Azores and Maderia

[AdamV12V]

Thinking of planning a trip to the Azores via Madeira in maybe late Sept or Oct this year...

Going via Madeira seems like a good idea as I'm struggling to find direct flights from the UK to the Azores, but the UK does fly to Madeira which in turn flys on to the Azores, plus being not much of a detour and somewhere else we haven't been seemed like an opportunity to tick both off the list, and more sense than flying via Portugal then to the Azores which seems the only other route.

Any tips on which islands to visit in the Azores - any must see / do things there, or indeed in Madeira. Thinking 7-10 days in total, 2-3 of which in Madeira, rest in the Azores.

Not a fan of endless hiking and certainly nothing that involves sleeping rough in a tent or such like, but very happy exploring and sightseeing by car or organised excursion. Obviously the rugged nature there and the semi-tropical climate is the main lure, so most focussed on those kind of things, although the odd foodie bite and drink, or related (like a vineyard etc) is always good.

Edited by AdamV12V on Tuesday 4th April 11:16

[Sport_Turismo_GTS]

AdamV12V said:

Thinking of planning a trip to the Azores via Maderia in maybe late Sept or Oct this year...

Going via Maderia seems like a good idea as I'm struggling to find direct flights from the UK to the Azores, but the UK does fly to Maderia which in turn flys on to the Azores, plus being not much of a detour and somewhere else we haven't been seemed like an opportunity to tick both off the list, and more sense than flying via Portugal then to the Azores which seems the only other route.

Any tips on which islands to visit in the Azores - any must see / do things there, or indeed in Maderia. Thinking 7-10 days in total, 2-3 of which in Maderia, rest in the Azores.

Not a fan of endless hiking and certainly nothing that involves sleeping rough in a tent or such like, but very happy exploring and sightseeing by car or organised excursion. Obviously the rugged nature there and the semi-tropical climate is the main lure, so most focussed on those kind of things, although the odd foodie bite and drink, or related (like a vineyard etc) is always good.

I think BA fly direct to the Azores (or they used to), but only for certain times of the year. If you want to visit Madeira anyway (and it’s well worth a visit) combining the two could make a lot of sense.

The Azores does look nice, so I’d be interested in feedback from anyone who has been.

[AdamV12V]

Sport_Turismo_GTS said:

I think BA fly direct to the Azores (or they used to), but only for certain times of the year. If you want to visit Maderia anyway (and it’s well worth a visit) combining the two could make a lot of sense.

Looks like BA only fly direct to Azores PDL from LHR during Jun, Jul & Aug so no use unfortunately.

https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/destinations/...

EDIT - they do fly to Madeira FNC from LHR all year round however...

Edited by AdamV12V on Tuesday 4th April 11:18

[Lagom]

£28 one way on RyanAir from Stansted 4 hour flight.

[AdamV12V]

Lagom said:

£28 one way on RyanAir from Stansted 4 hour flight.

Interesting Ryanair do indeed fly to STA to PDL up to the end of October it seems... Useful to know, thanks

That said I wasn't looking to avoid Madeira really, indeed actively looking to go to both places, so I'm really looking for advice on which islands to go to and what to see, rather than how to get there and back.

[flyingvisit]

No idea about flights from the UK, but I can recommend Sao Miguel as an island to visit. Rent a car (I use Ilha Verhde) but watch out for the occasional bad road surfaces (although most are excellent, thanks to us northern european taxpayers).

[s2kjock]

AdamV12V said:

That said I wasn't looking to avoid Madeira really, indeed actively looking to go to both places, so I'm really looking for advice on which islands to go to and what to see, rather than how to get there and back.

I actively avoid doing anything remotely "active" in Madeira where I have been a few times and really like, although I walk a lot around Funchal and its sights as well as go swimming at the Lidos (have to burn off the copious food and drink somehow!) It is very much a relaxing holiday for us, and the OH doesn't do heights or anything remotely slippery when we do hillwalking in Scotland.

I think if you do like walking trails etc it is likely excellent and if it were just me I'd be quite tempted - you would need to hire a car to get about (another reason we don't get much out of Funchal as the roads and drivers terrify the OH ) more easily, as while there are buses I think they are fairly slow.

There are outfits that do organised excursions, but we have been put off by walking type ones as we don't like large groups and the more bespoke stuff is not cheap. That said, I doubt you would have any issues finding your own way around and many do. It would seem to need quite a bit of care, as the local news regularly reports tourists falling/dying/getting lost, and having seen the terrain can imagine how that can happen. Much of that may be stupidity as as far as I can work out there are plenty marked routes, and the levada walks all go somewhere albeit look in many cases.

We have been on a couple of jeep tours of different types which we enjoyed, and there are marine wildlife tours that look good (not much interesting birdwise though).

Funchal is a likeable, safe city to wander about in with some nice restaurants and a few decent drinking spots. Promenade walk along to Camara do Lobos is pleasant, and cable car up to Monte tropical gardens worth doing. There appear to be increasing numbers of monster cruise ships filling the harbour at Funchal these days, so that aspect would be much worse since we were last there.