Islands are always something different, something magic and the Azores islands are no exception. I can remember my very first time in the islands and the amazing feeling of achievement in every corner or every time I crossed one island from side to side.

Visiting an island, or a whole archipelago in this case, is an astonishing experience. By bicycle even better, if you have the opportunity, cycling the Azores islands is something magical.

Like little dark dots dispersed between Europe and North America, the Azores Archipelago is composed by 9 volcanic islands in the North Atlantic Ocean and distances around 850 miles west of Portugal.

The biggest island is São Miguel, with 137.000 inhabitants and the smaller is Corvo’s island with 430. The total archipelago’s population is around 246.000 people. The Azores is an autonomous region from Portugal.

It is very difficult to tell for sure when the islands were discovered, lets assume the 15th century somewhere between 1427 and 1431. There are also several explanations to the archipelago’s name, the most common one is related to the name of a bird, the goshawk or Açor in Portuguese. These birds no longer exist in the Azores, (some claim they never existed) however, the presence of another kind of buzzard, the Buteo buteo, supports this theory and is the most common one.

For those who love riding a bicycle these islands are a unique experience. A long time ago I read an article from Pete Coombs for Active Traveller magazine reporting that no one cycles in the Azores. This is not true! Of course you will not find anything like Amsterdam or Benjin here. Take a ride to the Azores and see yourself. Cycling in Azores islands will be an amazing adventure to remember.