Island to Island: A Photographer's Guide to Moving Around the Azores
The Azores are nine islands scattered across the Atlantic. There are no trains, no bridges, and a very limited ferry network. Moving between them is part of the adventure — but it requires planning, especially if you're travelling with camera gear or trying to work around weather that can change within the hour.
I've done this dozens of times — as a local, as a photographer, and as a guide managing clients across multiple islands. Here is what I've learned.
1. The Golden Rule: Book Directly with SATA. Always.
SATA Air Açores is the only airline operating inter-island flights in the Azores. There is no competition, no alternative. Every flight between islands goes through them.
And yet, I still see people booking these flights through Expedia, Skyscanner, or other aggregators. Please don't.
Here's why this matters so much: the Azores have notoriously unpredictable weather. Fog, crosswinds, low cloud ceilings — flights get delayed or cancelled with little warning. When that happens, the difference between booking direct and booking through an intermediary is enormous.
When you book directly with SATA, they have your contact details. They call you, they SMS you, they rebook you. I've had to change itineraries on at least four different tours due to weather — different islands, different dates, completely restructured routes. Every time, I was able to sort it out directly with SATA, quickly, without a middleman adding delays and complications. I'm a local and I know how the system works, and even for me, having that direct line makes all the difference.
When you book through an agency or aggregator, the communication chain breaks down. I've seen travellers arrive at airports for flights that were cancelled hours earlier, unable to be rebooked efficiently because the ticket belongs to an agency rather than to them. It's a completely avoidable situation.
Now, I want to be honest: SATA is not perfect. Delays happen, strikes happen — it is an airline like any other, and when things go wrong, they don't always handle it as well as they should. But when there's disruption, you want to be dealing directly with the company responsible for getting you to the next island. Not with a call centre in another country representing an aggregator.
Book at sata.pt
2. Ferries vs. Planes: Know the Difference
A common misconception is that a convenient ferry network connects all nine islands. It doesn't.
When to fly: For travel between different island groups — São Miguel to Terceira, Terceira to Pico — flying is your only realistic option. The distances across open Atlantic are significant, and conditions are often too rough for regular passenger ferries.
When ferries work: Ferries are reliable, practical, and genuinely enjoyable within the Triangle Islands — Faial, Pico, and São Jorge. The crossing from Faial to Pico takes just 30 minutes and is one of the most scenic short journeys in the archipelago. Treat it as part of the experience, not just transport.
3. Managing Camera Gear on Small Aircraft
Inter-island flights use Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 and Q200 turboprops. These are safe, efficient aircraft — but they are significantly smaller than the jets you arrived on.
The overhead bin problem: The bins on these planes are narrow. Standard international carry-on rollers often won't fit and may need to be gate-checked. Hard cases that exceed the dimensions by even a few centimetres simply do not fit in the cabin. Don't find this out at the boarding gate with your lenses inside.
What goes in your cabin bag (8kg max):
Camera bodies and lenses
Batteries — lithium batteries must travel in the cabin, not checked hold
Drone and controller
Hard drives and essential electronics
What goes in checked baggage (23kg):
Tripods — pack them in the centre of your suitcase, floating between layers of clothing
Filters, chargers, cables, clothes
The photographer's vest trick: Weight limits are strict. A common workaround is to wear a photography vest or a jacket with large pockets during boarding — it lets you carry batteries, a telephoto lens, or other heavy items on your person without them counting as baggage weight.
4. Planning a Logical Route
Avoid backtracking — it costs time, money, and energy. A linear route is almost always more efficient.
A common flow that works well for photographers:
São Miguel → largest island, most diverse, good starting point with the best international connections.
Terceira → strong culture, dramatic coastlines, excellent for photography.
Triangle (Pico / Faial / São Jorge) → Pico Mountain, vineyards, the best inter-island ferry scenery in the archipelago.
Flores → this is my personal favourite, and probably the most visually overwhelming island in the entire archipelago. It looks like someone dropped a Jurassic Park set into the middle of the Atlantic — waterfalls cascading off cliffs, impossibly green valleys, lagoons surrounded by hydrangeas that seem almost too saturated to be real. It's remote, it's raw, and it rewards the extra effort to get there. Just remember what I said earlier about booking your rental car well in advance — on Flores, that advice is not optional.
Important: If your international flight home departs from Ponta Delgada (PDL) — which it most likely does — and your trip ends on another island, build in a generous buffer for your domestic return flight. Ideally, fly back to São Miguel the day before your international connection. Weather delays on inter-island routes are common enough that a same-day connection is a genuine risk.
Corvo: The smallest and most remote island in the archipelago — and one of the most special. If you're planning to visit, be aware that only the smaller Dash 8 Q200 can land on its short runway, baggage restrictions are tighter, and scheduling is more limited. But honestly, my preferred way to reach Corvo is by boat from Flores. The crossing gives you a perspective of both islands that you simply can't get from the air — and arriving by sea into that tiny harbour feels like the right way to approach a place this remote. I always use Extreme Ocidente or Flores by Sea for this crossing. Both know these waters well and make the journey part of the experience rather than just transport.
5. What Happens When Things Go Wrong
Weather will, at some point, affect your plans. A fog bank rolls in, a crosswind closes an airport, a flight gets cancelled. This is part of travelling in the Azores, and it happens to everyone — including me.
The best thing you can do is be prepared for it mentally and logistically. Build buffer days into your itinerary if you're moving between islands. Don't schedule the last inter-island flight of the day as your only option before an important event or international connection. And as I said — book direct with SATA, so that when things change, you're the one making the calls, not waiting for an agency to make them for you.
Prefer to Focus on the Photography?
If you'd rather not think about flight bookings, baggage restrictions, and rerouted itineraries — that's exactly what my workshops are designed for. Every itinerary is built around real conditions on the ground. The logistics are handled. You focus on the light.
This article was written with the help of Claude AI, shaped entirely by real field experience — including four tours where the itinerary had to be rebuilt from scratch mid-trip. The weather is real. The cancelled flights are real. The relief of having booked directly is very real.
