What a Santa Maria trip costs in 2026: flights, the summer boat, buses, fuel, beds and diving

Santa Maria is easy to budget in some places and opaque in others. The summer boat, the bus, the fuel cap, the campsite, the festival and one dive centre all publish prices you can add up at home. Flights, hotel rooms and hire cars are priced by date, so for those this guide says where to ask instead of guessing a number.

Every figure below carries the year it applies to. Prices change, so check before you book.

Most visitors fly. SATA Air Açores links Santa Maria with Ponta Delgada, and Azores Airlines flies to Lisbon. Visitor fares move with the date, so there is no single price to quote.

You may read about the "Azores Fare": EUR 61 return or EUR 35 one way between any two islands. It is real, but only people with tax residence in the Azores can buy it. So a lower fare quoted by a resident is genuine, but you cannot book it.

There is no Atlânticoline ferry to Santa Maria. In summer a cargo ship, the Isabel C, carries up to 16 passengers between Ponta Delgada and Vila do Porto in about 5 hours 20 minutes. In 2026 it sailed from 2 July to 1 October, and the operator's published fares were:

• EUR 25 one way, or EUR 40 return, travelling with cargo.
• EUR 28 one way, or EUR 50 return, travelling without cargo.
• Vehicles and larger cargo cost extra, priced on request.

The 2026 season is over. This year's sailings were announced in early July, so watch the local news from June, and planning a trip to Santa Maria has more on both routes.

The bus is cheap. TSM, the island's operator, charges by distance under a fare table in force since 15 January 2025 and still the one it published in 2026:

• A single ticket costs EUR 0.99 for up to 5 km and rises in steps to EUR 3.05 for the longest band, 20 to 22 km.
• Children aged 4 to 11 pay half fare, with a minimum charge of EUR 0.75.
• A 10-trip card costs EUR 8.91 for the shortest band and EUR 27.45 for the longest, about a 10% saving.

The timetable is the harder part. Buses are built around commuters and school runs, there is nothing on Sundays outside the summer beach line, and São Lourenço and Maia are not on any route. Details are in getting around Santa Maria.

So for most trips a hire car is worth it. Rent-a-Car Mariense, Sol Brava and international brands such as Sixt and Europcar hand cars over at the airport, but we found no published rates from the local firms, so ask for a quote for your dates. Book early for July and August.

Fuel is capped across the Azores. From 1 October 2026 the maximum is EUR 1.924 a litre for unleaded 95 and EUR 1.939 for diesel.

Taxis have no published fare table that we could confirm, so agree the price before you set off. Central de Táxis de Santa Maria in Vila do Porto answers on +351 296 882 199.

We found no hotel or rural house on Santa Maria that prints a fixed rate; rooms are quoted by date. Book well ahead for the Maré de Agosto festival in late August, when the island fills.

The one place that does publish prices is the campsite at Praia Formosa. Its booking pages, still showing rates entered in July 2025 when we checked in October 2026, list:

• A rented 2-person tent from EUR 23 a night, and a 4-person tent from EUR 35 a night, with showers and a barbecue included.
• A bungalow from EUR 280 for a minimum of two nights.
• No advance bookings for your own tent: pitches go first come, first served.

The campsite asks guests not to pay until it confirms the final rate, so treat these as a starting point. Season and rules are in camping on Santa Maria.

If you also stop on São Miguel, you will pay a tourist tax there: EUR 2 a night for up to three nights, charged since 1 January 2025 by that island's six municipalities. Santa Maria is a single municipality, Vila do Porto, and it is not part of that scheme. Your booking confirmation shows any tax that applies.

Santa Maria is known for its diving, and at least one centre publishes its rates. Wahoo Diving in Vila do Porto lists these 2026 packages per person:

• 2 dives EUR 140, 4 dives EUR 200, 6 dives EUR 285.
• 10 dives EUR 450, 12 dives EUR 500, 16 dives EUR 620.

Air in a 12-litre tank and weights are included. Trips to the offshore sites, Formigas, Dollabarat and Ambrósio, cost extra, as do rental gear, nitrox and 15-litre tanks, and those surcharges are not on the price list. The centre takes no cards: pay by bank transfer or in cash, and the island has several cash machines. A 50% deposit secures the booking. The sites and the manta season are in diving at Santa Maria.

Maré de Agosto, at Praia Formosa, ran from 19 to 22 August in 2026. A full pass cost EUR 55 for non-members. Single nights on the beach stage cost EUR 20 on the first two nights and EUR 25 on the last, and the opening night at Macela cost EUR 15. Check the festival's ticket page for next year's prices.

• The summer boat: fixed fares, published each season.
• The bus: a distance table, EUR 0.99 to EUR 3.05 a ride.
• Fuel: a regional cap, revised during the year.
• The campsite, the festival and Wahoo's dives: published per night, per pass or per package.
• Flights, rooms and hire cars: quote by date, as early as you can for summer.

How much is the boat from São Miguel to Santa Maria? In 2026 the Isabel C charged EUR 25 to EUR 28 one way and EUR 40 to EUR 50 return, depending on whether you travel with cargo. It sails only in summer; the 2026 season ended on 1 October.

How much does the bus cost on Santa Maria? Between EUR 0.99 and EUR 3.05 a ride, by distance, on the fare table in force since January 2025. Children aged 4 to 11 pay half.

Is there a tourist tax on Santa Maria? The EUR 2 a night tax is charged by São Miguel's six municipalities, and Vila do Porto is not among them. Your booking shows any tax that applies.

How much does diving cost on Santa Maria? Wahoo Diving's 2026 packages start at EUR 140 for two dives and reach EUR 620 for sixteen, with extra charges for Formigas, Dollabarat and Ambrósio.