Terceira Island (Azores)

Are you curious about Terceira Island? This was our experience.

Honestly, we weren’t planning on going anywhere because right now we’re building Bästi (our “new” caravan), but we were so done with the cold weather, grey skies and constant rain. We wanted a budget-friendly trip, close to Nature.

Bananas

After a lot of searching, I found a flight to Terceira Island (Azores) for just €16, and the return was €45. I booked the tickets and reserved an amazing Airbnb. I have to say, even though flying from Lisbon is cheaper (compared to Porto), it's kind of a mess. We had to fly from Terminal 2, so we took the bus there, and once we arrived, it was a crowd of people crammed into a small space with barely any seating (most people were sitting on the floor). And to make it worse, the terminal is under noisy construction, which made the place feel pretty chaotic.

We did the whole trip on foot or by bus but I get why people do rent a car, public transport doesn’t work that well. There aren’t many buses during the day, and (at least in our case) they were always late.

We flew into Terceira Island. The airport is in Lajes, in the north of the island, and our Airbnb was in São Mateus, down south, near Angra do Heroísmo. We tried catching a bus, but after 6:30 pm there are no more, so we ended up taking a taxi and paid €20.

Lisa in the middle of the banana trees

We were blown away by our cabin when we arrived. We knew what it looked like, but being there felt completely different, we were so happy.

The place is called Banana Eco Camp, and it’s a tropical paradise in Portugal. There are loads of banana trees, mango trees, papaya trees, and even coffee plants. Hidden in the middle of it all are wooden cabins, super cozy, where we stayed. The kitchen and bathrooms are shared, but always clean and everything worked great.

It was exactly what we wanted: to wake up surrounded by Nature, with birds singing and the sound of the ocean in the background.

Every day the temperature was around 18 °C (it doesn’t change much between day and night), with some rain (but not too much). Not exactly perfect, but enough to enjoy the island.

We went to the natural pools in Biscoitos with the bus and, after 85 stops and 1 hour and 20 minutes, we finally made it. Sounds far, but it was only 30 km. The weather was cool, but I still jumped in for a swim.

Basically, the pools are formed by volcanic rocks that trap the seawater. Don’t miss these pools, on a hot day they must be amazing.

Pools in Biscoitos

We spent most of the time enjoying the tropical paradise we were staying in, until we decided to hike to Monte Brasil, in Angra do Heroísmo. It’s a 12 km walk, with the first half being all uphill. At the top, you get an epic view over the endless sea and the southern coastline of the island.

If you’re looking to relax, travel on a budget, and have a different kind of experience, Terceira Island is definitely a great option. As always, if you’ve got questions or just feel like exchanging ideas, feel free to send me a message.

Fun facts:

• the rocks on the island are black;

• there are no sandy beaches;

• the center of the island is full of wild Nature;

• there are more cows than people.

  
  

Don’t forget:

If you go there,

go barefoot.

Carlos