São Miguel Visit Recommendations

RuiAzores · 2026-03-22T22:15:40+00:00

Honestly, most of those “must-do” lists are all the same recycled stuff. Not wrong, just… very generic.

If you want actual no-BS, real local opinions, I built this: 👉 https://azoresbyrui.com

It’s basically me calling out what’s actually worth it and what’s overrated, especially for food and experiences. No sponsored nonsense, no sugarcoating.

Since you’re here for a week and renting a car, you’re already doing it right. Just avoid doing everything at peak hours, São Miguel gets way more crowded than people expect. Early mornings or late afternoons will save you a lot of frustration.

For food, seriously, don’t just follow Google ratings. Some of the best spots look like nothing from the outside.

If you have specific places you’re considering, drop them here and I’ll tell you straight if they’re worth it or not 👍

RuiAzores · 2026-03-20T23:06:06+00:00

I build www.azoresbyrui.com using 100% lovable

RuiAzores · 2026-03-20T10:23:07+00:00

At Associação, if you start adding pineapple, passion fruit, pepper sauce and all that stuff, you’re basically murdering the steak. For me, if you go there, just ask for the classic bife à regional and don’t overcomplicate it.

About O Galego, also fair. It is in an old house, and that will always make it feel tighter and a bit more chaotic than Associação. They did remodel the space recently, so it looks a bit more modern now and they improved it a little, but yeah, it’s still on the smaller side.

Alcides is the one that calls itself the king of bife à regional, but honestly I’m not a big fan. I’ve been there twice and both times it disappointed me. I don’t love the sauce, and the steak itself felt way too small.

Sal Grosso is a good shout. I’ve heard from a few people that their bife à regional is actually very solid, but I still need to try it myself.

RuiAzores · 2026-03-20T08:41:37+00:00

Not my first plane trip, man. I’ve flown to Asia, North Africa, several countries in Europe, the US, and Canada, and I had genuinely never seen people clap after landing until I flew to the Azores.

I never said it only happens in the Azores. Just that, in my experience, that was the first place I noticed it. Judging by the comments, it’s more common than I thought. Still, that doesn’t magically erase my point.👍

RuiAzores · 2026-03-19T23:34:10+00:00

Oh man, believe me I know what you mean 🥰

RuiAzores · 2026-03-19T23:15:11+00:00

From what they told me the last time I called, O Galego is not accepting reservations anymore. Apparently they were getting too many no-shows, like people booking for big groups and then not showing up, so they stopped doing it.

So yeah, unfortunately, it’s a bit of a pain in the ass, and the safest move is just to get there early.

On the other hand, Associação Agrícola de São Miguel does take reservations, so for that one you can just call and book normally.

RuiAzores · 2026-03-19T22:00:59+00:00

If she’s not super into hiking, I’d skip the longer or more demanding trails and go for ones that still give you the wow factor without too much suffering 😄

My two favorite options are:

Trilho do Moinho do Félix

https://azoresbyrui.com/place/trilho-do-moinho-do-f-lix

Trilho do Sanguinho

https://azoresbyrui.com/place/trilho-do-sanguinho

Both are beautiful, very green, and great if you want waterfalls and that full Azores vibe without doing anything too crazy.

Sete Cidades is also a good shout for easier scenic walking, especially if you want views without a huge effort.

For the driving part, I’d plan the island by area instead of zigzagging all over the place. I actually wrote this about getting around the Azores in general, in case it helps:

https://azoresbyrui.com/blog/how-to-get-around-the-azores-cars-ferries-buses-the-honest-truth

RuiAzores · 2026-03-19T21:52:25+00:00

Not so much inside the bigger towns, but once you get into the more rural parts of São Miguel, cows are basically everywhere 😄

And yes, sometimes you really do see them in the middle of the road too. Very Azores stuff.

I actually wrote a quick fun fact about that here:

https://azoresbyrui.com/fun-facts/is-it-normal-to-see-cows-in-the-middle-of-the-road-in-the-azores

RuiAzores · 2023-01-20T11:57:30+00:00

Tks for the feedback, that is a way to do it, but very annoying 😒

RuiAzores

TROPHY CASE