If I had to pick one of the most beautiful places that I’ve ever visited, it would be probably Flores Island in Azores, Portugal. That’s why I want to share with you my Flores Island Azores Travel Guide and hopefully inspire you to visit this amazing island.
Flores Island is located in Azores, a Portuguese archipelago with nine islands located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean that has been considered one of the most beautiful destinations in the world.
Flores, together with Corvo Island that belongs to the Western Group of Azores, is the westernmost territory in Europe. It is part of UNESCO Biosphere Reserves and it has some of the most beautiful and untouched natural landscapes I’ve ever seen.
If you are looking for a getaway with unspoiled nature and vegetation, lush forests, fairytale lakes and waterfalls, mountains, natural pools and a rugged but beautiful coastline, Flores is the right place to go.
You can get to Flores by plane. Most international flights go to São Miguel or Terceira Islands in Azores, from where you can take a short regional flight. So it’s a very good idea to combine Flores with other islands in Azores. That’s exactly what I’ve done and I also visited São Miguel and Terceira.
When in Flores, the easiest way to explore the island is driving, so you can rent a car at the airport for the time of your stay. Flores is a small island but it has much to offer to visitors, so I recommend staying at least 3 or 4 days. You can also take the opportunity to take a day trip by boat to Corvo, the smallest island in Azores that has also beautiful natural landscapes and it is a great place for birdwatching.
Where to stay in Flores? There are only a few small hotels and local accommodation options. I recommend to stay in Fajã Grande, nearby many of the biggest natural attractions in the island. Some really nice places to stay there are Aldeia da Cuada, Moínho da Cascata, Villas do Mar or Sítio da Assumada.
My biggest advice when you start planning your trip to Flores is that you book everything way in advance! And I really mean it! As the island is quite small and it doesn’t have many options in terms of accommodation, tours or rental cars, everything gets fully booked quite early. For my trip to Flores in July, I booked accommodation and rented a car in January. And some places were already not available.
You can travel to Flores all year round, but when planning my trip I’ve read some of the best months are July and August. The weather usually is quite nice at that time of the year. In July I had warm and long days and I even spent some time sunbathing at natural pools. This is also the best time to see the typical and beautiful hydrangeas that covers Azores Islands in Summer. In fact Flores means “flowers” and it is named like this due to the abundance of flowers that you can find all around, especially the famous hydrangeas.
I hope you like my Flores Island Azores Travel Guide and you enjoy as much as I did to visit this Portuguese island. I’ll share with you now my top places to visit in Flores.
This is probably the most epic location in Flores Island. In fact I felt in love with Flores much time before visiting it when I saw pictures of this place.
Imagine a magical lagoon bordered by a cliff with 20 waterfalls falling down the green vegetation in the mist. It’s like a dream come true and you can actually find it in Azores!
Also known as Poço das Alagoinhas, this is definitely the main postcard in the island and it is a must visit place. You will feel like you are back to ancient ages in a Jurassic Park like landscape.
Located near Fajã Grande at the western part of the island, you will have to do a 20 minutes hike through a forest trail. Just be aware that most of the trail is in stones that can become slippery when it rains, so bring proper shoes like sneakers or hiking shoes (not flip flops).
Another idyllic location not to miss in Flores is Poço do Bacalhau in Fajã Grande area. This stunning waterfall with 90 meters high falls down to some natural pools that are a great spot to refresh in Summer.
All the surrounding area is very beautiful and you can quite easily get there taking a very well conserved trail and pathway. In your way to the waterfall, you will see some typical stone houses and a watermill.
Fajã Grande is probably my favourite area in Flores. Not only because many Flores attractions are nearby, but also due to the fact that it is a small typical and authentic coastal village with amazing sea views.
It’s worth to take some time to walk by the sea promenade and to finish your day at the natural pools. If you take a late afternoon swim, you will be delighted by the best sunset in the island.
Flores Island has many amazing viewpoints, but one of the most scenic is Miradouro do Portal – Portal Viewpoint. You will see stunning views to the Atlantic Ocean, Fajã Grande area and the mountains where Poço da Ribeira do Ferreiro is located.
Did you know that Flores lagoons are formed by volcanic craters originated by the eruptions that gave rise to the island?
Another mandatory place to visit in Flores is the viewpoint to Lagoa Comprida and Lagoa Negra, two of the seven existing lagoons located at the heart of the island.
Those two lagoons are close to each other, divided by a hill with lush vegetation. Their names Lagoa Comprida and Lagoa Negra mean “long lagoon” and “dark lagoon”. But a nice curiosity is that Lagoa Comprida is the darker one.
If you love scenic viewpoints, Flores is the right place to visit. Also at the heart of the island, I recommend to visit the viewpoint to Caldeira Rasa e Funda, two other volcanic lagoons.
The day that I visited this place, the horizon was covered in mist bringing a mystical atmosphere to the landscape. I stopped the car in an empty road to see the natural spectacle of fog covering the lagoon. When the sun finally broke through the fog, it created an amazing green lights show in the water – like northern lights dancing in the lagoon surface!
This is a geological monument with more than 500 thousands of history, showcasing perfect columns of about 20 meters. Unfortunately I couldn’t see it well because when I visited the viewpoint it was foggy. But I saw pictures of it and it definitely deserves to be seen.
At the South of the island near Lajes das Flores village, Fajã de Lopo Vaz is another beautiful viewpoint to the sea. From this point starts a 3km round trip trail down to a black sand beach.
A historical curiosity about this location – this was one of the first places in the island to be settled and it was named Lopo Vaz because he was one of the first settlers in Flores.
Regional Road 2 (ER2) crosses the island from East to West and it’s a beautiful and scenic road to drive in the island.
It will take you less than half an hour to drive from one side of Flores to the other, but throughout that road there are amazing natural landscapes, viewpoints and the paths to some of the spots I mentioned before.
If you visit Flores in Summertime, you will see this road beautifully framed with hydrangeas.
Capital of the island, Santa Cruz das Flores is a small city located by the sea in the Eastern side of Flores. It is also where the regional airport is located, so this will be probably the first place that you visit when arriving to the island.
Take some time to walk by this traditional village and eat in one of the amazing restaurants with traditional Azorean food characterized by fish and seafood.
Some of the places to visit in the city are Flores Museum, a sea cave Gruta dos Enxareus and Fajã do Conde viewpoint. If you visit in Summertime, don’t miss Santa Cruz das Flores natural pools for a great day by the sea.
Drive the Eastern coast of the island from Santa Cruz das Flores to Ponta Delgada and you will be rewarded by beautiful sea views framed by the hydrangeas. Most likely you will also see the typical cattle from Azores peacefully grazing.
There are some viewpoints in the road where it’s worth to stop like Miradouro das Pedrinhas or Miradouro do Ilheu Furado.
Ponta Delgada is the northernmost village of Flores and it offers also some scenic places to visit, like Albarnaz lighthouse or Baía de Além viewpoint.
For more travel inspiration about Portuguese islands, check my blog posts “Pico Island Azores Travel Guide, the Lost Paradise” and “Porto Santo in Madeira Travel Guide“.