Grand Circle Island Tour: Explore Volcanoes, Lakes and Tea Plantations in a Day
5.0
20 Ratings
Sete Cidades
Embark on a thrilling Grand Circle Island Tour and discover volcanoes, lakes, and tea plantations in a single day. Let a local guide take you on an unforgettable journey across the island!
Duration:
8 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Vista do Rei Miradouro - The most visited view over the lakes, with the old abandoned hotel on the background.
- Sete Cidades - View the lakes from the inside of the crater.
- Lagoa do Fogo - Get the best view up the volcano mountain from impressive Lagoa do Fogo
- Plantacoes de Cha Gorreana - Visit the Tea Plantation and Factory, taste local tea and get the chance to buy it too
- Pico do Ferro Viewpoint - Best view overlooking the Furnas Valley
- Lagoa das Furnas - Visit the lake of Furnas
- Furnas - Visit the village of Furnas, having the chance to taste some local delicacies cooked on the waters of the volcano, or choose to have a bath on one of the local thermal pools “Terra Nostra Park” or “Poça D. Beija” (please note that tickets are not included - aprox. time allowed to bath 1.30h)
- Parque Natural da Ribeira dos Caldeiroes - Visit the beautiful waterfall at this park in Nordeste
- Nordeste - Visit the far East point of the island, with beautiful views over the coast.
- Poca da Dona Beija - Choose from on of the thermal pools at Furnas
- Parque Terra Nostra - Choose from on of the thermal pools at Furnas
What's Included
- Private transportation
What's Not Included
- Entrance Fees to Thermal Pools
- Snacks
Additional Information
Pressed for time and want to see as much of the island as you can in a day? Allow a local expert to show you around. This is an exhaustive day-long tour designed to let you experience all corners of the island in a comfortable and enjoyable manner.
All significant volcanoes and main lakes, including Sete Cidades, Lagoa do Fogo and Furnas, are included in the Grand Circle. We ensure that you soak in all the best views, traversing the island from one end to the other. En route, we’ll also take you to the tea plantation and allow you the opportunity to experience one of the local thermal pools, all significant must-visit attractions on the island.
Though the drive to reach these places might be long, the scenic roads and views in themselves make the journey worthwhile. Your guide will ensure you have ample pit stops to take in the breathtaking vistas and sufficient time for a coffee break/lunch.
This is the ideal tour for those on a brief visit to the island, or for those who wish to get a comprehensive overview before venturing off on their own.
Location
Vista do Rei Miradouro
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(20 Ratings)
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Brandon_s
Mar 29, 2024
A Fantastic, Friendly, and Unforgettable Tour - A truly personalized full day tour of the island, with breathtaking views and fascinating historical insight that truly blew us away. On top of it all, my fiancee and I are expecting our first child on July, and it's not an exaggeration to say that every comfort and consideration was made available to her every step of the way. Cannot recommend highly enough!
Review provided by Viator
Fbcaiuby
May 11, 2023
I strongly recommend. - The trip was excellent, magnificent views before the fog came down during the afternoon. The guide Carlos was superb, always kind and showing us different points of view of the same attraction. I strongly recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Georgial42
Oct 29, 2022
Sao Miquel All Day complete tour with Historian - Carlos had an unending knowledge of the Azores history, sites etc and he's the kind of guy we like to hang out with- knowledgable & great conversationalist. We saw it All Plus! In addition we stopped for the best ice cream ever and chocolate candy with cheese in the middle and a stop at the local mall for supplies. We learned more than we could ever relate and enjoyed every minute. My husband left his glass case in Carlos car and Carlos mailed it to us in the states. Be sure and get his contact info as we did not so don't have a way to thank him other than the Tip he well deserved and earned. Highly Recommend spending your day in the Azores with Carlos. Our fellow cruisers were jealous of our ability to navigate the roads and get around their busses and see the entire island! He was the Best!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Benallen75
Jul 20, 2022
Amazing day - We had an amazing day with Carlos.
He’s a very nice guy to spend a day with, always happy to answer questions.
He was very responsive to offer us a completely different program, due to bad weather conditions. We were able to visit the entire eastern part of the island, and discover beautiful places. Carlos is very pleasant, has a very wide culture and punctuated the day with very interesting anecdotes and historical stories. This day was an emergency solution following the cancellation of our car reservation, but we were finally very happy with this imponderable!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Avisl2018
Jun 26, 2022
Outstanding - We were instantly at ease and not only saw most of the island but also learned a great deal. With both local and historical expertise, our guide was outstanding
We highly recommend this personal tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
538xiaol
Jun 19, 2022
Great tour - Rui was a great guide and general good dude to hang out with for half a day. Personally would def come back to just hang out again, and highly recommend the tour for first timers
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Steven_c
Jun 16, 2022
Excellent way to view the island your way! - Excellent way to see the island your way and if you have any errands to do like visit an address off the beaten path! Beats renting a car!
Review provided by Viator
Natasha_s
Mar 26, 2022
A perfect experience with the perfect guide - We booked this as a couple to experience the delights of the island in our our way and our expert guide Carlos did not disappoint.
He arrived on time, was very happy, chatty, friendly and informative - he truly did a fantastic job!
We experienced the key attractions including Furnas and Sète Cidades which he filled with incredible tales and facts along the way. We also got to stop and enjoy a tea factory and taste the local produce too.
Carlos let us shape the tour the way we wanted and added his favourite locations too.
A great way to see the island and I definitely recommend doing so for any new visitors to Sao Miguel.
Review provided by Viator
Donnajva
Sep 7, 2021
Fantastic Tour! - Carlos was fantastic! First, he helped us change our covid test appointments which were originally scheduled for the middle of the day so we got tested first thing in the morning. Then he took us all around the island, breathtaking beautiful lakes, mineral pools, stopped for traditional pastries and coffee and visited a tea plantation. Can’t imagine Sao Miguel without the tour from Carlos, he was so knowledgeable and interesting, this was the highlight of our visit!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Berta
Aug 22, 2021
Wonderful day - We had a really wonderful day with Carlos and visited the important spots of the island, tea factory, lookouts and wonderful places. Organizing the trip was really easy and we could also tailor it during the day based on our wishes and of course the weather :) Carlos is really knowledgeable and being a local he know a lot about the island and the whole Azores. He also have us really great tips for the other islands as well, which we later on visited during out stay in the Azores. It was a really great experience, and would recommend it to everyone!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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