Canyoning, coasteering and sea kayaking on São Jorge: 2026 prices and who guides

Canyoning in the Azores started on São Jorge. Luís Paulo Bettencourt began descending the island's streams in 1992, and the company he founded in 2000, Aventour, still runs trips from Calheta harbour. A second Calheta outfitter, Discover Experience, also guides canyoning and adds coasteering and sea kayaking. Below, the two companies' trips side by side: how high the abseils go, what each cost in October 2026 and the minimum ages.

Aventour lists its base on the Calheta quay and has a shop in Velas. Discover Experience has its address in Fajã dos Vimes and meets clients at its kiosk by the Calheta pier at 9:30. Aventour sends you a map pin for the start of each canyon once you have booked, so you drive to the meeting point yourself. Discover Experience runs a pick-up and drop-off for €15 per person if you have no car.

Both include the wetsuit, neoprene socks, boots, helmet and harness, plus insurance and photos. Bring swimwear (ideally under your clothes), a towel, sunscreen and a change of clothes.

Aventour publishes six canyoning trips with prices. These were the per-person rates in October 2026 for a booking of two or more:

• Batismo, €70 (children up to 12, €55). The first-timer's trip: a 15-minute walk in, four abseils and under three hours in all. The text says no waterfall is over 20 metres, while the trip's fact box gives 25 metres as the longest, so plan for 25. Minimum age 10. The jumps into pools are optional.
• Família, €80 (children up to 12, €65). Six abseils, again up to 20 to 25 metres, an hour's walk in and a finish at a fajã by the sea, where you can swim. Minimum age 10.
• Upgrade, €130. The Batismo followed by a harder section with waterfalls up to 30 metres, seven abseils in all and about five hours. Minimum age 15.
• Full day, €160. A beginners' canyon in the morning, then a walk of about 50 minutes into a valley where, the guides tell you, people from the fajãs hid from pirates in the 17th century. More than ten abseils, lunch included, over seven hours. Minimum age 14.
• Avançado, €300. Waterfalls over 100 metres, graded V4 to V6 on a six-point scale, often finishing in the sea with a boat pick-up that costs extra. Only for people who canyon regularly and can rescue themselves on a rope; Aventour checks you on a test abseil the day before. Minimum age 18.

A booking for one person costs double. You pay half when you book, and the other half at the meeting point if nobody else has joined the trip by then.

Discover Experience runs one canyoning trip, aimed at beginners: four to five hours with three or four abseils on waterfalls of 6 to 20 metres, plus jumps and natural slides. It costs €80 per person in 2026, needs at least two people and takes up to 15. The minimum age is 7, lower than at Aventour. It runs every day at 9:30, all year, though the company may change or call off a trip when the stream is high or the weather turns.

For a first descent with children aged 7 to 9, Discover Experience is the only option. With children of 10 or older, Aventour's Batismo is the shortest and cheapest trip on the island, and the Família trip adds the walk and the swim at a fajã at the end.

If you are fit and want a whole day in the canyons, Aventour's Full day packs two descents and the valley walk into one booking. Book the Avançado only if you canyon regularly on big waterfalls: these descents often end on the sea cliffs, and the guides expect you to handle your own rope work.

Coasteering means working along the shore by swimming, scrambling over the rocks and jumping into the sea. Aventour says it started selling it on São Jorge in 2008. Its trip lasts under three hours, includes six or more jumps, the highest 12 metres, and costs €80 (€65 for children up to 12) in 2026. The minimum age is 12. In summer you can ask for a late-afternoon start.

Discover Experience charges the same €80 for a three-hour trip that takes children from age 6, with views across the channel to Pico and Faial. It recommends coasteering in spring and summer. The sea decides whether it runs, so keep a spare day.

Discover Experience paddles from Calheta in sit-on-top kayaks for two or three people, which may go up to 300 metres from the shore. There are two routes:

• Ribeira Seca bay: 3.5 km, about an hour, from €30 in 2026. The easy one, for families and first-timers.
• Fajã dos Vimes: 7 km, about three hours, from €80. You land at the fajã, where coffee grows, and have time to see the plantations and taste the coffee before paddling back.

Trips leave at 9:30 and 14:00. Children from 6 or 7 can come, and you need to be able to swim.

Aventour's terms say that when weather cancels a trip you get another date or a full refund. If you cancel a one-day activity yourself, you get your money back up to 72 hours before the start. Both companies may move a canyon trip when the streams run high after rain, so book it early in your stay and leave a day free in case it moves.

The canyons and the kayak route end at the fajãs, the flat strips of land under the cliffs. To reach the fajãs on foot or by car, see the fajãs guide. For a calmer swim after a day on the rocks, the swimming guide lists the pools, and Calheta is worth an hour before or after the trip. The coffee at Fajã dos Vimes is covered in what to eat on São Jorge.

Can I go canyoning on São Jorge with no experience?

Yes. Aventour's Batismo and the Discover Experience trip are both for beginners, with abseils of up to 20 to 25 metres and a safety briefing first.

How much does canyoning on São Jorge cost in 2026?

From €70 per person for Aventour's Batismo to €160 for its full day, and €300 for the advanced descents. Discover Experience charges €80. Booking alone costs double with Aventour.

How old do children have to be?

From 7 for canyoning with Discover Experience, 10 with Aventour, 12 for Aventour's coasteering and 6 for Discover Experience's coasteering and kayaking.

Where do the trips start?

Discover Experience meets at its kiosk by the Calheta pier at 9:30. Aventour sends a map pin for the start of the canyon after you book.

• Aventour: canyoning
• Aventour: Batismo de Canyoning
• Aventour: Família no Canyoning
• Aventour: Canyoning Upgrade
• Aventour: Canyoning Full Day
• Aventour: Canyoning Avançado
• Aventour: coasteering on São Jorge
• Aventour: terms and conditions
• Discover Experience: canyoning
• Discover Experience: coasteering
• Discover Experience: kayaking