Portuguese Azores provides pristine paradise

There is a special mistthat rolls into the valleys of São Miguel Island. With thousands of years of volcanic activity, the island is just one of the nine arresting islands of the Portuguese Azores. And so, paradise isn’t gilded with fancy hotels, or over the top spas and is never strewn with people. Paradise is actually totally remote, yet to be discovered; and it’s calling.

In the middle of the Atlantic Ocean – sort of midway between Europe and North America – is where the Azores has been hiding from the world. With far fewer tourists than mainland Portugal and its popular island Madeira, this is a little slice of Europe tucked away just for your discovery – with the same culture, incredible food, friendly people, but all on a smaller scale.

The Azores has mystical green lush lands with colossal volcanic craters now re-imagined as lakes, all with a subtropical climate. This is a paradise like no other – the hot springs ease steam, blue hydrangeas bloom all year and there are more cows than humans. Henry the Navigator was the first European to stake his claim on the islands around 1439 – and Portugal has held on to it for most of its modern existence. And it’s evident why.

In recent years the islands have become more developed, with the capital Ponta Delgada receiving the most love. Last year, a few grand design hotels opened – such as Azor Hotel right downtown and Furnas Boutique Hotel and Spa in the thermal activity area. But as Luis Nunes, an Azorean entrepreneur who started Azores Getaways, will tell you – the best way to explore these islands is from an elegant yacht.

“The finest way to explore these beautiful islands is to book a Dufour yacht – disconnect from the everyday world and hop from island to island,” Nunes says. He recommends doing four enchanting islands in one swoop – Terceira, São Jorge, Pico and Faial – all surrounded by natural beauty and one sporting the only coffee plantation in all of Europe. “The islands are perfect for the traveller keen on something a little different, off the usual track of travel – and, of course, the coffee aficionados will now have their own little hush-hush place to discover,” Nunes says. “I believe the Azores will never be a mass tourism destination, because the locals don’t want that for our islands.”

Once on the yacht, the beauty is yours to coddle. As you hop from island to island, swim in the crystal clear waters, a smiling dolphin or whale will pass by you. Pico Island is where the Pico Volcano stands tall, and the landscape of the Pico Island vineyard culture is Unesco protected.