I had exactly one day to explore Faial, due to my cancelled flight the day before. I arrived around 2pm so I had to decide quickly what to visit and how, because I cancelled the rental car not knowing SATA would put me on an earlier flight (thank you for that!). So I asked for a map at the hotel reception, checked my research documentation and decided to take a taxi to the 2 main sights of Faial; the Caldeira and the Capelinhos.
Here’s your perfect 24 hour plan to visit Faial!
The Caldeira
First the taxi driver named Paul drove me to the Caldeira. He was very proud living on this island and his enthousiasm really got to me. He explained that the entire island is colored blue in July because of all the hydrangeas. There were still a lot of hydrangeas, but a lot already changed color. It still looked beautiful though and I could picture what it would look like in July and decided that I would return one day in the Summer.
The Caldeira is a massive crater situated in the middle of the island at a height of almost 570 m above sea level. It has a perimeter of 2000 m and is 400m deep. On top you don’t only get a wonderful view of the crater, you also get a perfect sight of Pico, the neighbouring island in eastern direction. I only got 30 minutes so I didn’t do the complete hike around the crater. Still I really enjoyed the views.
Capelinhos
After my visit to the Caldeira Paul took a scenic road to drive to Capelinhos. The kind of road I would never dare to take with a rental car (sandy, rocky, steep and very narrow). It had fantastic views and after a 30 minute ride I arrived at Capelinhos. This place looked kinda surreal after driving through the green landscapes. Its only color is brown. I felt as if I was on a different planet. Capelinhos is formed by a year long volcanic eruption and it enlarged the island by 2.4 km². The land formed by lava is very impressive!
Horta
After saying goodbye to Paul I decided to explore Horta, the capital of the island. It’s often described as a vibrant town, but I found it rather quiet. Still it’s a fun place to wander around among the small white houses. The best known place is probably Peter Café Sport, which is a fun bar. I loved the fact that you’re always accompanied by the sight of the Pico volcano while walking next tot the harbour. I had dinner at a pizzeria called California and then it was already time to sleep at the Horta hotel.
Sunrise
The receptionist of the hotel showed pictures of the sunrise behind the Pico volcano and suggested to watch the sunrise from the rooftop the next morning. So I woke up early and witnessed an incredible sunrise. An absolute must do!
Hike to the Caldeirinhas
You can hike from the center of Horta to the top of the Monte da Guia. From there you can see that the Monte da Guia is actually a double volcano with the sea flowing in both craters. The hike takes about 2 hours (up & down) and is very steep.
That’s what I did in 24 hours on the island. I’m sure Faial has to offer way more and I think it has some great hikes, but due to the time limit I had to stick to this program. So if your time is short on Faial, due to being stuck on one of the islands, I hope this is the perfect guide for you to make something of your limited time!
Good evening Joelle,
I discovered your website (Azores) by chance while visiting the blog published by Mauel Bettencourt of Graciosa on Azores shipping.
There is no indication of the date of your visit. Your mention of rough weather in Flores seems to suggest early October (the first bad weather following summer 2015), as does the fact that the landscapes are rather greener than they were in mid-September when I was there.
If your visit was later than mid-September, the photo of the harbour at Horta is very unusual, since the inter-islands ferry ‘Santorini’ (visible adjacent to the ferry terminal) was supposed to have finished her 2015 season (and I hope it will not be her last) by the 21st of the month.
Faial is very pleasant indeed. I had one day there, a Saturday. Given the limited bus services, and the fact that I am supposed to be writing an article on public bus services in the Azores for a British magazine (when time allows), I caught the afternoon service to Ribeira Funda, then walked back across the island, taking the trackway up from the picnic site (abut halfway across) to the Caldeira, returming to Horta at twilight via the very steep Canada da Praia (route visible in your photo, above the swimming pool/sports hall, the hedge descending at a 45º angle right to left). Not to be advised at twilight, the surface is mainly gravel and rather slippery, and not very well used, either!
I found the Azores delightful. Great efforts are being made to encourage the right sort of tourism, and Portugal deserves to recover from the recession. No rubbish in the streets, the only graffiti (and not much) in the vicinity of the university in Ponta Delgada. Quite unlike here in Asturias, where rubbish and graffiti predominate in the towns. This was my first visit, prompted by cheap RyanAir flights from Porto. It is a pity that the inter-island ferry service finishes so early in the autumn, and also a great pity that ‘Santorini’ (ex-SNCF ferry ‘Chartres’) is likely to be replaced in the next couple of years. Next objective if I go there again has to be Graciosa, which looks to be totally unspoiled by tourism – the sort of place which, given the opportunity, I would escape to forever! Problem – property prices!
Please notify when you publish a video on Faial.
Regards
Mike
Hi Mike,
I was there early September and looooved my stay at Flores (except for the extra day I had to stay there because of the storm).
A Faial video will be online soon!
Thanks for visiting my blog!
Kind regards,
Joëlle