Our travel agent had prebooked us 2 days of tours with Futurismo, and I must say we were pretty…read moreimpressed. Day 1 - Half Day Whale and Dolphin Watching on the Zodiac, followed by a Half Day City Walking Tour. Day 2 - Full Day Jeep Tour to Sete Cidades and Lagoa do Fogo. First day meant a short walk down to their main office as the Whale Tour left from there. After getting our tickets and figuring out which boat we were on we watched a short video and got some basic instructions. The boat was small, and the chairs were tight, but I think by the end we appreciated how much better this small boat was, as we were able to get pretty close, and zoom around when a whale surface was reported. The City Tour was pretty good as well. Our guide Hugo was able to customize the tour to our liking, which meant stopping in at the brewery for some beers, and definitely came alive in the botanical gardens when explaining some of the plant life. The All Day Jeep Tour was fantastic. The weather wasn't really working with us this day to see all of the good views, but the jeep is a must as we definitely went down some really treacherous terrain. Our stop for lunch was excellent, and Paulo kept the day interesting and fun.

I booked my tours with Futurismo through Yazores and had a fantastic time on Sao Miguel! Every day,…read morea jeep or van came by to pick up at the hotel and we headed to one of each of the pre-planned hiking tours. These include Sete Cidades, Furnas, Faial da Terra, Lagoa do Fogo, and whale watching. Each hiking trip took almost a whole day, starting with 9:00am pickup and usually 3:00pm drop off. Lunch was provided and usually consisted of 2 sandwiches (tuna or chicken), an apple, a bottle of water, a fruit juice, and a dessert. The day hikes didn't end when the hike ended either. There were usually visits to neighboring small towns before and/or after. It was quite a relaxed experience. Spending a week on Sao Miguel, I felt like I saw most of the island. The tour guides were very friendly and spoke English, Portuguese, and German. Whale watching lasts 3 hours and you're only provided transportation to the dock. You may try to request a trip to a specific location, but unless there are 2 people interested, they will not go. For example, one of the tourists wanted to go to Nordeste, but he was the only one and couldn't go. Note: tour guides do not accept tips.

I struggled a bit for the proper way to sum this experience up:…read more -teeth-rattlingly rough in calm seas -like a two-hour trip on a bucking bronco -take 6 Advil and call me in the morning -not for people over 35-adrenaline junkies only -least favorite whale watching trip -like sitting in a middle seat on an international plane trip -root canals are more pleasant -would tell my friends to "skip this" So let me explain: we've been of "whale watching" trips all over the globe from Boston to Hawaii, Alaska to Tahiti -it's something we seek out so when I heard the azores is home to lots of whales and dolphins it sounded like a "must do" for us. In my book, Any whale watching trip has three key parts (1) do you see whales? -often up to Mother Nature (2) quality of the crew-do they add to the experience? And (3) boat/craft/accommodations-is it comfortable and pleasant? So how did they do? (1)-5 stars: right away we saw a huge school of spotted dolphins feeding with birds in a frenzy-super cool. Near the very end of our excursion, over 2 HOURS LATER- we encountered a pod of sperm whales including a juvenile-a bit hard to see and they were always only on left side but a true once in a lifetime thing. (2) as for our naturalist Katarina and our skipper, let's call him Mario--mixed-2 stars . K did a good job talking about species while skipper drove the boat as if he was trying to bounce us all out-we endured over an hour of jarring slamming despite the relatively calm seas. I was seated near the middle of the boat and to be fair they stress it's less violent in the back but even given that, a young lady one row from the veryback got sick due to the violent bouncing -again in relatively calm seas with average swells. -2 stars is generous (3) experience-maybe it's my own fault and I should have done more research-ALL MY PRIOR WHALE WATCHING were on catamarans, cruiser and even an 8-person zodiac. This boat while in the style of a large inflatable was configured more like Ryan air but with even less personal space and held around 30 people. There were three rows of 2 forward facing bench seats followed by around 6-8 rows of single "seats" actually more like padded benches that you straddle -had the same feeling as a wide bicycle seat or a horse saddle. Passengers are nested one behind another with maybe 12-15" from my face to the back of the head of the guy in front of me. In the back was one bench seat for 5. Now imagine spending 3HOURS IN A MIDDLE SEAT bouncing across the waves-ZERO STARS-absolutely horrible. Bottom line: knowing what I know now, and even with 100% chance of seeing another pod of Sperm whales, I just would not go. It was physically just to uncomfortable and I had to cancel other planned activities in the Azores as a direct result of this "experience" I can't recommend this to anyone outside 20-35 age group.

We've been on whale watching trips in other parts of the world and overall we think this experience…read morewas well organized and the staff was professional and nice, however unfortunately there was not much whale watching to be done. I guess in part one can say nature can't be predicted or controlled, however even with the people supposedly assisting to locate the whales there was very little to be seen. Also the boats are small and therefore can go fast which means the ride tends to be bumpy so ride at your own risk. If you get seasick easily then either medicate before going on the trip or avoid it altogether.

We were met precisely on time by Sergio G. Nice clean car!! Sergio knows the island very well, all…read morethe short cuts, has a great personality, and the history of the island. Weather is ever changing so dress accordingly (somehow Sergio got us to our locations when the clouds cleared!) The company reserved us a spot at a very popular lunch spot/buffet! Lunch was spot on!! All in all, if you want to see a good portion of the island, in a comfortable car, and feel safe,you can't go wrong with Green Azore Tours! If you get Sergio, even better!! A must for first time visit to Ponta DelGado!!

Our tour with Greenzone was EASY, BEAUTIFUL, and so MEMORABLE! We had a large group of 12 people…read moreand they easily accommodated us in a caravan, being on an international trip was stressful with such a large group but they helped us with recommendations for more than just this tour. Highly recommend!!

We booked the East Side of the Island tour with www.pureazores.com. Our tour guide Fernando was…read moreawesome!!! Picked us up early, introduced the group to everyone. He was so knowledgable about the island and there was never a time when the tour bus was silent. If planning a trip to Sao Miguel, Azores Island I strongly recommend the full day East Side and West Side tour. With the full days lunch is included. On the East tour we stopped at Furnas for a traditional Portuguese stew cooked in the ground, delicious!!!! My regret was that we did not book the West Side tour with Pure Azores Tours,

The saying "you get what you pay for" is not true in the way it is usually meant. You get MUCH more…read morevalue than you pay for. Wonderful tours of nine hours or so, guides are excellent, especially Tiago, - he put his whole heart into it- we saw amazing sights we never could have seen ourselves, responsive with emails, good driving on difficult roads of turns and twists and narrow areas, Ricardo drove very well, Tiago was attentive every minute to each person and with vast info he researches and goes the extra with diligence. There are many tour companies. This one is newer, less money and besides amazing sights, it includes lunch, etc!!! We went to see the East and West sides of Sao Miguel.

My husband and I did a quick island hope from Terceria to San Miguel. We were only in San Miguel…read morefor a short time and wanted to see as much as we could while there, so we hired SeaZores to tour us. It was a great decision. Sergio was our guide's name and he is phenomal! He is a local full of knowledge. He took us to most worthy sites the beautiful island has to offer. We only wish we had another day to spend with Sergio @ Seazores. The tour was super comfortable in a nice truck. It included an amazing lunch loaded with all the traditional dishes & portuguese foods in a buffet style. We enjoyed conversing with Sergio over the great meal, his island wisdom made the tour so much more than sightseeing alone. The tour service was reserved online and provided prompt & secure service with Our guide waiting for us in the Hotel lobby & providing verbal confirmation the night before. From the breath taking views, to the warm hot springs water, to the cow traffic moo-ving along, the divine meal, the knowledge & friendly service this tour was a worth every bit.

From the owner: azores shore excursions, safari 4wd tours and sport fishingread more

We stayed at the Azor and this walkable shop had very modern and affordable gifts. It was…read morerelatively small and compact and their offerings can not be found elsewhere. We purchased some cool decorative pineapples, some jewelers and other cool pieces for short money. Happy shopping and don't forget the mall has a second floor .

Pedro provided a great full day private tour to my wife and I. Very knowledgeable. Saw the…read moreentire island, one end to the other. Saw beautiful nature locations and interesting small villages. Highly recommend.

We had such an amazing time on our tour! We were able to be picked up directly from our…read moreaccommodations in Vila Franca. Carlos brought his wealth of knowledge of the island to ensure we had a great time. It always seemed like we were the first ones to arrive at all of the viewpoints to avoid the crowds that came after us. The two day tour is great, you get to see all of the major sites on the island. And when the weather didn't cooperate, Carlos made the day sunny with his personality. I definitely would recommend these tours!