Practical essentials on Terceira: hospital, health centres, pharmacies and fuel

Terceira has a hospital, two health centres with 24 village posts, and pharmacies in both towns. The gaps are on the west coast, where no pharmacy is listed between São Mateus and Biscoitos, and in fuel: Repsol, the one brand we could check, lists three stations on Terceira and none in the city of Angra. This guide goes through the official health registers and the October 2026 fuel hours, and says what to sort out before a day away from the towns.

Call 112, the European emergency number. It works in the Azores as it does anywhere else in the EU.

The island's public hospital is the Hospital de Santo Espírito da Ilha Terceira, on Canada do Breado in Santa Luzia, on the northern edge of Angra do Heroísmo. Its website did not load when we checked in October 2026, and the phone numbers published for it in different places do not agree, so we leave them out here and point you to 112.

The Azores health line, Linha Saúde Açores, is 808 24 60 24. Call it when you are unsure whether you need a pharmacy, a health centre or the hospital, and save it in your phone next to 112.

Terceira has two health centres, one for each municipality:

• Angra do Heroísmo: Canada dos Melancólicos, phone +351 295 402 900. On the register's map it is about 100 metres from the hospital.
• Praia da Vitória: Rua Cidade da Artesia, phone +351 295 545 000. Every village post in the Praia municipality is listed under this same number.

The regional health register lists 24 smaller posts. Seventeen have a GP as well as a nurse, and seven have a nurse only. These are the ones visitors are most likely to be near, all with a GP:

• Biscoitos, Caminho do Concelho 56, on the Praia number.
• Lajes, Rua Padre Lourenço Ávila, close to the airport, on the Praia number.
• Serreta, in the old primary school, on the Angra health centre's number.
• Altares (+351 295 908 170) and Raminho (+351 295 908 266) on the north-west coast.
• Santa Bárbara (+351 295 906 111) and Cinco Ribeiras (+351 295 907 169) on the south-west.
• São Sebastião (+351 295 904 340) and Porto Judeu (+351 295 905 120) in the south-east.
• São Mateus (+351 295 642 471), the fishing village west of Angra.

They serve local patients first, and we could not find opening hours for any of them, so phone before you go.

The register lists twelve pharmacies and four smaller pharmacy branches.

In Angra the pharmacies are close together in the old centre. Three are on Rua da Sé: Farmácia Bettencourt Nunes at number 62 (+351 295 214 724), Farmácia Pimentel at 70-72 (+351 295 213 338) and Farmácia Vasconcelos at 99/101 (+351 295 212 513). Within a few streets are Farmácia Central on Rua Carreira dos Cavalos 57 (+351 295 212 210), Farmácia Lisboa on Rua Direita 117/121 (+351 295 213 233), Farmácia São Bento on Largo de S. Bento 17 (+351 295 213 299) and the Santa Casa pharmacy on Rua da Guarita 51 (+351 295 212 125). West of the city, Farmácia de S. Mateus is on Rua de Santo António 60 in São Mateus (+351 295 642 620).

In the Praia da Vitória municipality:

• Farmácia Silva, Largo Conde da Praia da Vitória 2 (+351 295 512 905).
• Farmácia Toledo, Praça Francisco Ornelas da Câmara (+351 295 512 814).
• The Santa Casa pharmacy on Avenida Paço do Milhafre (+351 295 540 290), about 120 metres from the Praia health centre.
• Farmácia Andrade in Lajes, Rua Dr. Adriano Paim 142-A (+351 295 517 343), the nearest to the airport.

The four branches are in Biscoitos (Caminho do Concelho 98, +351 295 908 315), Vila Nova (Rua do Passal, +351 295 902 201), São Sebastião (Rua da Praça 35, +351 295 904 220) and Porto Judeu (Largo de Santo António, +351 295 905 101).

The register lists nothing on the west coast between São Mateus and Biscoitos: no pharmacy in Serreta, Raminho, Altares, Santa Bárbara, Doze Ribeiras or Cinco Ribeiras. If you are spending a day at the Ponta do Queimado lighthouse or walking in Mata da Serreta, buy what you need in Angra or Biscoitos first. Our guide to Serreta and the west coast covers that side of the island.

A second register lists five shops that sell medicines that need no prescription: two Mais Saúde shops, one on Rua da Guarita in Angra and one in Praia, Etis-Farma and PraiaSaúde in Praia, and Pharma Santo António in Porto Judeu.

The registers have not been revised in some years. Check what is open when you arrive, and ask at any pharmacy which one is covering nights and Sundays. If you take a regular prescription, bring the full supply and a copy of the prescription.

Fuel prices in the Azores are capped by the regional government and change each month. From 1 October 2026 the maximum was €1.924 a litre for 95 unleaded and €1.939 for diesel.

Repsol's station finder lists three stations on Terceira in October 2026, all open the same hours seven days a week:

• São Mateus, on the regional road west of Angra: 07:00 to 21:30.
• Praia da Vitória, Rua Nossa Senhora da Saúde: 07:00 to 20:00.
• Cabo da Praia, south of Praia da Vitória, Rua de Santa Catarina: 08:00 to 21:00.

We could not check other brands this time, so there may be more stations than these. Ask the car hire desk at Lajes airport where the nearest stations are to your accommodation, and fill up when you pass one rather than waiting for the gauge to drop. None of the three Repsol stations is on the north or west coast, which matters on the loop through Biscoitos and Serreta. Our guide to getting around Terceira covers car hire, buses and taxis, and what a Terceira trip costs in 2026 has the rest of the budget.

• Travel insurance that covers medical treatment, and the European Health Insurance Card if you have one.
• 112 and the health line, 808 24 60 24, saved in your phone.
• Your full supply of any regular medicine, with the prescription.
• Anything you need from a pharmacy bought before a day on the west coast.
• A full tank before you set out round the north and west of the island.

Where is the hospital on Terceira?

The Hospital de Santo Espírito da Ilha Terceira is on Canada do Breado in Santa Luzia, on the northern edge of Angra do Heroísmo. The Angra health centre is about 100 metres away. In an emergency, call 112.

Is there a pharmacy near Lajes airport?

Farmácia Andrade is on Rua Dr. Adriano Paim in Lajes, and the Praia da Vitória pharmacies are a short drive to the south-east.

Is there a pharmacy in Serreta or on the west coast?

No. The register lists none between São Mateus and Biscoitos, so stock up in Angra, São Mateus or Biscoitos before you go.

What number do I call for medical advice?

112 in an emergency. For anything else, the Azores health line on 808 24 60 24, or the health centre in Angra (+351 295 402 900) or Praia da Vitória (+351 295 545 000).