Inter Island Azores Ferry | Ferries in the Azores

When planning my trip to the Azores I knew I wanted to do some exploring between some of the islands. As you would imagine one of the main modes of transportation between the islands of the Azores is by ferry.

While flying is your go to option for longer routes, ferries are the way to go when going in between nearby islands.

This guide will go over a bunch of different information you will need to know when it comes to Azores ferries and help answer any questions you may have along the way.

* Affiliate Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you make a purchase through the links provided, at no additional cost to you. Thanks for supporting the work I put into TripTins!

1) Introduction to Ferries in the Azores

Ferries will be your go to transportation option when island hopping in the Azores.

There is one ferry company that runs throughout the entire archipelago called Atlanticoline, and it will become your best bet as you make your way from one island to the next.

Overall, ferries in the Azores are not too hard to figure out, however I wanted to put together this guide as an overview of what to know beforehand to better prepare you for your trip.

The 2023 schedules and routes are different from previous years so please read through to get an updated view of what is offering this upcoming year.

If you did not know already, the Azores Islands are actually made of 9 different islands located in three main island groups – the eastern, central and western islands.

For the most part, I assume you will be more so interested in ferries within island groups themselves (i.e. Pico to Faial or Flores to Corvo). This guide will be going over these routes in particular.

It should be noted that in the past you could go from one island group to the next, although those ferries would be very long and less frequent (however, as of 2023 this does not seem to be the anymore).

2) Atlanticoline Lines

As the only ferry company is the Azores, Atlanticoline will provide all the boat transportation needed while on your trip.  

As a starting point, here is the Atlanticoline website which I will reference to throughout the article.

Below is a map for the Central island group to give you an idea of the ferry lines (includes all but the Pink line).

» As of now, it does not look like there are ferries between the island groups (ex: Sao Miguel to Pico, or Faial to Flores). Be sure to check out Atlanticoline for the latest.

Blue Line

The Blue line operates just between the islands of Faial (Horta) and Pico (Madalena). It is a quick 30-minute ride and you will find multiple routes in either direction per day.

Green Line

The Green line also operates between Faial and Pico but also adds in the island of Sao Jorge (Velas), as well as a second port on Pico (Sao Roque).

Pink Line

Similar to the Blue line, the Pink line only goes between two islands – Flores (Santa Cruz) and Corvo (Vila Do Corvo).

Purple Line

The purple line is a seasonal line that runs from June 1 to September 30 on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The route goes between Faial (Horta), Pico (Madalena), Sao Jorge (Calheta), and Terceira (Praia Da Vitoria).

White Line

The white line is also a seasonal line that runs from June 1 to September 30 on Mondays and Fridays. The route goes between Faial (Horta), Pico (Sao Roque), Sao Jorge (Velas), Graciosa, and Terceira (Praia Da Vitoria).

Orange Line

The orange line is a new seasonal line that runs from June 16 to September 17 on certain days of the week. The route goes between Sao Roque (Pico) and Velas (Sao Jorge)

Looking to plan your itinerary to the Azores? Check out some top travel guides:

• 10 Day Azores Itinerary
• 5 Day Sao Miguel Itinerary
• What To Do on Faial
• A Guide to Pico Island
• Hiking Sao Jorge
• And Plenty More Azores Guides!

3) Azores Ferry Atlanticoline Schedule

Before jumping into the schedule I wanted to point out a very important note. Depending on where you are going and coming from, the ferry schedule is not the same on a day to day basis.

Some days, there are routes that do not run at all. This is even more so the case during the offseason / winter months where ferries become more and more infrequent.

So, if you are planning a trip, before determining what day you will be making your way to the next island, you will have to make sure there will be a ferry to take you there.

Do not make the mistake to just assume there will be a ferry every day.

With that said, here is the link for the six different line schedules that I had mentioned above – the blue, green, pink, purple, white, and orange lines.

The below screenshots do not represent what you will see year round. Rather these are for peak season between June and September!

Please use the link to see the full year 2023 ferry schedules for each of the 6 lines.

A) Blue Line

Lets start with the blue line. As mentioned it simply is just a 30 minute ride between Madalena (Pico) and Horta (Faial).

In the summer time for instance, this ferry has ~6 rides in each direction starting in the morning and ending in the evening time.

Below is the schedule from July to September. For the other times of year click on that link above!

B) Green Line

The green line gets a bit more complicated as it adds in Velas (Sao Jorge) and Sao Roque (Pico).

As you can see on the schedule below (in this screenshot it is for July to September), each day of the week will have a different schedule.

C) Pink Line

Moving onto the pink line you can simply see the schedule between Corvo (Vila Do Corvo) and Flores (Santa Cruz), which runs twice a day in both directions.

While the below is the June-August schedule, it does run at other times of year too.

D) Purple Line

The purple line only runs from June 1 to September 30 on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The route goes between Faial (Horta), Pico (Madalena), Sao Jorge (Calheta), and Terceira (Praia Vitoria).

There is only one boat leaving in each direction for those two days of the week.

E) White Line

The white line only from June 1 to September 30 on Mondays and Fridays. The route goes between Faial (Horta), Pico (Sao Roque), Sao Jorge (Velas), Graciosa, and Terceira (Praia Vitoria).

There is only one boat leaving in each direction for those two days of the week.

F) Orange Line

The orange line only from June 16 to September 17 on certain days of the week. The route goes between Pico (Sao Roque) and Sao Jorge (Velas).

Azores Hotels: If you need help choosing where to stay, check out this overview about the top hotels in the Azores

4) Buying Azores Ferry Tickets

Purchasing ferry tickets can be done in a couple different ways.

Your first option is to make your way to the ferry terminal beforehand (either day of or prior to your departure day) and buy tickets directly from the ticket counter.

If you do buy tickets day of I would recommend arriving there a bit earlier in case there is a longer line.

If taking a day trip, I would also recommend to purchase your return tickets at the same time (if you know which ferry you want to take back) as it is one less thing to worry about at the end of the day.

The second way to purchase tickets is through the Atlanticoline website or the Atlanticoline app.

On the top of the homepage there is an option to put in your trip details and you will be shown which trip options are available for the day selected.

When you search for the particular date, you will also be shown the 4 day window of routes. So if a route is not available on a certain day, this is a good visual to show you what your other options are close to your dates.

Simply follow the on screen prompts to buy the tickets and make sure to print them out beforehand. If you do not want to leave anything to last minute then you should go with this option.

5) Azores Ferry Prices

Here is a price list of all the different Azores ferry routes available. You can see both the one way and round trip prices indicated by the arrows. Note the prices are in Euro for Adult tickets.

6) Bringing Cars on Ferries

This part of the guide is not not something I had firsthand experience with and is just based on my research. 

It is possible on some (but not all) ferries to bring your car on board.

I counted about 8 or so spots available when I was taking ferries with vehicles on them on the Green and Blue lines.

If you do want to take your car onto the ferry you should book that ticket ahead of time due to the small amount of availability per boat.

Using the same booking process as above, you will have the option to add a car to your ticket for an additional charge.

When looking at the schedule just note that not each ferry will be able to take cars.

From my understanding if it is a Gilberto Mariano (GM) or Mestre Jaime Feijo (MJF) boat, you will be able to bring a car on board (CC/CI boats do not allow vehicle transport). You should see the ship name next to the route on the different schedules.

If you have rented a car on one island and want to bring it to another by ferry, I have been told you must contact your car rental company beforehand and ask them if that is allowed.

I am not sure if there is an additional fee or just approval required, but do ask your car rental company instead of just assuming you can bring it to another island.

7) Atlanticoline Ferries

Lastly, I want to quickly go over the boats that you will be riding between the islands. There were four different types of ferries that I rode/saw during my time there.

» The first which was most common had three stories with both indoor and outdoor sections. The ground level had the car parking and luggage storage as well as what looked like an indoor section.

The second level had some outdoor and indoor seating along with bathrooms and a small food/beverage bar. The third level was outdoors but was covered in some sections as well.

» The second type of ferry just had two levels without car space and was one of the boats for the shorter route between Pico and Faial.

» The third ferry, which I did not ride is seen in the third picture below. I believe these are the boats that used to go the longer distances between island groups (not in service for 2023).

» The fourth ferry would just be the one between Flores and Corvo – more so a small boat than a ferry, which holds about 12 passengers.

One thing I did not realize beforehand is that the ferry terminal actually has a baggage check for larger pieces of luggage.

So instead of lugging it with you onto the ferry and finding room for it, simply drop it off at the check in counter and it will be waiting for you on the conveyor belt inside of the arrival terminal.

For the most part everything ran on time give or take 10 minutes. The ferries were pretty comfortable and also had free WIFI onboard which was very convenient.

Once the ferry docked at the arriving terminal, first the cars are let out followed by the passengers. Everything is a smooth process from beginning to end.

8) Where to Stay in the Azores

Since the Azores are made of of 9 different islands and I did not visit / stay at a hotel in each one, I will just give some insight on what I do know and some recommendations for accommodation.

There are two main ways to go here – either browse through Booking.com to find the best hotel that fits your budget and style or check out Airbnb which might have more options.

Sao Miguel

There are a few main towns around the island but if you are looking for the most happening spot that would be in Ponta Delgada.

There are way more accommodation and restaurant options here than any other location on the island.

If you want to get a little further away you can also check out the town of Furnas, which is home to several natural hot springs. Here are some hotel recommendations for each:

Ponta Delgada

• Hotel Marina Atlantico
• VIP Executive Azores Hotel
• Octant Ponta Delgada
• Azoris Royal Garden 

Furnas

• Terra Nostra Garden Hotel
• Octant Furnas

Pico

I would recommend staying right around Madalena (especially if you do not have a car), or Sao Roque on the northern end of the island.

• Calma do Mar
• Jeiroes Do Mar

Sao Jorge

Velas is the main town in Sao Jorge but I did not have enough time to stay on the island. Here are a couple highly rated spots though:

• Hotel Sao Jorge Garden
• Cantinho do Piano

Faial

Staying in Horta is sure to be a good time. It has a great marina area surrounding by shops and restaurants throughout.

• Hotel do Canal
• Azoris Faial Garden Resort Hotel

For the remainder of the islands, below would be some top rated options to choose from:

• Santa Maria: Charming Blue | Casa dos Valentes
• Graciosa: Moniz House | INATEL Graciosa
• Terceira: Azoris Angra Garden | Atlantida Mar Hotel
• Flores: Casas da Quinta | Aldeia da Cuada
• Corvo: Joe & Vera’s Vintage | Hotel Comodoro

Although ferries in the Azores are pretty simple to figure out, I hope this guide has given you some more insight into the process and what to expect as you take your trip to the Azores.

If you do have any questions or comments write them in below.

Feel free to also check out some other Azores itineraries and guides up on the site!

Sharing is caring!