Ultimate Guide to Flores Island, Azores: Everything you need to know

Dear traveler, we may get commissions from your reservations made through links in this article, at no extra cost to you. This helps keep the site running and free for all. Thank you!

Last Updated on May 3, 2024

As Portuguese, we have to admit that the Azores are one of the most beautiful places in Portugal—especially if you’re a nature lover. Comprising nine volcanic islands, the Azores are a hidden gem that most people overlook when visiting our home country. We’ve visited five of the nine islands, and Flores is easily our top pick, with Pico being a close second.

When traveling to Flores, don’t expect to find bustling cities, parties, and the busy urban life. Instead, you’ll discover one of the most peaceful places in Europe, where you can simply disconnect and enjoy the present moment.

We highly recommend hiring a car when visiting Flores; it will make your trip easier and more enjoyable. The island isn’t big, but trust us—you’ll want to take your time. It’s the perfect place to practice slow travel!

This is probably the most beautiful place we visited in Flores. It’s so beautiful, we decided to visit it twice.

To get there, you’ll need to do a short hike from the parking lot. The hike itself is not that hard – what can make it a bit challenging is actually how slippery it can get. So avoid wearing flip flops, chosse your hiking shoes instead!

Flores is characterized by its rugged volcanic landscape, featuring numerous crater lakes and lagoons nestled within its lush greenery. These lagoons often occupy ancient volcanic calderas or depressions created by volcanic eruptions. Over time, rainwater filled these depressions, forming the picturesque lagoons we can see today.

The island has seven lagoons that are worth your visit: Lagoa Funda (deep lagoon), Branca (white), Seca (dry), Comprida (long), Rasa (shallow), Lomba (no translation) and Negra (dark). The lagoa negra and lagoa comprida are located side, by side, making it one of the best views of the island! The same happens with lagoa rasa and lagoa funda.

Poço do Bacalhau is a gorgeous waterfall that is easily accessible from the road. Depending when you’re visiting, the waterfall might have more or less water – but it doesn’t mean it’s less spectacular. The water falls from 90 m high, almost 300 feet. Again, since the island is fairly small, you can return to your favourite spots as many times as you like. In this case, we return for the sunset.

Corvo Island (Island of the Crow) is the smallest island in the Azores, with less than 400 habitants. We did a full day tour, with extremo ocidente.You get to travel to Corvo by zodiac and see amazing landscapes on your way there! If you’re lucky, you can even see whales and dolphins on your way.

When you get there, you’ll soon realize how small Corvo actually is. The biggest attraction is the caldera – you can actually hike down and enjoy the landscape from its rim.

This is the highest watertfall of the Azores and you can easily spot it from the road, on the way to Fajã Grande. As far as we are aware, there is no hiking trail to the waterfall’s lagoon.

One of the most famous natural landmarks in the Azores, the Rocha dos Bordões consists of a set of large vertical basalt columns, that look like a pipe organ.

Unfortunetly, we didn’t have the chance to do a lot of hikes in Flores. We were traveling a bif off season, and so the trails were not in the best conditions. And with just a couple of days of sunny weather, we decided to just do a roadtrip and enjoy the views! However, if you have the time and you’re traveling during summer, don’t miss the change to do some of the beautiful hikes in Flores. All the existing trails can be checked here.

Flores is so beautiful and peaceful that we recommend you to stay at least 3 full days. If you have more time and love nature, spend some extra days hiking and swimming in the natural pools. You can also do canyoning or even diviing!

Day 1 – The airport is located in Santa Cruz das Flores, so this is actually where your journey starts. Explore the small village, and if the weather is right, maybe take a swim at the Santa Cruz Natural Swimming Pools. During the afternoon explore the seven lagoons.

Day 2 – Take your time and enjoy the incredible Poço da Ribeira do Cavalo. Find the Ribeira Grande waterfall, marvel at Rocha dos Bordões. Don’t forget to stop in the viewpoints.

Day 3 – Corvo Island day trip

If driving is not an option, hiring a tour guide might be a good solution.

Driving in the Azores is quite easy. The roads are in great shape and google maps works great. To help you navigate the island, we created the following map with some extra stops – we know everyone one loves a good viewpoint, so we added our favourites.

Renting a car is also not a problem, but we strongly advise you to book in advance – specially if you’re travelling during the summer months.

The best time to visit Flores Island in the Azores is typically during the spring and summer months, from April to September. During this time, you can expect milder weather with warmer temperatures and less rainfall, making it ideal for outdoor activities such as hiking, exploring the natural landscapes, and enjoying the island’s stunning coastline. However, keep in mind that the weather in the Azores can be unpredictable.

Fog is a common occurrence in Flores. The Azores experience a maritime subtropical climate, which means that fog and mist can often roll in from the ocean. We heard from our local host that June can actually be quite foggy, so be prepared! However, it usually doesn’t last for a long period of time, so it’s another reason to extend your stay! When we arrived, the weather was quite foggy, and we couldn’t even see the lagoons. The next day, it was sunny!

The easiest way to get to Flores is by plane. SATA/Azores Airlines has flights connecting the island to some of the other islands in the archipelago, like São Miguel, Terceira and Faial.

For such a small island, Flores offers great accomodations. We stayed in Sítio da Assumada – a set of houses with everything you need to cook and to have a comfortable stay. The owner was helpful and very friendly.

For a different experience, you can also stay at Aldeia da Cuada – a recently renovated farm stay in Faja Grande where guests can make the most of its garden and bar.

When traveling, you should definitely have travel insurance. We have been using IATI for our travels and depending on what we’re doing, we might choose different insurance options.

If you need a SIM card, you have always the option to buy a physical one, but we recommend trying an E-SIM alternative. We mostly use Airalo.