Free Azores app with a 3D map of the islands, weather by place and trail statuses. See how it works

Travel Tips

Essential information for visiting the Azores

All Tips
Lajes do Pico from the hillside above the town: white houses with orange roofs, the twin-towered church and the harbour breakwater, with the lava shore, the sea and Mount Pico under cloud behind
6 min read

Where to stay on Pico: Madalena, São Roque or Lajes do Pico

Pico's three towns sit on different coasts with the mountain between them, and the one you sleep in decides your driving. Why Madalena, with the year-round Faial ferry (8.20 euros one way in 2026), most of the accommodation and the shortest drive to the Mount Pico trailhead, suits most first visits; when São Roque on the wet north coast or Lajes, the whaling town, is the better choice; and how to split a week between two bases.

Rows of dark red lava stalactites on the ceiling of Gruta das Torres, lit by a visitor's hand torch
6 min read

Gruta das Torres, Pico: lava tube tours, tickets, what to wear

Portugal's longest lava tube reopened on 19 July 2026. One extended tour a day at 10:15 for 15 people, four short afternoon tours, 16 °C inside, prices and access.

The harbour at Madalena on Pico with parked cars and a cargo ship at the quay, two rock islets offshore and Faial across the channel under grey cloud
6 min read

Getting around Pico, Azores: car hire, buses, taxis, ferries

Most visitors to Pico hire a car: the two bus routes keep to the coast and none goes up the mountain. Plus the airport, ferry ports, taxis and going car-free.

A whale lifting its tail fluke above the sea as it dives off the green coast near Lajes do Pico
6 min read

Whale watching from Lajes do Pico: whaling history, the vigias, the season and seasickness

Lajes do Pico hunted sperm whales into the 1980s and then started taking visitors out to watch them. When to come for blue, fin and sei whales and when for sperm whales, how to choose between a fast inflatable and a larger boat, the rules that keep boats 50 metres away, and how to get through three hours of Atlantic swell. Plus the Museu dos Baleeiros, opened in the old whaleboat houses in 1988, and the clifftop vigias that still guide the boats.

A red dirt track between black basalt vineyard walls at Criação Velha, with the red Moinho do Frade windmill and Mount Pico behind
6 min read

Pico's vineyards: the UNESCO currais, Criação Velha, Lajido and where to taste the wine

Pico's vineyard landscape has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2004: 987 hectares of black basalt walls enclosing thousands of small plots called currais. How to see it in half a day or a full one: the easy 7 kilometre PR5PIC trail through Criação Velha past the Moinho do Frade windmill, the interpretation centre at Lajido de Santa Luzia, the three native grapes to look for, and tastings at the island cooperative in Madalena, which started at 20 euros in 2026.

A group of hikers with backpacks on the rocky rim of the summit crater of Mount Pico, with a sea of cloud below
7 min read

Climbing Mount Pico: registration, GPS tracker, fees, weather

Climbing Mount Pico in 2026: register, carry a GPS tracker, pay 15 euros to the crater or 25 to the Piquinho. Three to four hours up, guides, and when not to go.

Planning Your Trip?

Complete guides to events and travel on the island.

EventsLatest News