Getting around Terceira: Lajes airport bus, car hire, ferries

Lajes airport is on Terceira's north-east coast and Angra do Heroísmo on the south coast, on opposite sides of the island. The EVT airport bus gets you to Angra in about 70 minutes with a change in Praia da Vitória, or in 40 to 50 minutes on one of the few direct line 5 trips, for the 2.95 euros its timetable lists. For the caves and the high ground you need a hire car, which you collect in the terminal, and the ferries to the other islands sail only from June to September.

The airport sits in the parish of Lajes, in the municipality of Praia da Vitória. The island covers about 400 square kilometres, with the caldera of Santa Bárbara rising to 1,021 metres in the west, so nothing is very far by car. Without one, it takes more planning.

Lajes is a civil terminal on a military airfield. Its runway, about 3,300 metres long and the longest in the Azores, is shared with the Portuguese air force base and a United States detachment. TAP flies to Lisbon and Porto, Azores Airlines has routes such as Boston and Funchal, and SATA Air Açores runs the short hops to the other islands, Pico among them.

From the terminal you go on by hire car, taxi or bus.

Buses on Terceira are run by EVT, the Empresa de Viação Terceirense. EVT publishes a separate timetable for the airport run in each direction. Read it before you land, because most trips involve a change.

• At the airport the bus stops in the departures zone. In Angra it leaves from the third stop at Praça Velha, the main square.
• Most departures are not direct. You ride lines 151 or 3 from the airport into Praia da Vitória and change there to line 2 for Angra. With a good connection that takes about 70 minutes, and longer when the wait in Praia is long.
• A few journeys a day on line 5 go straight through in 40 to 50 minutes. In the published timetable, the 08:05 from the airport reaches Angra at 08:50.
• Saturdays and Sundays have fewer connections. On Sunday the first bus leaves the airport at 08:10 and, after the wait in Praia, reaches Angra at 10:50.

The fare printed on the EVT timetable is 2.95 euros. That file dates from December 2021, though it was still the one EVT linked in 2026, so treat the times and the price as a guide and check them on the day. In that timetable the last weekday bus leaves the airport at 18:40, and earlier at weekends; for a later flight, plan on a taxi.

Within the towns and along the coast, EVT runs numbered routes from Angra and Praia da Vitória to the villages. Check the times locally before you rely on one. A bus is a fine way to reach São Mateus, five kilometres west of Angra, or to get between the two towns. It will not take you up to the caves on the central plateau or to the Serra do Cume viewpoint.

For a first visit, hire a car. The places most people come for, Algar do Carvão and Gruta do Natal, the fumaroles of Furnas do Enxofre, the rim of Serra do Cume and the summit of Santa Bárbara, are up on the high ground, and no bus goes there. A car also makes it easy to combine them with the lava pools at Biscoitos on the north coast.

The car hire desks are in the terminal. Local firms such as Autatlantis, Angrauto and Ilha Verde are listed by the airport, so you can collect the car as soon as you land and return it there before you fly. Book ahead for July, August and the Sanjoaninas festival in June.

On the road:

• Distances are short. The drive from Angra up to Algar do Carvão takes about 20 to 25 minutes.
• The roads to the high ground, to Serra de Santa Bárbara and the plateau, go up into cloud quickly. Check the ridge from the coast before you drive up for the view.
• In the old centre of Angra the streets form a one-way grid. Park near the marina or at the foot of Monte Brasil and walk.
• If a tourada à corda is on in a village, the street is closed for the bull. Turn round rather than wait.

Taxis serve the terminal, and there is a rank in the centre of Angra; a hotel or restaurant will also call one. A taxi is the sensible answer for a late arrival, for the first night if you pick up the hire car the next day, and for one-off trips such as a trailhead pickup. For a walk that ends somewhere else, arrange the taxi the day before and agree a pickup time.

Atlânticoline sails from both of Terceira's ports, but only in summer. In 2026 the Linha Branca called at Praia da Vitória on Mondays and Fridays, on its way to Graciosa, São Jorge, Pico and Faial, and the Linha Lilás left Angra on Tuesdays and Saturdays for Calheta, Madalena and Horta. Both ran from June to the end of September.

Fares in 2026, one way for an adult non-resident: 42.80 euros from Angra or Praia da Vitória to Velas or Calheta on São Jorge, or to Graciosa, and 45.90 euros to Horta, Madalena or Cais do Pico. Our Terceira trip costs for 2026 puts these fares next to the cave tickets and whale trips.

In the winter of 2025/26 no passenger ferry served Terceira at all, and the same is likely for winter 2026/27. Out of season, you fly. Check the Atlânticoline timetable for your dates. If you take a car on board, it has to be at the port at least 30 minutes before departure, and you should check that the hire contract allows the crossing.

Yes, if you base yourself in Angra and plan around the old town. The UNESCO centre, Monte Brasil and its fortress, the town beach at Prainha and a fish lunch in São Mateus all work on foot, by bus or with a short taxi ride. Our guide to Angra do Heroísmo and where to stay on Terceira covers that side of the island.

What you give up is the interior. For the caves, book a tour or a taxi and check the opening days first: in autumn and winter they open only some afternoons, as our guide to Algar do Carvão and Gruta do Natal explains. If you want to see the whole island, a car for two or three days of a longer stay is a good compromise. How many days on Terceira sets out what fits in two, three or five days.

Is there a bus from Lajes airport to Angra do Heroísmo?

Yes. EVT runs one, but most journeys mean changing buses in Praia da Vitória, and the trip takes about 70 minutes or more. A few departures on line 5 go direct in 40 to 50 minutes.

How much is the bus from the airport?

The EVT timetable lists 2.95 euros. The file dates from 2021, so check the fare when you board.

What if my flight lands after the last bus?

Take a taxi from the terminal. In the EVT timetable the last weekday bus leaves the airport at 18:40, and earlier at weekends.

Do I need a car on Terceira?

Not for Angra and Monte Brasil. For the caves, the plateau and Serra do Cume, yes, or a tour or taxi.

Can I take the ferry from Terceira in winter?

Not in 2025/26, when the passenger lines to Terceira ran only from June to September. Expect the same in winter 2026/27 and plan to fly between islands.