Azores holiday guide: what to see, best bars, restaurants and places to stay

This volcanic archipelago in the mid-Atlantic feels like a world unto itself. But two new direct low-cost air routes from the UK are about to bring the enchanted islands within easier reach

Here, somewhere between Lisbon and New York, the weather is mild but decidedly unstable. Atlantic fronts barrel in, clouds tussle, shafts of sunbeams and great fat silvery pools of light chase over swelling seas to fields of infinite greens. For the Azores you pack a cagoule and sunglasses, your swimming gear and walking shoes, for you’re never more than a few minutes from a dramatic basalt seashore or an alluring grassy pathway.

This family of nine Portuguese sea-splattered volcanic farming islands is now easier than ever to visit, with the introduction next week of the first low-cost flights – from both easyJet and Ryanair– that will enhance the year-round and inter-island offerings of state-run SATA. Both will fly into São Miguel, the chief Azorean island. There are three island groups, extending over 370 miles, so to get around you need to either hop on a turboprop or plough through the waves on ferries.