Traveler Reviews

• Maureen S 17-May-2023

  I LOVED this tour so much yesterday that at the end of it, I signed up for the Furnas tour the today. Having Nuno Melo as your guide is like hanging out with the Azorean Google for the day. “Nuno, what’s that building?” He knows. “Nuno, what’s that purple flower called?” He knows. “Nuno, how many species of cetaceans are in the water here?” He knows! (And it’s like 26 species or something crazy like that). But Nuno is better than Google because he is not simply a facts machine; he’s a wonderful guide, and it was my absolute delight to spend my last two days with him. I saw the whole island and I learned so much. Aside from having a wealth of knowledge about the island he was born on, he’s a consummate storyteller. He’s patient. He’s charming. He’s accommodating. (“Nuno- I can’t eat this. I’m a vegetarian.” No problem. I had a delicious new lunch in no time.) He’s a great driver (which is a wonderful thing when you’re zipping around an island with narrow roads). He interacts with his guests and gets us interacting with each other (on both tours, I really felt part of something with the other guests). Here’s the best part about going on a tour with Nuno- he seems to be enjoying himself. He genuinely likes meeting his guests and sharing stories with them about São Miguel and the other islands. He has a deep and abiding love for this beautiful place, and after a few hours with Nuno, you will, too. His enthusiasm is contagious. When I was remarking about the chill island vibe, Nuno reflected a moment, then said about his fellow Azoreans, “We are a peaceful people,” and later, at lunch, when a good conversation among our super fun international group was flowing, he said, “My life philosophy is to be at peace; if I am at peace with me, I am happy.” He said it better than that- I’m paraphrasing, but what a gem of a man. If Nuno feels lucky to live in the beautiful Azores, the Azores are lucky to have him as a representative. Oh yeah- Nuno is a polyglot, fluent in French, English, Spanish, and Portuguese (maybe more, but that’s what I witnessed) and he switches between them without thinking about it- I’ve never seen anything like it. I travel a lot, so I go on a lot of tours. I have met loads of guides who are great at what they do. Nuno stands out. This is a person who is doing what he loves, and you will benefit from this. He is unforgettable. I recommend any tour with him without hesitation. Go go go! Fall in love with the Azores. Nuno will make it easy.

• 564derkv 20-Oct-2022

  Super begeleiding door gids, uitstekend vervoer en heerlijk gegeten. Gids vertelde heel veel over het leven op Sao Miguel. Hij is enthousiast en vriendelijk. De locatie waar we gingen eten was uitstekend en de vaart naar de dolfijnen en walvissen was geweldig. Al met al een hele mooie geslaagde dag gehad. Zeer zeker een aanbeveling!

• Georgina_b 28-Aug-2022

  Muy buena atención. Nuno fue un magnífico guía y un gran conocedor del lugar, llevándonos a enclaves preciosos.

• Christoph_o 25-Aug-2022

  To make it short: tour is separated in 2 parts, the whale watching and after a van tour to several places near to Ponta Delgada. Lunch was ok, but nothing special. Our problem was the organization and communication of tour guide (Bruno) and tour operator. In total we were waiting 1 1/2 hours for our guide which could be acceptable if guide/operator would communicate openly with their customers (to manage expectations). After communicating our concerns about time management, both the guide and the tour company, were defensive and the tour guide passive aggressive the rest of the day. In case someone is not able to receive complaints/improvement suggestions, working in the tourism industry might not be the best. However the guide was making jokes about our complaint and throwing around that he is the best guide ever and that we are just being picky. Overall the tour was ok, we saw dolphins and whales. And as typical for the Azores wonderful landscapes. Unfortunately, it was a bitter sweet experience due to the bad communication skills of the operator and especially the guide's cocky attitude. Therefore, I wouldn't recommend.

• Doriflori13 25-Aug-2022

  As a little background, the tour is composed of two parts, the whale and dolphin watching in the morning (done by a different company which you can book on your own at the port) and a visit to Lagos do Fogo in the afternoon. To start off, our “guide” Bruno picked us up half an hour later than the established time. Normally, this would not be a problem but since he was late, he rushed us through the port going from boat operator to boat operator until he found the one he had booked us the whale watching tour with. This seemed very unprofessional and highly disorganised. If he had picked us up on time we wouldn’t have had the stress of running through port to find the right operator (which he should have known in any case). Once the whale watching tour ended, Bruno had told us to wait for him at the port as he would come to pick us up. We waited for 1h in the sun without any news from him not knowing when he would arrive. This is a total disregard and disrespect for personal time. Had we known the pick up time, we could have had a coffee or a small stroll while waiting for him. The rest of the tour consisted in a meal in Lagoas, nothing out of the ordinary, and some stops to view Lagoa do Fogo from different angles, as well as a stop at a licor factory. Bruno was highly disrespectful and cocky, when asked about the waiting time. Also it seems this has been an issue in the past but the tour operator did not seem to care. Overall just seemed like a tourist trap. Very disappointing for the price paid, just to be transported around in a van. On top, out of the 7h of tour advertised, 1:30h consisted on waiting for Bruno and only about 2h of actual visit in the afternoon of Lagoa do Fogo and the licor factory.

• Debbie_c 22-Aug-2022

  On August 17, my daughter and I were on your tour for whale watching and Lago de Fogo. We were told to be ready at 8:30 am at our hotel but our driver was 25 minutes late. If we were told 8:45, it would have been better but that’s just managing expectations. After the whale watch (we saw 2 whales and dolphins and this was run by a different operator that you can book on your own and not through the tour if one wanted), we were told by the driver to be ready at 12:15. Again, he was 30 minutes late. We all sat around waiting for the tour to begin. We got in the van and were immediately taken to lunch. The food was below average. The chicken legs were tasty but the cake was stale, wine was cheap and pork could not be chewed and no one ate it. We sat at lunch for over 90 minutes. The driver was not in any rush. He then finally took us to Fogo which speaks for itself and a beautiful site. We then went to one other stop. No narration or explanation of anything unless we asked (I asked several questions after our driver didn’t explain anything). We were dropped off 30 minutes early for our 8 hour tour. All the other tours went above and beyond and made interesting stops and were fun. This was probably our least favorite experience. I also reached out to the tour company and they haven’t responded.

• Brigitta_d 07-Jul-2022

  The tour was very good. We didn't see any whales, but we did see lots of dolphins. The tour guide was very nice and professional.

• Coline_r 30-Jun-2022

  Le guide était très sympathique et heureux de nous faire découvrir l'île de Sao Miguel Mais le programme doit être clarifié : l'exclusion en mer est en fait réalisée une autre agence, sur un bateau avec d'autres groupes de touristes, le restaurant le midi est correct mais c'est le repaire de toutes les autres excursions à touristes comme la nôtre. Ensuite, l'après-midi, notre guide nous a juste servi de taxi entre Lagoa do Fogo et Ribeira Grande, en apercevant la centrale au loin et en passant juste devant Caldeira Velha. L'arrêt principal a été au Lagoa de Fogo, où notre guide nous a déposés sans notion de timing.... Pas de visite de la centrale donc, alors qu'un arrêt et une présentation étaient mentionnés au programme. L'après midi se sera donc limitée à une grande balade en voiture, qui ne justifie pas le prix à mon sens.

• Veronica_r 11-Jun-2022

  Much more than I expected. We saw 2 different whales and dolphins. Lunch was wonderful along with the sight seeing

• Rafael_p 19-May-2022

  Pasamos un dia genial acompañados por Hugo, un guia encantador y que nos explicó todo en un perfecto español! La excursión a ver la ballenas es algo que hay que hacer sí o sí! Y nosotros tuvimos suerte de verlas, ademas de varios Delfines. Después de comer en un sitio típico de la zoma, nos fuimos a ver la playa de Santa Bárbara, a ver una central geotérmica y a darnos un baño caliente en unas furnas (piscinas calentadas por la actividad volcánica). Finalmente subimos a ver el lago do fogo, pero por culpa del clima no pudimos ver mucho. Fue un dia muy bueno, súper recomendable para tener una visión general de Sao Miguel y poder hablar con Hugo para entender mas cosas sobre las Azores.