What a Terceira trip costs in 2026: cave tickets, the Angra City Pass, whale trips, ferries and fuel

Flights, rooms and the hire car will take most of a Terceira budget, and you can only price those by date. The smaller costs are easier, because the caves, churches, boats and fuel all have published prices. This guide lists them, with the year each figure applies to, so you can add up a week before you book.

Prices change, so check the source shortly before you go.

Algar do Carvão and Gruta do Natal are run by Os Montanheiros, a volunteer association, and they set the prices.

• Algar do Carvão: EUR 10 per person in 2026.
• Gruta do Natal: EUR 9 per person in 2026.

The Algar page still lists a combined ticket for EUR 15, but in October 2026 the Gruta do Natal page said combined tickets were not being sold. Plan on EUR 19 for both and ask at the desk. Children under 12 have been free with a paying adult. You cannot book: you buy at the cave door, by cash or card (American Express is not accepted).

Check the opening days before you plan around the price. From October to December 2026 both caves open only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 14:30 to 17:00, and are closed the other three days. What you see inside is in our caves guide.

The Angra City Pass costs EUR 10 and gives one entry to each place on it. You can buy it online or at any of those places, but the places themselves take cash only. In October 2026 the list included the Misericórdia church (weekdays 10:00 to 16:00, Saturdays to 13:00) and the Colégio church (weekdays, closed at lunch). Earlier the same month it also named the city museum, the military history branch, the Capitães-Generais palace and the cathedral. Check which places are on it the week you go, because each keeps its own hours.

The Museu de Angra do Heroísmo on its own charged EUR 2, with EUR 1 for ages 15 to 25 and over-65s, in its last published prices (2023). Children up to 14 go free, and so does everyone on Sundays. If the museum is all you want, a Sunday visit beats the pass. The rest of an indoor day is in rainy day on Terceira.

OceanEmotion, which sails from Angra marina, listed its 2026 whale and dolphin trip at EUR 65 to EUR 70 per adult depending on group size, EUR 35 for children aged 6 to 12, and free for under-6s. A private boat was EUR 900 for up to 12 people. Two adults should budget about EUR 140. Seasons, boats and the rules at sea are in whale watching from Angra.

Atlânticoline's 2026 fares from Terceira for a non-resident adult were EUR 42.80 one way (EUR 85.60 return) to Graciosa or São Jorge, and EUR 45.90 one way (EUR 91.80 return) to Faial or Pico. Children aged 3 to 12 pay half, and under-3s travel free.

These boats only run in summer. The ones that call at Terceira ran from June to 30 September in 2026. In the 2025/26 winter there was no passenger ferry to Terceira at all, and the same is likely this winter. Outside summer you fly. The timetable is in getting around Terceira.

Fuel prices in the Azores are capped by the regional government and change each month. From 1 October 2026 the maximum was EUR 1.924 a litre for unleaded 95 and EUR 1.939 for diesel, up from EUR 1.620 and EUR 1.474 in January. A 50-litre tank of petrol costs at most about EUR 96.

The hire car has no fixed price. Get quotes for your dates and book early for June, when the Sanjoaninas festival fills Angra, and for July and August.

The EVT bus between Lajes airport and Angra is the cheapest way into town. The operator's timetable prints a fare of EUR 2.95, but that file dates from 2021, so expect a little more. Most trips change at Praia da Vitória and take about 70 minutes.

If you bring a tent, the Salga campsite's 2026 sheet gives EUR 5 a day for the tent, EUR 2 a day per person over 10 for the facilities and EUR 2 for a car. Two adults with a tent and a car pay EUR 11 a night. The 2026 season ran from 4 June to 15 September and the site took no reservations. The other campsites are in camping on Terceira.

None of the island's nine main bathing places charges entry, including the sand beach at Praia Grande and the lava pools at Biscoitos. The Monte Brasil walk above Angra and the Serra do Cume viewpoint are free too.

São Miguel's municipalities have charged EUR 2 a night since 2025. On Terceira, Angra's chamber of commerce proposed a similar tax in 2022, but we found no sign that either Angra do Heroísmo or Praia da Vitória charges one in 2026. If that changes, the tax will appear on your booking or your bill.

The "Azores Fare" of EUR 61 return between islands is only for people with tax residence in the Azores. Visitors pay normal fares, priced by date.

Using the 2026 figures above: both caves EUR 38, two City Passes EUR 20, a whale trip about EUR 140, and a tank of petrol about EUR 96. That is roughly EUR 290 for two people, before rooms, car and food. Add EUR 183.60 if you take the summer ferry to Pico and back.

How much are the Terceira caves in 2026? Algar do Carvão is EUR 10 and Gruta do Natal EUR 9. In autumn 2026 no combined ticket was sold, and from October to December both open only Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday afternoons.

What does the Angra City Pass cost? EUR 10 per person, one entry to each place on the pass. The places themselves take cash only.

Is there a tourist tax on Terceira? We found none in force in 2026. São Miguel's municipalities charge EUR 2 a night; Terceira's do not appear to.

Can I take a ferry from Terceira in winter? Not in the 2025/26 winter: passenger ferries called at Terceira only from June to September. Outside summer, fly.