hours of sunshine and 105 mm of rain at the airport, with highs around 20 °C. The sea is still cold, at about 17 °C.

Can you swim on Flores in October? Yes. The sea averages about 21 °C, but there are no lifeguards after mid-September, so swim only on calm days.

Does the boat to Corvo run in spring and autumn? Yes, all year, but less often: in 2026 it sailed two or three days a week outside summer. Check atlanticoline.pt for your dates.

Why are there birdwatchers on Flores in October? Autumn weather carries North American birds across the Atlantic, and Flores and Corvo, the westernmost islands of the Azores, are the first Azorean islands in their path. Fajã Grande is one of the best-known places to look.