Ponta Delgada is the largest city and administrative capital of the Autonomous Region of the Azores in Portugal. Located on Sao Miguel Island, its population is about 69,000. Founded in the 15th century, its scale is small and intimate. Here we stayed in a very nice hostel, which was an experiment for us. It’s a little weird sharing a bathroom, but this place had just four rooms, and two baths, with nice living rooms, a great kitchen, and a patio, all for $30 a night. It’s a reminder that the Azores can be done on a relatively modest budget. Groceries and restaurants were less expensive than anywhere I’ve ever been. The only surprisingly expensive thing in the budget was car rental. Very basic, manual economy cars were $60-80 per day. Our room in Ponta Delgada was at 33 Hostel, booked on AirBnB, like all other accommodations on the trip…
While choices were a bit limited elsewhere in our travels, we had three great meals in Ponta Delgada. Two were reserved in advance (a must to get a table in the nicer places at night, even off season), and both were great — Rotas da Ilha Verde, a wonderful little vegetarian place (very homey, with great service and delicious, creative veggie fare), and Reserva Wine and Tapas, an intimate wine cellar. On our last day, after packing up, we stumbled on A Tasca, and it was one of our favorites of the trip. We had the most entertaining waiter, who insisted we try limpets before departing the Azores! And there was a chamber ensemble practicing upstairs, and filling this charming restaurant with beautiful music, first classic pieces and then lovely Portuguese folk music. All three restaurants were off the beaten track a bit, and Reserva and A Tasca had completely discreet, non-descript entrances, but were lovely inside. It would be easy to miss these spots if you don’t know where you are headed. While we got lucky with A Tasca by arriving for lunch at 11:30. It was packed with a long wait by the time we left at 1pm. You can eat marvelously in the Azores, but it takes a bit of planning and/or luck.
