Santa Maria Island 28’ 08' W - 37’ 43' N

It is an island of tempting, white sandy beaches, hidden grottoes, steep cliffs and beautiful fortresses, for it was the first island to be discovered. It has excellent facilities for water sports. Worthy of note are the Mother-Church in Vila do Porto.

The slopes are like colossal staircases covered in vineyards. The typical slender, elegant chimneys serve as a reminder that early settlers hailed from the south of the Portuguese mainland. From the pages of history of Vila do Porto and Anjos, where Columbus set foot after his first trip to America. The green plaid of the fields. Ripe, yellow crops. The dots of white-washed houses with lace-like chimneys. The black of the artistically chiseled basalt in the facades of churches. The rainbow color of the flowers. The dark ochre of the fertile earth. The gold of the sandy beaches. The palette of hues like a living water-color that is Santa Maria. The joy of folk festivities. The delicacies of a traditional cuisine. This is the charming island of Santa Maria, bathed in constant sunlight.

There is also an international airport on this island.

Santa Maria  is a very exiting islands to visit. Exiting because the landscape is so different from the other islands on Azores. Santa Maria is about 17 x 9 km.
It is possible to go to Santa Maria by ferry from Ponta Delgada on São Miguel. 
Here lives about 6.000 people.

Santa Maria has a very big airport, which has been used as a American airforce base since World War 2. The base was closed down many years ago, and the airport is today entirely used as a civil airport. The tourist office on Santa Maria is placed in the main building in the airport.

The biggest town on Santa Maria is Vila do Porto. Typically this is the place to stay. There are only one hotel in Vila do Porto and one Praia do Formosa. Another possibility is " Residencial Travassos ", Rua dr. Luis Bettencourt 108. ( It's the main road in Vila do Porto.)

A nice sandy beach is located at Praia Formosa. From here it's possible to windsurf. Also Sao Laurenco bay has a nice sandy beach.

The nature of the islands is special in the way, that it's " separated " in two very different areas. One part on which the airport is located is " flat as a pancake " .
Here there are almost no vegetation, because there are almost no rain falling in this area. You are almost 100 % sure of sunshine. Vila do Porto is places in this area.

The other part of the island has a lot of vegetation, hills and small mountains. In this area you will also find some farming. Because of the mountains the clouds are forced to drop all the rain it contains here. So all the rain comes in this area, and it's is therefore some moistly. But nevertheless it's absolutely worth a visit. You can drive all the way to the highest point of Santa Maria, which is Pico Alto. From here there is a magnificent view over the island.

On Santa Maria I can recommend renting a taxi to discover the island. It's rather expensive to rent a car, if even possible.

They produce some handicraft, nice bedcover, pillowcases, and a lot of nice pottery.

One restaurant to recommend is. " RESTAURANT O`FONTES ". They serve excellent and exiting local food. Usually it's recommended to make reservation. The restaurant is family managed, and you get what the chef has prepared for this day. There is no menu. But try asking for his soup. The owner serve and make the guests comfortable. He is a former helicopter pilot, and speaks fluent English. The restaurant is about 2-3 km. out of Vila do Porto. It can be somewhat difficult to find.
So take a taxi to the restaurant.

We can very much recommend a walk back to Vila do Porto after the meal. It's a beautiful walk in the moonlight, and it's downwards all the way !