Arrival and connections
Fly to Aeroporto João Paulo II (Ponta Delgada); search SATA Air Açores for your travel date. For any sea alternative, use Atlânticoline’s date-specific journey search.
São Miguel
São Miguel
Crater lakes, thermal landscapes and an Atlantic city.
Lines on this island
56 bus lines published by AzoresBus (Vale do Ave Açores). Line numbers and termini only; open a line for what this guide knows about it and for the operator’s timetable.
Route guides
All 56 lines by area
North coast and the east
- 101 Ponta Delgada – Ribeirinha
- 102 Ponta Delgada – Ribeira Grande · Rabo de Peixe
- 103 Ponta Delgada – Ribeira Grande · Pico do Fogo
- 105 Ponta Delgada – Nordeste (Lomba da Pedreira)
- 108 Ponta Delgada – Lomba S. Pedro · Porto Formoso e Maia
- 109 Ribeira Grande – Ribeirinha
- 110 Ponta Delgada – Furnas
- 111 Ribeira Grande – Santa Bárbara
- 112 Nordeste – Povoação
West: Sete Cidades, Mosteiros and Capelas
- 200 Ponta Delgada – Relva
- 202 Ponta Delgada – Covoada
- 203 Ponta Delgada – Candelária
- 205 Ponta Delgada – Sete Cidades · Candelária
- 206 Ponta Delgada – Sete Cidades · Candelária e Mosteiros
- 208 Ponta Delgada – Sete Cidades · João Bom
- 210 Ponta Delgada – Fenais da Luz · Aflitos
- 211 Ponta Delgada – Fenais da Luz · S. Vicente
- 212 Ponta Delgada – Santo António · Canto do Negro
- 216 Calhetas – Capelas
- 217 Ponta Delgada – Santo António · Rossio Cidade
- 218 Ponta Delgada – Remédios
- 219 Ponta Delgada – João Bom · João Bom de Baixo
- 221 Ponta Delgada – João Bom · João Bom de Cima
- 222 João Bom – Ponta Delgada · Canto do Negro
- 223 Arrifes (EB1) – Relva
South coast and Ponta Delgada suburbs
- 301 Circular Ponta Delgada – Covoada
- 302 Ponta Delgada – Fajã de Cima · Pilar
- 303 Circular Ponta Delgada – Arrifes (Quartel)
- 304 Ponta Delgada – Fajã de Baixo · Belém
- 305 Circular Ponta Delgada – Milagres · Grotinha
- 306 Circular Ponta Delgada – Milagres · Paim
- 307 Ponta Delgada – Fajã de Cima · Levada
- 311 Ponta Delgada – Lagoa
- 312 Ponta Delgada – Cabouco
- 313 Ponta Delgada – Remédios · Livramento
- 314 Ponta Delgada – Ribeira Chã
- 315 Ponta Delgada – Vila Franca do Campo
- 316 Vila Franca do Campo – Ponta Garça
- 317 Furnas – Ribeira Quente
- 318 Ponta Delgada – Povoação
- 319 Povoação – Furnas
- 321 Povoação – Lomba do Alcaide
- 322 Povoação – Lomba do Loução
- 323 Circular Povoação – Lomba do Pomar
- 324 Povoação – Lomba do Carro
- 325 Povoação – Lomba do Botão
- 326 Povoação – Água Retorta
- 328 Circular Ponta Delgada – Fajã de Cima
- 335 Ponta Delgada – Remédios
Express
Start with Ponta Delgada, then choose a volcanic valley, a crater view or a coast day. These are different outings with different return plans.
At a glance
- Ponta Delgada
- Furnas
- Miradouro da Vista do Rei
Make your visit work
- Save the exact arrival point before booking your onward trip from Ponta Delgada.
- Check local access notices before choosing Furnas for an outdoor day.
Getting around
Use Ponta Delgada as your orientation point; Furnas and Miradouro da Vista do Rei are separate outings. Plan the return for each before leaving town. AzoresBus publishes named-stop timetables for several São Miguel sights; use the individual place page for the correct direction.
Tickets and payment
Atlânticoline offers booking and digital tickets for its ferries. Payment and ticket rules for local buses and individual venues need confirmation with each operator.
Food and local shopping
For a concrete food or shopping stop, start with Mercado da Graça, Bolos Lêvedos Rosa Quental, Plantações de Ananases A. Arruda. Match its address to your day's route and ask the business about today's offer.
A story in the landscape
Tea gardens make one chapter of São Miguel’s history visible. The official tourism timeline dates the island’s first tea plantation to 1874; at Chá Gorreana, the rows of tea turn that date into a landscape you can walk.
Places to discover
Sete Cidades
The green and blue lakes in a drowned volcano — the single most famous view in the Azores.
Photo: Jules Verne Times Two CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons
Furnas
Steaming fumaroles, iron-orange thermal pools and a stew cooked underground — the Azores at their most volcanic.
Photo: Diego Delso CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons
Lagoa do Fogo
A pristine crater lake in a nature reserve on the island’s central ridge — wild, protected, and worth the effort.
Photo: Gonçalo Torres CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons
Ponta Delgada
The Azores’ biggest town: basalt-and-whitewash arcades, a working waterfront, and its own municipal MiniBUS.
Photo: Diego Delso CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons
Parque Terra Nostra
A botanical garden with a thermal pool in Furnas.
Photo: Christer Johansson CC BY-SA 2.5 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons
Caldeiras das Furnas
See the active fumaroles in Furnas village.
Photo: Diego Delso CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons
Lagoa das Furnas
A lakeside visit in the Furnas volcanic landscape.
Photo: P. Hughes CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons
Chá Gorreana
Walk through São Miguel’s tea-growing landscape.
Photo: Eduardo Manchon CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons
Miradouro da Ponta do Sossego
A garden-framed view on São Miguel’s Nordeste coast.
Photo: Navin75 CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons
Praia do Fogo
Ribeira Quente’s beach below the Furnas valley.
Photo: José Luís Ávila Silveira/Pedro Noronha e Costa Public domain , via Wikimedia Commons
Ponta da Ferraria
A volcanic headland where hot water meets the sea.
Photo: Hour.poing CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons
Caldeira Velha
Thermal water and vegetation on the Fogo massif.
Photo: David Stanley from Nanaimo, Canada CC BY 2.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons
Miradouro da Vista do Rei
The classic high view over the Sete Cidades lakes.
Miradouro da Ponta da Madrugada
Another east-coast panorama with its own garden setting.
Praia das Milícias
A broad dark-sand beach on São Miguel’s south coast.
Praia do Pópulo
A south-coast sand beach east of Ponta Delgada.
Guides for this island
Island overview
See the islands
Start with an official visual introduction to all nine islands, then explore São Miguel in detail.
More films (4)
See Furnas, Caldeira Velha, Sete Cidades and Lagoa do Fogo before planning a route across São Miguel.
Spend time with an independent São Miguel travel film before choosing your own lake and garden stops.
Watch the official film about cozido cooked in the geothermal ground by Furnas Lake.
A short official film evokes walking across the islands; check the current trail page before setting out.
Local food & finds
Photo: JopkeB CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Diego Delso CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons
Experiences to fit your day
Compare guided activities after planning the visit itself. Loading these cards contacts GetYourGuide.
Booking through these links supports this free guide at no extra cost to you.
Sources & last checked
- Visit Azores · São Miguel island overview ·
- Visit Azores · Parque Terra Nostra ·
- Visit Azores · Furnas Valley ·
- Azores Trails · Lagoa das Furnas trail ·
- Azores Trails · Chá Gorreana trail ·
- Visit Azores · Milícias Beach ·
- Visit Azores · Pópulo Beach ·
- Visit Azores · Fogo Beach (Ribeira Quente) ·
- Visit Azores · Ponta da Ferraria ·
- Visit Azores · Caldeira Velha ·
- Visit Azores · Ponta da Madrugada and Ponta do Sossego Lookouts ·
- Município de Nordeste · Revista Municipal de Nordeste ·
- Visit Azores · Ponta do Sossego Garden ·
- Visit Azores · UNESCO World Heritage ·
- Visit Azores · Feel Alive Azores: history ·
- Visit Azores · Nine islands ·
- Visit Azores · Plan your visit ·
- Atlânticoline · Schedules and journey search ·
- Atlânticoline · Official app support ·
- SATA / Azores Airlines · SATA Air Açores inter-island baggage ·
- Bolos Lêvedos Rosa Quental · About us ·
- Bolos Lêvedos Rosa Quental · Contacts ·
- Portal do Turismo dos Açores · Chá Gorreana ·
- Plantações de Ananases A. Arruda · Plantation and products ·
- Município de Ponta Delgada · Mercado Agrícola da Graça regulation ·
- Direção Regional da Mobilidade · Aeroportos dos Açores ·
- AzoresBus (Vale do Ave Açores) · Line 112 timetable PDF ·
- AzoresBus (Vale do Ave Açores) · Line 205 timetable PDF ·
- AzoresBus (Vale do Ave Açores) · Line 206 timetable PDF ·
- AzoresBus (Vale do Ave Açores) · Line 208 timetable PDF ·
- AzoresBus (Vale do Ave Açores) · Line 315 timetable PDF ·
- AzoresBus (Vale do Ave Açores) · Line 317 timetable PDF ·
- AzoresBus (Vale do Ave Açores) · Line 318 timetable PDF ·
- AzoresBus (Vale do Ave Açores) · Line E01 timetable PDF ·
- AzoresBus (Vale do Ave Açores) · Line index and complete printed stop inventory ·
Azores Bus
Take Azores Bus with you
Plan the way back before you set out. Azores Trails warns that many trails have no mobile network except at the start and end; the app keeps every printed return on your phone, offline.
- Six islands, in one appOperator-sourced schedules, routes and stops for São Miguel, Terceira, Faial, Pico, Santa Maria and Graciosa.
- Made for offlineTimetables stored on your phone for coast roads and craters with no signal.
Independent app. No ticket sales or live vehicle tracking.
