The fog arrives before dawn and leaves without explanation. By the time breakfast is on the table, the valley below has reappeared — impossibly green, absurdly quiet — as if the island has been rearranged overnight. São Miguel does not reveal itself all at once. It prefers to be discovered slowly, in pieces, over several unhurried days. This is, it turns out, precisely the right way to travel.

The Azores sit in the mid-Atlantic, closer to Lisbon than New York, yet distinct from both — a Portuguese archipelago of nine volcanic islands that operates entirely on its own terms. São Miguel, the largest, is the one worth starting with.

What makes it compelling right now is a particular combination of accessibility and restraint. Direct flights from London take just over two hours. And yet the island has resisted the kind of mass tourism that has hollowed out other European destinations of comparable beauty. The roads are quiet. The restaurants are unhurried. The mornings are genuinely peaceful.

The landscape is the first thing that arrests you. The interior of the island is dominated by calderas — collapsed volcanic craters now filled with lakes of an almost theatrical colour. Sete Cidades, in the west, holds two lakes separated by a narrow bridge: one green, one a deep mineral blue. Furnas, in the east, is altogether stranger — a valley floor punctuated by steaming fumaroles, bubbling mud pools, and thermal springs warm enough to bathe in. Walking between them, it is difficult to believe you are still within the European Union.

The coastline is no less considered. Black volcanic rock meets the Atlantic with a particular kind of drama — not the gentle drama of the Mediterranean, but something rawer and more northern, despite the latitude. The light in late afternoon is extraordinary.

From the UK, São Miguel is straightforward. SATA Azores Airlines operates direct flights from London Gatwick, with journey times of just over two hours. Ryanair also serves the route seasonally from several UK airports, making it one of the more accessible Atlantic island escapes available right now.

For those willing to connect through Lisbon, TAP Air Portugal offers reliable onward service and the layover is rarely long enough to be inconvenient — though rarely short enough to resist a pastel de nata in the terminal.

Flights from London typically range from £80 to £250 return depending on season and how far ahead you book. May through September represents peak season; those who travel in late April or early October will find both quieter islands and more considered pricing.

The property that earns its place on São Miguel is Furnas Boutique Hotel Thermal & Spa, set directly above the geothermal valley in the east of the island. The rooms are calm and well-considered, the spa draws from the island's natural thermal waters, and the restaurant serves cozido das Furnas — a slow-cooked stew prepared underground using volcanic heat, which sounds theatrical and tastes remarkable.

For those who prefer to be closer to the island's main town, Ponta Delgada has several well-positioned properties within walking distance of the harbour. The city is compact, walkable, and quietly handsome — worth an evening at minimum.

Three things worth doing before anyone tells you to:

The whale watching. The waters around the Azores are among the most productive whale watching grounds in the world. Sperm whales are resident year-round; blue whales pass through in spring. This is not the sanitised version offered in busier destinations. Book with a smaller operator and go early.

Cozido das Furnas. The island's signature dish is slow-cooked for six hours in pots buried in the geothermal soil of the Furnas valley. It is collected each morning at around noon. Terra Nostra Garden Restaurant serves one of the better versions. Arrive without a reservation at your own risk.

The tea plantations. Chá Gorreana, in the north of the island, is the oldest tea plantation in Europe and one of the few still operating outside Asia. It is free to visit, entirely uncommericalised, and produces a green tea that tastes of the Atlantic air. Buy a box to take home.

The rental car is not optional. The island's best moments — the unmarked viewpoints, the empty thermal pools, the villages that do not appear in any guidebook — are only accessible by road. Hire one for the duration and drive without a fixed itinerary on at least one day. The island is small enough that getting lost is never a problem, and occasionally produces the best afternoon of the trip.

São Miguel rewards those who arrive without too many expectations and leave without quite enough time. The correct response is to book the return flight before the first one lands back at Heathrow.

We would like to know — is the Azores already on your list, or has this put it there? Reply and tell us where you are heading this summer. We read everything.

Until next Friday,
The Editor

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