Private full day Faial, life on the island

The parish Praia do Almoxarife is best known for its long beach with black sand. It used to be the first beachhead of the early settlers, nowadays a popular place to go to the beach in the summer.

The parish of Salão on the north coast of Faial is one of the places in Europe having the cleanest air, definitely an argument to visit Salão. Until the end of the whaling industry in the 1980’s, the small port of Salão was one of the launching sites of the small rowing boats with which the whales were hunted.

The Fajã da Praia do Norte is a headland created by the lava of the eruption of the Cabeço do Fogo volcano in 1672. Nowadays it is a quiet spot with adegas, old agricultural buildings, summer houses and beautiful small gardens.

The volcano of Capelinhos located at the western tip of Faial is a living witness of active volcanism in the Azores. It is the result of an eruption which lasted from September 1957 until October 1958, it was the latest terrestrial eruption in the Azores.

Varadouro is a small coastal resort, in the old days it used to be the summer resort of the wealthy families of Horta who spent their summer holiday there. Nowadays it is a residential area with some very popular natural swimming pools.

The climate of Faial is subtropical, on the south coast there are numerous banana plantations. Learn about the cycle of the banana plants and about organic farming.