Pico is the island known for its wine. It was also the poor sibling to Faial, across the north Atlantic Ocean but if you ask me, it’s the cooler, more authentic island with the coolest inhabitants who are always ready to go out of their way to help. Two full days is all that you really need on Pico, and that includes a lot of driving around.
Nites
We did a lot of searching in Pico and there aren’t many hotels – it is a small island after all – but when we happened upon the Vinhas do Calhau (https://www.vinhasdocalhau.eu/), we knew this was gold. In the main house, there are four apartments with views to the ocean and two with views to the mountain. New to the property are at least four free-standing casetta (little homes) that have bedrooms on each side of a center living space with a kitchen, dining table, and outdoor patio looking toward the ocean. Each casetta also comes with a jacuzzi (this costs extra) so depending on what you need, these free-standing rooms can accommodate a family of 5 or 6 very easily. And although they call themselves a hotel, it’s not the typical American definition of a hotel: there is no restaurant, and no breakfast buffet. But what they do have is every night, you complete a form of what you’d like for breakfast and in the morning, they leave a basket on your patio with their breakfast offerings. Nothing hot is included, but with a fully functioning kitchen and supermarkets a short drive away, you can have whatever you fancy for breakfast (or dinner).
Bites
Pico proved to be a challenge for this vegetarian, but if I only had one night, I would encourage you to go to Atmosfera (https://www.instagram.com/atmosfera.pico/). It is part of a mountain-top hotel (Alma do Pico, I think) but don’t let that stop you. The food was impeccable, and the staff were outstanding. And once again, for such a remote place in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, the wine list was small but brilliant and the local wines quite enjoyable. And if they have it, the caprese salad was just shy of being on par with anywhere in Italy. I don’t know how they did it, and I wanted more to go, it was that scrumptious!
Sites
Just like in Sao Miguel, you can’t come to Pico and not do a whale watching tour. We chose Espaço Talassa (https://www.espacotalassa.com/en/), in part, because we really wanted to do their bio tour (which was sold out, so no go this trip), but even so, they were aces! We were fortunate to see bottlenose dolphins and have a great time on fairly rough seas. But above all else, their respect for marine life was above anyone else that we investigated such that I would only recommend them and no one else.
There are some wine tours that you can do on Pico, as it is what they are known for after all, but don’t come with an American sensibility because these tours aren’t like what you’d expect in the States: the tours are more about the process, and the culture, and less about the tastings.
A trip to Pico wouldn’t be complete without a trip to a thermal pool. The Poça da Dona Beija Hot Springs (https://pocadadonabeija.com/en/) is amazing and well worth the trek. Be sure to make a reservation because time in the thermal pools are limited and closely monitored, but the hour allotted is truly more than enough time. And I would advise that you arrive early, as the “parking lot” is super small and the pools are located in a very small village so you’ll likely need to search for street-side parking. WARNING: don’t wear jewelry and bring an old swimsuit as the sulfur will likely ruin whatever you are wearing, and your fingernails will likely stay brick red for a few days after you visit.
INSIDER TIP: if you have a car, go to the Furnas de Santo António. A free natural salt-water pool is great in and of itself, but just to the left, looking at the ocean, is an amazing diving spot for snorkeling and just fun, jumping into really deep crystal waters below.
