Beautiful Ground: A Blog

The Incredible Açores Islands

Located in the Atlantic Ocean, five hours flying from Boston, the Açores Islands of Portugal are azure, incredible, evergreen.

This archipelago includes nine beautiful islands: São Miguel, Santa Maria, Terceira, Graciosa, São Jorge, Pico, Faial, Flores and Corvo. I visited these incredible islands in April of 2025 with three islands on the itinerary: bustling São Miguel, agricultural Terceira and Flores, the western-most corner of Europe.

Growing up with Azorean Portuguese roots, I couldn’t wait to explore the islands. Our adventure started in Angra do Heroísmo, the biggest city on Terceira. The second-most populous island features a unique blend of industries, from winemaking to speciality cheeses—and a dash of international tourism. From Terceira, we ventured onto São Miguel and the city of Ponta Delgada. What a wonderful little city with amazing shopping, restaurants and architecture, all set among the verdant and volcanic scenery.

The third destination of our itinerary ended up being elusive. It turns out, it was much too windy for a plane on tiny Flores! Instead, we spent more time on Terceira than originally planned, but we will try to visit Flores sometime soon.