Practical essentials on Graciosa: the health centre, pharmacy, fuel and post office

On Graciosa, the services a visitor might need are in Santa Cruz da Graciosa, the island's one town. The health unit, the pharmacy, the post office and a fuel station are all there, a few minutes' drive apart. Praia, Guadalupe and Luz are villages, and for anything on this page you come back to Santa Cruz.

If you are staying in a rural house in Luz or Guadalupe, plan a trip into Santa Cruz for errands and fuel. If you arrive by plane, the airport is 2 kilometres from town, so you can sort most of it on the way in.

In an emergency, call 112, the European emergency number. It works in the Azores as it does anywhere in the EU.

For anything less urgent, the island has one public health service: the Unidade de Saúde de Ilha da Graciosa, on Avenida Mouzinho de Albuquerque in Santa Cruz. The regional government's health register lists general practice, nursing and some specialist consultations there, and gives the phone number as +351 295 730 070. We could not find published opening hours, or confirm whether it runs a round-the-clock emergency service, so phone before you go if it is not an emergency. Your hosts will usually know how the doctor's hours work.

Graciosa has no hospital. A patient who needs hospital care is flown to another island, on aircraft based elsewhere. On 21 June 2026, for example, an Air Force C-295M from Base Aérea n.º 4 on Terceira collected patients on Graciosa during one mission that also called at São Miguel, Flores and Faial, about five hours of flying in all. Buy travel insurance that covers medical evacuation, and if you are an EU resident, bring your European Health Insurance Card.

The regional register lists one pharmacy on the island, Farmácia Santos Costa, at Rua Conselheiro Jacinto Cândido 26 in Santa Cruz (+351 295 712 563). It also lists a pharmacy point at the health unit, on the unit's phone number. A national pharmacy directory adds a second name, Farmácia Graciosa, on Avenida Mouzinho de Albuquerque (+351 295 712 111), without opening hours.

The register was last revised in 2015, so check what is open when you arrive. Painkillers, plasters and other medicines that need no prescription are also sold at Gracipharma on Rua da Boavista.

If you take a regular prescription, bring the full supply for the trip and a copy of the prescription. A small island pharmacy may not stock the brand you use.

Repsol lists a station at Lugar das Covas, on regional road 3-2 in Santa Cruz da Graciosa. In October 2026 it gave its hours as 07:00 to 23:00, every day of the week. It sells 95 and 98 unleaded and diesel, has a shop and a cafeteria, and lists an electric vehicle charging point.

Graciosa is 12.5 kilometres long, so a day's driving uses little fuel. Still, fill up in Santa Cruz before a day out rather than discovering a low tank in Carapacho in the evening. If you hire an electric car, ask the rental firm where its cars are charged.

The CTT post office is at Avenida Mouzinho de Albuquerque 16B, in Santa Cruz. Send postcards from here, or a box of queijadas home.

We could not confirm from an official source where every cash machine on the island is, so take out cash in Santa Cruz before heading to the villages. Small cafés and taxis are where you are most likely to need it.

The public bus does not run on Sundays, according to the timetable the operator posted in September 2026, and you should not count on village shops being open either. Buy what you need for Sunday on Saturday. Our guide to getting around Graciosa has the bus times, car hire and taxis.

• Travel insurance with medical evacuation cover, and the European Health Insurance Card if you have one.
• Your full supply of any regular medicine, with the prescription.
• Cash, taken out in Santa Cruz.
• A full tank before a day out to the south or the Caldeira.
• Food for Sunday, bought on Saturday.

Is there a hospital on Graciosa?

No. The island has a health unit in Santa Cruz with general practice and nursing. Patients who need hospital care are flown to another island; the Air Force transport aircraft used for these flights are based on Terceira.

Where is the pharmacy on Graciosa?

The regional register lists Farmácia Santos Costa at Rua Conselheiro Jacinto Cândido 26 in Santa Cruz (+351 295 712 563), plus a pharmacy point at the health unit. The register dates from 2015, so check locally.

Where can I get fuel on Graciosa?

At the Repsol station at Lugar das Covas, on regional road 3-2 in Santa Cruz da Graciosa. In October 2026 it listed its hours as 07:00 to 23:00 every day.

What number do I call in an emergency?

112, the European emergency number. For non-urgent medical help, call the health unit on +351 295 730 070.