Azores (Ponta Delgada)- Ship tour vs "on your own"

sailaway5- looking for suggestion for ponta delgado may I suggest you go to amazingtours.se, we used ricardo in may of 2006, from 9am to 5pm.

he gave the best and most reasonable of all the tours we had on our 14 day cruise, from the norwegian jewel. the email is ra@amazingtours.se

hope this helps

martin

We had an unpleasant experience with Ricardo of Amazing Tours in the Azores. I had booked him for a five hour tour for 6 people. When we got there, Ricardo had substituted some other tour guide for himself. Evidently he had taken out another group just a few minutes before us.

I had actually spoken to Ricardo on the telephone about 5 weeks before our arrival and specifically had booked him because of his fine reputation on Cruise Critic. Although the tour that we had was okay, it was far from "amazing." I felt that Ricardo was wrong in making the switch without consulting me. We hired him, not a substitute. Therefore I would suggest being very wary of any arrangement that you make with him for a tour. He is not reliable, will double book, and you cannot be sure that you will get the tour guide that you have hired. I did find out later on that the group that he took had a longer tour than the one we were supposed to have - I suspect he made his choice because of the money involved.

A PS to the story is that the substitute added an hour to the tour without consulting us, and spent a good part of the time on the telephone while he was driving us around.

We used Ricardo in May and he gave a great tour. Be specific when you book him that you want only him as your driver guide. ra@amazingtours.se

I have booked with Lisa Ringelberg basically because I wanted to go to the "copper pool" a thermal swimming pool. It is near the botanical garden and then we're going to lunch at a local place. Other than that I have left the rest of the tour up to her as she has the knowledge and experience. It should be a nice overview of the island and hopefully it won't be raining. ;)

 

Other must see is the coast, the pineapple plantation, the tea plantation and the thermal vents. Someone has mentioned that the 2 lakes are now both the same color due to nitrogen runoff from fertilizers. Its a small place and should be very interesting to explore. Have a great trip!

How was your tour with Lisa? We have been looking at a tour with her. How many were in your van? There are six of us and she has suggested we join another group of eight in a larger van. We are afraid it might be crowded.

How was your tour with Lisa? We have been looking at a tour with her. How many were in your van? There are six of us and she has suggested we join another group of eight in a larger van. We are afraid it might be crowded.

Somewhere (probably in another post) I mentioned that our tour never took place as our port call in Ponta Delgada was cancelled due to weather. :( I was very disappointed.

HOWEVER, I did keep in contact with Lisa for a while afterwards and she did mention that now many ships are docking there she was getting busy. When I booked with her, the terms for the minivan were 5 passengers max (for one van) as she needed a seat and she used a driver. We actually had enough people from our roll call to fill two minivans. I am sorry I can't help you further as we never experienced the minivan. I don't know what type of bus she means as 'larger' unless it is more like those hotel shuttle things we have around here that will seat about 20.

My understanding of Ponta Delgado is that it is one of those ports that ships frequently miss - because of weather. Certainly, this is what happened to us on Arcadia in January this year.

Barry

you can hire a cab outside the pier and it is very cheap compared to a ship tour.

A guide who was very highly recommended to me is Pedro Ferreira (pedro@azores-tours.com). I had a tour all arranged with him for our stop last week in Ponta Delgada on the Eclipse TA, but we never made it there because of storms in the Atlantic. But all through the months that Pedro and I emailed, he was helpful, reasonable, and professional. if you contact him, tell him Claire says hi!

We took 2 full day tours with Elvis, owner of Green Zone Jeep tours. He drove us one day, his wife the other. We saw the twin lakes, tea plantation, pineapple plantation, Furnas, etc. Terrific lunches included both days. I would book with him again any time!

We had a great time in Ponte Delgada on our own. The Lagarta (the Lizard) is a tourist tram with tours of the city. We took both the Garden, and Historic tours. It is also fun to wander the streets, compare the different stone patterns, and admire the architecture. Each street has a different pattern.

Vicki

We are two couples on this cruise. We were wondering if you had any specific recommendations as to must see sights? Arlene

We are two couples on this cruise. We were wondering if you had any specific recommendations as to must see sights? Arlene

I actually recommend getting out of Ponta Delgada and seeing a little bit of the island. If there is a paradise on this earth, this Island is a strong contender for it!

We used Ricardo as a tour guide in 2006 and we had the most amazing day.

Here are 2 of the literally 100's of pics I took that day to give you an idea as to the beauty and natural lifestyles on the Island.

We were on the Nieuw Amsterdam trans Atlantic cruise which stopped at Sao Miguel (Punta Delgado) on April 10, 2012. We checked out tour guides and we were very pleased with Festitour. Festitour is a one man operation with a seven passenger van guided by Antonio Cabral. We did a custom tour of the island based upon Antonio's suggestions. We invited two other couples to join us and the price per person was only 30 Euros for the entire day. We toured a ceramics factory, a licquer manufacturer with samples, a tea plantation, the wonderful volcanic area of the Furnas and many other wonderful sights. Antonio will take you wherever you want to go as long as there is time and the weather cooperates. He even made us cheese sandwiches for a picnic lunch with fruit juice and bottled water. The ship's tour cost twice as much and can not be customized. Antonio is really wonderful to work with via email. His email is geral@festitour.net

I Live in Ponta Delgada and I'm also a traveler.

In Ponta Delgada it is only a 10 minutes safe walk to the town center. Is a nice and beautiful safe walk.

Nice People living here, no crime, or problems, visitors are respected and allways welcome.

It's easy find people speaking english here.

The official site from Azores tourism:

Visit Azores

Things to do in Ponta Delgada

Hi,

We have been in Ponta Delgada Azores with Celebrity Eclipse in Oct 2 of 2012, and our option is our own free tour follwing this option Things to do in Ponta Delgada - we have spended 5 hours in a nice walk, with time for a nice downtown lunch and coffe break. Nice and beautif city and people.:)

Beautiful photos of the Azores and many other places!

I just returned from a trans-Atlantic cruise which included a stop in the Azores. I wish to highly recommend Gary Travassos tour from Ponta Delgata. Gary is extremely accomodating and professional. The tour is less expensive and more personal than one offered by the ship. We could not have been more pleased.

we were there in october....and had gary as our tour guide...2 vans, the other one was with his father...

we had a wonderful day...he is very friendly and helpful....

do not hesitate to book with him....

even though the weather was not the greatest....this place really is paradise....

We will stop at the Azores Island (Ponta Delgada), Portuagal on our upcoming cruise. Looking for any suggestions on visiting this port.

Hired a taxi at the port (with another couple) for an extensive tour.

We recently returned from Ponta Delgada, Azores and we used a private tour company, Amazing Tours. Our tour guide was Ricardo Amorim and he was fantastic. There was 8 in our group and the van was clean, roomy and up to date. He was waiting for us as we disembarked our cruise ship, Celebirty Eclipse. He showed us everything he promised in our email and his pricing was very fair compared to the ship's charges. We were able to take our time and he was very patient and had a great sense of humor that kept us laughing as we viewed the beauty of the island. He did not rush us and he had us back to the ship in plenty of time for our departure.

We would highly recommend Amazing Tours and will certainly use only them when we are there in the future.

If you have any questions, you can contact me directly at optifire173 at comcast dot net

We returned on 11/17 to the U.S. aboard the Grand Princess. I arranged a private tour for 15 people (2 vans) with Lisa Ringelberg. I had read about her on Cruise Critic threads and I am so glad to have found her. Our tour included visits to Sete Cidades, Lagoa do Fogo and Caldeira Velha to name a few places. The highlight of our tour was a "farm lunch" of local Portugese food. It was prepared by a delightful couple and we ate in their dining room. I believe Lisa is the only person who does this type of thing for tourists. Everything about the tour was wonderful and Lisa's love of the island is very evident in her narrations and answers to questions.

While I don't know what the ship's tours might have been like, I find it hard to believe anything could have come close ot our private tour.

We returned on 11/17 to the U.S. aboard the Grand Princess. I arranged a private tour for 15 people (2 vans) with Lisa Ringelberg. I had read about her on Cruise Critic threads and I am so glad to have found her. Our tour included visits to Sete Cidades, Lagoa do Fogo and Caldeira Velha to name a few places. The highlight of our tour was a "farm lunch" of local Portugese food. It was prepared by a delightful couple and we ate in their dining room. I believe Lisa is the only person who does this type of thing for tourists. Everything about the tour was wonderful and Lisa's love of the island is very evident in her narrations and answers to questions.

 

While I don't know what the ship's tours might have been like, I find it hard to believe anything could have come close ot our private tour.

Do you have a link to Lisa Ringelberg's website. How much pp was her tour and how many hours? Thanks

Do you have a link to Lisa Ringelberg's website. How much pp was her tour and how many hours? Thanks

I only have her email, but she is really good at answering questions. If you would like her contact information please email me, DotsLunch at gmail c0m

We were in the Azores on a TransAtlantic Cruise in April on RCL's Voyager. Although we don't usually take ship excursions, we did do the excursion to Furnas Lake and the Walk around the lake. The Furnas Lake area is interesting as the area has all this boiling mud and boiling water coming up from underground. The best part was the bus ride there and back is probably 1.5 hours each way so we got to see alot of the island and countryside and it is so pretty there and we went through several very small towns.

 

If you want to see my pictures of our day in the Azores, please check the following link:

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/MartyReep

Thanks for sharing the links to your pictures. Quite useful (despite that it's almost five years since your original post in 2008) since we are planning on stopping in Ponta Delgada. Even the official tourism sites don't have pictures that show the beauty of driving around the island.

:-)

We will be in Ponta Delgada in May. We thinking of hire a taxi or rent a car. Rental car cost I know but don't know what a cab will cost us. Maybe you can help. Thank you

I will be visiting Ponta Delgada next month & am looking for advice. After 5 days at sea I will definitely be wanting to get off & stretch my legs & see some of the island, however my travelling companion has MS & cannot walk very far. Can anyone recommend a tour that has limited walking - I know we could take a taxi for a drive around but we would prefer a coach as it's higher. Also can anyone tell me if tours are available on the dockside?

I will be visiting Ponta Delgada next month & am looking for advice. After 5 days at sea I will definitely be wanting to get off & stretch my legs & see some of the island, however my travelling companion has MS & cannot walk very far. Can anyone recommend a tour that has limited walking - I know we could take a taxi for a drive around but we would prefer a coach as it's higher. Also can anyone tell me if tours are available on the dockside?

Hi -- we have now been to the Azores twice since I originally started this thread in 2008.

The first time we took a ship tour to the "twin or crater lakes" (one blue = one green). It was a clear day and the views were beautiful. The drive to the countryside was impressive. Also stopped at a small village and stopped at a hotel on the way back for wine & cheese. We chose to walk back to the ship after walking around town. Otherwise, not too much walking on this tour.

Last October, 2014, we again had a stop in the Azores while on our transatlantic. We again opted for a ship tour again. We toured the countryside, stopped at botanical gardens (beautiful, but a lot of walking here), and then to a village where the steaming mud pots are. The drive thru the countryside is pleasant and good views from the coach. My DH loved both of these tours.

We are going on another transatlantic in October, 2015. We will stop at the Azores again. This time we will return to the twin lakes or crater lakes (great photo opportunity here if the weather cooperates), and a pineapple plantation and another garden. This is also a ship's tour.

I am sure these options are also available by private tour. You mentioned you preferred the bus. We prefer to sit at the back of the bus as there is more room (empty seats) and we could switch from side to side to take photos for wherever the great views were!

Hope this helps. We really enjoyed the beauty of this port.

Have fun planning.

Cheers,

Carol