I’m excited to start telling you all about my 10-day trip to the Azores last year in July. The first island I explored was Faial, one of the five central islands. The marina of Faial is the primary stop for yachts crossing the Atlantic. Its walls and walkways are covered in paintings created by visitors. This post will give you an idea of the things you can do when you’re on the island for only one day.

Horta

The main village of Faial is Horta. Since Faial is such a thoroughfare for yachts, Horta is most famous for Peter’s Sports Cafe. This place opened back in 1918 and it is a meeting point for people from all walks of life, including whalers, seamen and according to the stories even secret agents (have) visit(ed) this place. You can also find the island’s scrimshaw museum inside. They sell souvenirs that have been made from whale bone, just keep in mind that whaling is not allowed anymore so these artefacts have become incredibly expensive.

Other than that Horta is just a nice base to explore Faial from. I stayed at the gorgeous Azoris Faial Garden Resort Hotel, which has multiple bungalows and which has a great view from the breakfast room to the port.

You can book your tours from the town centre of Horta as well. My whale watching tour started here for example. If you’d like to rent a car, you can do it from here. I would recommend you to visit the island on your own pace.

Sights

Caldeira do Cabeço Gordo
If you rent a car, my tip would be to first check out Cabeço Gordo which is Portuguese for “fat mountain”. This is the highest mountain that forms the island of Faial. The volcano is 1,043 meters above sea level. It consists of a two kilometer wide caldera and it’s 400 meters deep below the crater rim.

Needless to say, you can plan a gorgeous walk along the rim. However, this caldera tends to be surrounded by a persistent fog. Sometimes it lifts temporarily, sometimes it doesn’t. When I visited, I didn’t see anything of the inside.

Capelinhos volcano
The next place worth visiting is the Vulcão dos Capelinhos peninsula. This is the most western point of the island. The peninsula was created by an eruption which started below the sea in September 1957 and which took more than a year.

There’s a lighthouse on the peninsula, Farol dos Capelinhos, which used to be visible from the sea (obviously). Nowadays, the eruption has created a land mass which obscures the lighthouse from view making it redundant as a safe beacon.

However, it’s even more interesting to visit it now, because there’s a visitor centre right below it. You can find information here about volcanoes in general and you can find more specific information about the role of volcanoes in the creation of the Azores. There are beautiful information panels and photos and films which tell a clear story without being stuck reading (boring) stories.

The lighthouse provides a beautiful view over the volcano and the lands it has created. You could also hike to the top of the hill to enjoy the view a bit more.

How to get there

There are different ways to reach the island of Faial. You could fly from Lisbon by SATA – Azores Airlines, which is what I have done. There are also direct flights from Ponte Delgada on São Miguel Island.

Other options include taking the boat from another island like Pico or São Jorge. I have actually taken the ferry to both these destinations from Faial and I can tell you this is an incredibly comfortable option. I travelled in the middle of summer, and still the boats were quiet and there was plenty of space inside and outside the ferries.

One thing to note when you decide to fly from Lisbon is something I wish I had known. SATA is infamous for leaving behind luggage, for an extra day or two. I travelled with a group and around 30% received their checked-in luggage upon arrival, around 50% on the day after and the final 20% the day after that.

The crew is very helpful, and it’s not something to worry about. It is something to keep in mind when packing you carry-on. It’s good to pack you essentials, so you can change and brush your teeth.

Remember you’re on a trip, so try to smile and enjoy yourself. Your baggage will find its way to you.

Conclusion

There are plenty more natural sights to explore on Faial. If you have only one day, I would limit it to the sights I have mentioned above and the whale watching tour which I will describe in my next post. If you have more time, you could check out Porto Pim beach, visit the Porto Pim Aquarium which could teach you more about the marine life, or you could visit the regional museum to learn more about the history of Faial. If I would’ve had more time, I would’ve liked to visit the Scrimshaw museum for sure. I’ve never seen anything like it, so I would’ve liked to learn more about it. I’ll save that for another day though.