Santa Maria Island, Azores

Don’t miss the chance to visit the island of Santa María during your stay in the Azores Archipelago, Portugal

Santa Maria Island, Azores
© Maurício de Abreu - DRT

The Santa María Island is the warmest, driest and closest to the continent island in all the Azores Archipelago. It was also the first one to be inhabited and the only island that has beaches with golden sand, lime, and marine fossils sediment.

At last, the trip finishes in Vila do Porto, or the airport, visiting before any of the São Pedro mills.

Santa Maria Island
© Associação de turismo dos Açores

Barreiro da Faneca
© Turismo das Açores

Santa Maria Island, Portugal
© Associação de turismo das Açores

Santa María has preserved its popular architecture thanks to its low seismic activity. Each one of its parishes show their houses painted in a typical colour, offering that way very picturesque and emblematic landscapes.

Each year is celebrated here the Maré de Agosto (August Tide), a prestigious and crowded modern music festival.

This island, where man-hand is completely integrated in the natural and geographic frame, brings together enough charmings to be considered as “the Algarve of the Azores”. From it stands out the enviable landscape of the São Lourenço Bay, which has been declared Natural Reserve, like Baia de Anjos and Maia and Praia Bays.

If you are in São Miguel Island do not hesitate to visit the Santa María, since the plane takes approximately twenty minutes to arrive. By boat (only available during the summer) it is about four hours.

To discover the island it is possible to make a whole-day circular tour departing from the airport. This tour will take you first to Vila do Porto, the capital city ( 3.5 kilometres far).

After having a little walk in the city, you can go West through Valverde, Carreira andAlmagreira, to discover the Praia Bay and the Praia Formosa Beachh (6 kilometres far), such a lively place during summer, especially in the concerts celebrated in August. This part of the island is the most recommended if you want to enjoy a nice bath.

From Praia there is a road that takes you to Maia, and going by Malbusca and Fonte do Jordão. From there, you will be able to admire good examples of the popular island’s architecture, as well as a greener and fresher landscape. From Maia the walk goes by a narrow dangerous road going down towards Ponta do Castelo, with a wonderful overlook from its lighthouse. This way will take you until the marine suburb, where the farmyard seems to go down the mountain, ending in Calheta, where a long waterfall appears.

On the way back, the tour will take you through the EN 1-2ª highway to visit the Church and the Ethnographic Museum of Santo Espírito, and to discover then one of the most beautiful places of the island, the Miradouro de São Lourenço Viewpoint, which will allow you to enjoy privileged views over the delightful bay.

After this, it is time to go down to the village of São Lourenço, to next going back to the inner massifs passing by Santa Bárbara, where you will admire nice traditional architectural samples.

Around four kilometres far from Santa Bárbara is located the 587-metres-high Pico Alto Peak, which hosts a former bunker and overlook from where you will see great part of the island.

The route continues by the EN 2-2ª towards Feteiras and Lagoinhas, passing by all the Northern coast and its bays, going in and out the coastal area until finally going down to the sea towards the city of Anjos.

Why "Portugal Travel"?

Portugal Travel is an organization of Portuguese agencies whose objectives are:

✓ To make Portugal, its culture and its heritage known.
✓ To promote sustainable tourism.

In collaboration with:

Escola Superior de Hotelaria e Turismo do Estoril

Turismo de Portugal

Santa Maria Island, Azores

Don’t miss the chance to visit the island of Santa María during your stay in the Azores Archipelago, Portugal

Santa Maria Island

What to see:

Azores:

Why "Portugal Travel"?

In collaboration with: