Half-Day Jeep Adventure: Unexplored Landscapes & Lagoa do Fogo
Description
Located in the heart of São Miguel, the Lagoa do Fogo Volcano adds an exciting highlight to this diverse jeep tour. You’ll venture off the beaten path, exploring rugged dirt trails and hidden spots inaccessible to conventional vehicles. This journey brings you close to the island’s impressive geothermal features and abundant water resources, offering a unique, up-close experience of São Miguel’s natural wonders.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Lagoa do Fogo is a stunning crater lake nestled within the Água de Pau Massif stratovolcano, located in the heart of São Miguel Island. As the highest lake on the island, its pristine beauty is preserved under strict government protection, prohibiting any construction around its shores to maintain the natural landscape.
Optional Add-On: Discover Caldeira Velha’s Natural Hot Springs Enhance your tour with a visit to Caldeira Velha, a remarkable fumarolic field on the slopes of Fogo Volcano. This unique area of secondary volcanism features natural hot springs, steaming grounds, and a thermal waterfall. Wander through a narrow valley surrounded by rocky cliffs and lush, tropical vegetation, creating an unforgettable, serene landscape. Relax in warm thermal pools amidst vibrant greenery and take in the natural beauty of this volcanic wonder.
Salto do Cabrito is a stunning waterfall that cascades down rocky cliffs into clear, refreshing pools. Accessible by scenic trails, this hidden gem offers a peaceful retreat and a chance to experience the untouched beauty of São Miguel’s landscapes. Perfect for nature lovers and adventurers alike!
Built in 1943 by the São Miguel Whaling Frames Union, this structure once served as a vital lookout for whaling companies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. From this historic vantage point, enjoy panoramic views of the rugged and unique northern coast of São Miguel Island.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
For any emergency or assistance, please keep our contact number handy: +351 919 020 506. We offer free pickup for guests staying at hotels, the airport, marina, or cruise terminal within Ponta Delgada city. For those staying outside Ponta Delgada, kindly select one of our designated meeting points.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Minimum of 2 people per tour is required to run the tour
Reviews(45)
Poor experience. There was no jeep and the guide indicated that the tour could continue with a mini van - in other words there was no off roading. The guide only took us to 2 of the places on the tour - we missed the one spot we really wanted to go which made up 40 minutes of the tour which was the hot springs. The weather was good and there no need to change the tour. The dropped us off an hour early at the hotel. We mentioned this to the guide and he told us that that the tour company gave him his schedule. We called Viator and the issued us a small refund after providing them time stamps of the photos and indicated that the tour company would not issue a refund. Avoid this tour company.
Dear clients, Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry that the experience did not meet your expectations. We would like to clarify a few points regarding your review: Although this is a Jeep tour, the use of a Jeep vehicle does not necessarily mean that the itinerary includes off-road driving. The tour follows the planned route and viewpoints described in the activity. The vehicle originally assigned to your tour experienced an unexpected mechanical issue on the morning of the activity. To avoid cancelling the experience, we provided a minivan as a replacement. As our itinerary follows paved roads and viewpoints, the change of vehicle did not affect the planned route. Caldeira Velha is clearly listed as an optional stop and entrance fees are not included. If visiting Caldeira Velha was a priority, this should have been communicated to the guide during the tour so that he could assess the timing and organize the itinerary accordingly. On the day of the tour, your pickup was carried out earlier than originally scheduled, which resulted in approximately 3 hours of touring time. The tour duration was therefore consistent with the time available after the adjusted pickup. Our guide followed the schedule and instructions provided for that day. Nevertheless, we appreciate your comments, as they help us improve communication regarding optional stops and tour expectations. We wish you all the best for the rest of your travels in the Azores. Best regards, Pedro Rodrigues Trilhos da Natureza
Great tour being able to see locations a rental car could not get into and are not easily found with online maps. Guide was very good giving lots of information throughout the tour.
Travelled with Rui and he was so knowledgeable and friendly accommodating to our wishes and was always explaining all the vegetation and sights
Excellent half day tour. Guide was very informative and did an amazing job showing us the sites and going off the beaten track to places large tour buses can’t go. Highly recommend.
We were lucky with the weather, the view of Lagoa do Fogo was beautiful, but then everything else was a bit underwhelming - the waterfall was a bit weak at the time; although we opted out of going into the thermal spa, the volcanic spring outside it was just slightly boiling eggy-smelling water; we also went somewhere else that was scenic (I can't recall what it was called but it was the widest point of the island); and then we finished the tour by stopping at the beach and watching the surfers in the sunset. The 4x4 was really uncomfortable, especially for those of us at the back (it was old and the breaks squeaked so loud everyone knew we were coming, there was no need for a horn!) - not the jeep we saw in the ad. The guide (Roy) was ok, very knowledgeable. We were a lovely group so we entertained each other. To be honest, we only took this tour because rental cars are not allowed past a certain point.
We did a 3h excursion where the only thing worth seeing was Lake do Fogo, despite having seen it cloudy. The rest of the itinerary we saw very quickly and without detail. Also, when we arrived at Caldeira Velha, on the website it said that the visit was optional, but once there the guide did not give us option to inform us to enter the natural pools. That was something we didn’t like because it wasn’t clear on the web. And as far as the driving, it was rough and the clutch was going to blow. It is not an excursion that we recommend in general.
Great time, our guide was knowledgeable, kind and fun. Perfect amount of stops and time frame. Hotel pickup made everything stress free. Great views
This tour is one that we will do again when we return to the island. Rui was very knowledgeable about the geology, history, and culture of the entire island. He took us on remote roads to areas not typically seen. We will recommend Rui to all of our friends.
We chose to go during off season, so it was rainy and foggy. Our tour guide did his best and provided different options (a pretty waterfall and historic beach), but it might have been nice for us to be able to cancel due to bad weather.
Absolutely fantastic service, they are always there to help you and serve you. Truly an amazing experience. The property itself is very well maintained and well kept rooms, spacious and sanitized. Well done Tamara team. You are doing a brilliant job.
