AZORES FAMILY ADVENTURE HOLIDAY
Family Holiday Overview
The Azores bask in their isolated glory in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. This incidence of geography means that these nine volcanic islands are unlike anywhere else on Earth. A landscape of shimmering lakes, rugged craters and towering waterfalls set amidst a blaze of lush green foliage that is energised by rain and sunlight in equal proportions. This is a world of mud pots, fumaroles and hot springs; of lava caves and grottoes; of cobalt blue lakes cocooned by forests of laurel and cedar. This is a real-life Jurassic Park where you could quite easily believe that entire herds of long-necked herbivores live amongst the plump, dappled Azorean cows.
In terms of activities, you can do almost anything in the Azores: hiking, cycling, canyoning, rock climbing, swimming with dolphins, canoeing, whale watching and horse riding. The Islanders are trusting and friendly, giving a sense of 1950s-era innocence long forgotten in modern day lives. There are no mass-tourism hotspots here, just things as they were meant to be – simple, honest and sustainable.
Fancy exploring some more?
Interesting Facts
- The Azores are an archipelago of 9 islands located in the mid-Atlantic. They form part of Macronesia, along with Madeira, the Canary Islands and Cape Verde.
- The islands are actually exposed tips of vast submarine mountain ranges.
- It is widely thought that the name of the islands derives from açor, the Portuguese word for the goshawk.
- The Azores are host to some of the most unique and fantastic festivals in Europe. They run from Easter to August with the biggest being the São Miguel’s six-day, post-Easter bash in honour of Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres.
- The government is aiming to produce 75% of the islands’ energy from renewable sources by 2019.
- Today the ‘spotters’ for the whale-watching boats use the same cliffs as those four decades ago used for a more sinister purpose. Thankfully marine mammals are more valuable alive now to the local economy.