Golf guide • Portugal • Azores (São Miguel)

Golf in the Azores: São Miguel, among craters, cedars and the Atlantic

On São Miguel, the largest island in the Azores, two courses are enough for a trip: the 27 holes of Batalha, on the north coast fifteen minutes from Ponta Delgada, and Furnas, the archipelago's oldest course, opened in 1936 on a plateau lined with Japanese cedars. Golfers come to play in an intensely green volcanic landscape, among crater lakes and hot springs, preferably from May to October, when the weather is driest.

Plan this tripUpdated 7 October 2026

In the middle of the Atlantic, São Miguel is the largest island in the Azores: 760 km² of volcanoes, pastures edged with hydrangeas and forests of cryptomeria, rising to 1,105 metres at Pico da Vara. Ponta Delgada, its main town, has the airport, the marina and most of the hotels. The island's two courses lie fifteen and forty minutes from the centre, so you can stay in town and play every day without a long drive.

Golf here is old and low-key. Furnas opened its first nine holes in 1936, designed by Mackenzie Ross, the architect of Estoril, and extended to eighteen in 1992. Batalha, on the north coast, lines up three loops of nine holes in more open country, with the ocean as a backdrop. Both are run by the same company, Azores Golf Islands, which also operates the course on the island of Terceira. Here, golf is played far from the crowds, amid forests and pastures.

The rest of the trip is spent outdoors. In the Furnas valley the ground steams and cozido is cooked by volcanic heat; to the west, the Sete Cidades caldera holds its two lakes, one blue, the other green; off Ponta Delgada, boats head out to meet dolphins and whales. Four to six nights allow you to play each course twice and tour the island without hurrying.

The courses

Raised green edged by a black-sand bunker, hedges of blue hydrangeas and tall conifers in the mist

Batalha Golf Course

Architect: Cameron & Powell
27 holes

At Fenais da Luz on the north coast, fifteen minutes from the centre of Ponta Delgada, Batalha spreads 27 holes by Cameron & Powell over 120 hectares, in three par-36 loops of nine, each bordered by different vegetation. Any combination makes an 18-hole par 72. The greens are large, the fairways broad and generous, the bunkers sinuously shaped, and the routing mixes open, links-style stretches with wooded corridors, the Atlantic below. Its name recalls a 19th-century battle between liberals and absolutists for control of the island. A welcoming course for every level, ideal for opening the trip.

Official website

Furnas Golf Course

Architect: Mackenzie Ross; Cameron & Powell (1992)
Opened 1936
18 holes
Par 72

The oldest course in the Azores occupies a plateau at around 500 metres above sea level, above the Furnas valley, forty minutes from Ponta Delgada. Mackenzie Ross designed its first nine holes in 1936; Cameron & Powell extended it to eighteen holes in 1992, a par 72. Fairways roll between tall rows of Japanese cedars, the small raised greens are full of slope, and the bunkers are filled with coarse lava sand. More intimate and more technical than Batalha, it rewards precision around the greens.

Official website

Where to stay

Terra Nostra Garden Hotel

Opened in 1935 in the Furnas valley, the first tourist hotel in the Azores was designed by Manuel António de Vasconcelos in the Art Deco style he had come to know in Brussels. Its 86 rooms are split between the original Art Deco wing and a Garden wing added in the 1990s. Guests have access to Terra Nostra Park and its thermal pool; the Furnas course sits on the plateau just above the valley.

Octant Ponta Delgada

Facing Ponta Delgada's marina, the Octant is the most practical base for a trip centred on Batalha: the airport is ten minutes away, the course a quarter of an hour. The rooms look out to sea, the pool and bar are on the seventh-floor roof, and the spa works with natural products from the island. The À TERRA restaurant serves Azorean cooking from local produce, from pasture-raised beef to island cheeses.

Steaming ochre thermal pool in a garden of tree ferns and camellias, an Art Deco facade behind the trees

Where to dine

Restaurante da Associação Agrícola de São Miguel

Run by the island's farmers' association, this large restaurant in Rabo de Peixe, on the north coast, is the go-to address for Azorean beef. People come for the bife da Associação, served with a light white wine and garlic sauce, choosing their cut and its weight. The dining room is lively and booking is advisable.

Restaurante TN (Terra Nostra Garden Hotel)

In the Art Deco wing of the Terra Nostra Garden Hotel, the dining room looks onto the park's gardens. Chef Nuno Gonçalves takes a farm-to-table approach, between Azorean recipes and contemporary techniques, and the house serves cozido das Furnas, the local stew cooked by the valley's volcanic heat. The ideal place for lunch after a round at Furnas.

Beyond golf

The Furnas valley and Terra Nostra Park

The Furnas valley has some thirty springs of differing temperature and composition, fumaroles and a crater lake at 359 metres; it is the heat from underground that cooks cozido, the local speciality. In the village, Terra Nostra Park, created from 1780 onwards by the American consul Thomas Hickling, spreads over 12.5 hectares of gardens, with a large camellia collection and an iron-rich thermal pool at about 25 °C.

Sete Cidades and Gorreana tea

In the west of the island, the Sete Cidades caldera, about six kilometres across, holds the blue lake and the green lake; the Vista do Rei viewpoint offers the most famous view of them. On the north coast, the Gorreana plantation, founded in 1883, is the oldest tea plantation still in operation in Europe.

Dolphins and whales

Boat trips leave from Ponta Delgada and Vila Franca do Campo. Dolphins, sea turtles and, depending on the season, humpback whales pass off São Miguel. Half a day on the water fits easily between two rounds, ideally on a calm morning.

Fumaroles and hot springs with yellow deposits beside a crater lake, a wooden boardwalk and wooded slopes

When to go

The climate is oceanic and mild all year. From May to October, highs climb from 19 to 25 °C, and June, July and August are the driest months, with fewer than ten days of rain a month in Ponta Delgada. From November to April, highs stay around 17 °C, but showers are frequent and the courses heavier. The weather changes quickly from hour to hour, and the Furnas plateau is markedly wetter than the coast.

Getting there

Ponta Delgada's João Paulo II airport (PDL) is two kilometres from the centre, about ten minutes by car. Lisbon is its busiest connection, and Azores Airlines flies direct to Paris-Charles de Gaulle. A hire car is essential: Batalha is fifteen minutes from Ponta Delgada, Furnas forty minutes away and about fifty minutes from the airport.

Frequently asked questions

How many golf courses are there in the Azores?

Three: Batalha (27 holes) and Furnas (18 holes) on São Miguel, and the Terceira course (18 holes), opened in 1954 on the island of the same name. For a trip, São Miguel is the best base.

What is the best golf course in the Azores?

Furnas, the oldest in the archipelago, is the most highly regarded for its setting among cedars above the thermal valley. Batalha, with its 27 holes facing the Atlantic, is more open and more accessible.

Is Batalha Golf Course near Batalha Monastery?

No. Batalha Golf Course is at Fenais da Luz, on São Miguel in the Azores. It takes its name from a 19th-century battle on the island and has no connection with the town of Batalha on the mainland.

When is the best time to play golf in the Azores?

From May to October, when temperatures range from 19 to 25 °C and the summer months are the driest. Winter remains mild, around 17 °C, but wetter.

Which airport is best for a golf trip to the Azores?

Ponta Delgada airport (PDL) on São Miguel, ten minutes from the centre, a further fifteen minutes to Batalha and about fifty minutes to Furnas. It is served from Lisbon and directly from Paris.

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Green fringed by dunes and stone pines at sunset, ocean and wooded mountain on the horizon

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