Santa Maria was the first of the Azores islands to emerge. It offers the warmest temperature in the region and is famous for its white sand beaches, the only white sand you’ll find in the archipelago. It’s not the top island for tourism, with minimal activities to offer, unless you are a diver (or are looking to relax on a sandy beach).

Scuba Diving

We chose to spend 4 nights in Santa Maria because of the world renowned diving. The exceptional conditions in terms of climate and sea currents attract amazing marine life, most notably the whale shark, the animal I’m fascinated by and super eager to see in the wild. Santa Maria is also the closest departure point to two of the most famous offshore dives of the Azores: Formigas Islets and Dollabarat Seamount. Located 20 miles off the southeast tip, these sites are known for their great visibility and large schools of pelagic fish, sharks and rays.

We went diving for three days on the island. Sadly, according to the dive shop, these were the most unusual conditions they had seen in 11 years with warm water temperatures and winds that were not cooperating. Due to this, whale shark sightings were not regular, and we weren’t able to make the trip to the offshore seamounts.

That said, we did make it out to Ambrosio twice, a dive site 3 miles off the coast that is famous for mobula ray sightings. We were very lucky to see a 25 rays on the first trip and swam up close with two rays on the second, and there was also a bunch of large tunas, barracudas and amberjack as well.

Activities for Non-Divers

While there are limited things to do on the island beyond diving, we rented a car and explored every part of the island possible. We explored the beaches, the views from all parts of the island and also enjoyed passing by all the cows, sheep and goats dotted around the island.

Praia Formosa

This is one of the rare white sandy beaches in the Azores. There’s a beach bar overlooking the ocean where you can grab a snack or a drink, your if you don’t mind cooler water temperature, you can go for a swim in the ocean. There is also a natural swimming pool here (as there are on all corners of the coast).

Pico Alto

At 590 metres, it’s the highest point on the island, making it the perfect place to view the entire island. There is a road that leads up the top, making it an easy destination. There are also hiking trails that start/end at this point, which are quite pretty.

Villo do Porto

Villo do Porto is the main and only city on the island. We chose to stay here since it was close to the marina where the dive boat left from so we spent quite a bit of time in town. We ate at many of the restaurants and also walked around and window shopped in the few shops around. There is a church and a fort, Forte de São Brás, a 17th-century fortress built to protect the island against raids.

The Dutch Windmill

There is also a dutch windmill on the island that you can pass by. The gate is on private land but the owner is happy to let you pass through and take a look.