Sete Cidades by bus: the day trip everyone wants, and the timetable that makes it hard

What each line really does

Line 205 (via Candelária) is weekdays only: two full trips from the city, at 08:25 and 18:50, plus two short shuttles that start at Várzea (Estrada Regional) at 11:30 and 18:40 and run the last fifteen minutes into the village ^[source]. Line 206 (via Candelária and Mosteiros) prints eleven weekday, six Saturday and five Sunday departures, but the printed stop list shows that all its all-year trips from the city end at Mosteiros (Banda de Além) without a time at any Sete Cidades stop ^[source]. Line 208 (via João Bom) goes round the north-west coast through Capelas, João Bom and the Bretanha parishes; its full trips take about 120 minutes and it is the only line with a morning departure to the village on Saturdays and Sundays ^[source].

Where to board in Ponta Delgada

The 205 table starts at P. Delgada (Forte S. Brás) and the 206 mostly at P. Delgada (Alfândega) on the seafront; both then call at the Antiga Aerogare and Avenida João Paulo II stops on the western edge of the city, which are the nearest printed stops to the airport area ^{[source, source]}. The 208 starts at P. Delgada (Alfândega) and returns to P. Delgada (Marina) ^[source].

The stops in the crater

All three lines use the same six stops in the village, ending at Sete Cidades (Lagoas) after (Igreja), (Casa do Povo), (Rua Nova 2), (Rua Nova 1) and (Escola) ^{[source, source, source]}. The Lagoas stop is by the lakes at the bottom of the crater. Vista do Rei, the rim viewpoint over both lakes, has no printed stop on any line; the corridor guide already published on this site notes that guided trips are the realistic way to reach the rim ^[source].

Weekday plan

Out on the 205 at 08:25, in the village at 09:30 ^[source]. For a later start, the 206 at 10:40 from Alfândega is printed at Várzea (Estrada Regional) at 11:30, the minute the 205 shuttle leaves Várzea for the lakes, arriving 11:45 ^{[source, source]}. In the afternoon the 208 at 14:35 from Alfândega reaches the lakes at 16:15 by the long way round ^[source].

Back: the 205 leaves the lakes at 07:00 and 09:30 for the city, and at 12:00 for Várzea, where the 206 from Mosteiros is printed at 12:20 on its way to Ponta Delgada (Hospital) at 13:20 ^{[source, source]}. The afternoon return is the 206 shuttle at 17:15 from the lakes to Ramal Mosteiros (Merendário) at 17:35; from that stop the 206 from Mosteiros is printed at 17:45 towards Ponta Delgada (Alfândega) at 18:40, and the 208 leaves at 17:45 for Ponta Delgada (Marina) at 19:05 ^{[source, source]}. Ten minutes at a roadside stop is what the printed times allow; the change is not a guaranteed connection.

Weekend plan

Saturdays: out on the 208 at 07:15 (village 09:00) or 14:35 (village 16:20); back on the 208 at 09:00 (city 11:05) or 16:25 (city 18:30), or from June to September on the 206 at 20:00 (Marina 21:05) ^{[source, source]}. Sundays and holidays: out on the 208 at 08:30 (village 10:30) or 16:15 (village 17:59); back on the 208 at 10:45 (city 12:45), on the 206 at 18:00 (Hospital 19:35), on the 208 at 18:05 (Marina 20:00), or in summer on the 206 at 20:00 ^{[source, source]}.

Fares

AzoresBus does not publish a single fare for this or any line; the tariff feed lists on-board fares only as bands of fare units with no stop-to-band mapping ^[source]. A 1-day network pass costs €7 and covers the outbound and return on any of the three lines ^[source].

Network day passes published by AzoresBus: 1 Dia€7.00 · 2 Dias€12.00 · 3 Dias€16.00 · 5 Dias€25.00 — each valid for the whole network from first validation.