Caldeira Velha hot springs in São Miguel island

Caldeira Velha is one of the best thermal water pools in São Miguel, and it is such a beautiful spot that it deserves a place on your to do list. In my opinion it is not nearly as good as Dona Beija’s hot springs, specially if you decide to explore them on a Night-Time Experience with Thermal baths and Dinner.

Anyway, going back to Caldeira Velha. On this article, you will find ALL the information you need about Caldeira Velha hot Springs in São Miguel island, including:

• Price & schedules
• How to get the tickets
• Description of all amenities
• Car parking information

When is the best time to go?

Any time of the year is a good time to go to Caldeira Velha hot Springs in São Miguel island, but I like to go there on cold, misty and even rainy days. On those days, by definition, there are many things you can’t do on the island (such as testing yourself on one of the best hiking trails). On the other hand, nothing tastes as good on a cold day as diving into a pool of thermal waters. It is divine.

Regarding the best time of the day… It doesn’t really matter because Caldeira Velha, unlike some of the other thermal pools in the island, sells a fixed number of tickets for each 1h30 time slot. This means that there are four time slots available per day – I’ll talk about this later -, and 100 tickets are sold for each of these time slots. So, regardless of the time of day you go, there is a maximum amount of people who will be enjoying the thermal pools at that moment, which is great.

All about the tickets to Caldeira Velha hot springs in São Miguel 

Online tickets vs On the spot

The ticket system at Caldeira Velha hot springs is a bit more complicated than at the other thermal pools of São Miguel island, which is why I am taking the time to carefully explain it to you.

The purchase of tickets for Caldeira Velha is associated with a predefined time slot. In other words, when you buy a ticket for Caldeira Velha, you have to immediately choose the time slot in which you want to enjoy the space.

There are 5 time slots available, and for each time slot, 100 tickets are sold.

There are two ways to buy tickets for Caldeira Velha:

– You can buy the tickets online until the day before. That is, if you want to go to Caldeira Velha tomorrow, you can only buy the ticket online until today. Tomorrow, you will no longer be able to buy the ticket online, because it is on the same day.

Buying a ticket online guarantees you a place in the time slot of your choice.

However, and precisely because Caldeira Velha works by time slots, if you buy the ticket online you have to plan your day to make sure that you will be there at the scheduled time.

– You can also buy the ticket at the local ticket office. But it’s a risk because tickets to Caldeira Velha often sell out days in advance, especially in summer. They sell 100 tickets and 100 tickets only for each time slot, and when they sell out, there is nothing to be done and you won’t convince them to sell you one (trust me, I tried it in the past 😛).

For that reason, I think it’s worth buying the ticket online and organizing my day in order to be there on time.

Price of the tickets to Caldeira Velha hot springs

There are two types of tickets – the full ticket and the visit ticket – but you are really only after the full ticket, as it is the only one that gives access to the thermal pools.

These are the current (2023) prices of the full ticket for Caldeira Velha hot springs in São Miguel island:

• Adult [15 – 64 years old]: 10€ 
• Junior [7 – 14 years old]: 5€ 
• Senior [>65 years old]: 5€ 
• Children [<6 years old]: free 

The ticket includes entrance to the venue (it is a beautiful garden) and access to the thermal pools.

Opening hours AND Time slots of Caldeira Velha hot springs in São Miguel 

Caldeira Velha opening hours are quite different from the other options for thermal pools in São Miguel island, as the time slots are at very specific times. There are basically 5 slots available:

• 1st slot: 09h00 to 10h30
• 2nd slot: 10h30 to 12h00
• 3rd slot: 12h00 to 13h30
• 4th slot: 13h30 to 15h00
• 5th slot: 15h00 to 16h30

When you buy the ticket online, you are buying access to Caldeira Velha for one of these specific slots. Imagine that you bought a ticket for the [09h00 – 10h30] slot, but you were late and did not show up until 11h00. It’s your problem… because your time slot has already appeared.

You might be tempted, then, to show up at any time of the day and buy the ticket at that time, but I don’t advise you to do that because if you arrive in the middle of a time slot – for example, if you arrive at 9h45 -, you still have to exit at the end of that specific time slot.

Below I talk more about the issue of tickets – stay tuned!

For how long can I stay?

You can stay at Caldeira Velha hot springs in São Miguel island for the duration of your time slot. Notice that, even though each time slot lasts for 1h30, I didn’t write that you can stay for 1h30. This is because if you arrive late for your time slot, the time will not start counting from the moment when you entered BUT from the moment that the time slot you paid for started, regardless if you were there on time or not.

What happens if I exceed my stay?

First of all trust me, you will not feel like extending your stay because the water is very warm but in any case, you won’t be able to do so.

At the end of each time slot, a staff member goes around the pools telling everyone to get the hell out. Simple, and efficient 😀

Water temperature and other secrets of Caldeira Velha hot springs in São Miguel

Caldeira Velha has four thermal pools and this might surprise you, but the one that shows up on aaaaaaaaall the Instagram photos is actually the one where you’ll want to spend the least amount of time 😂

This is because that pool in particular, which is also the largest and deepest one, actually runs on tepid water, at the modest temperature of 22 ºC. Yep, that is right. It is actually kinda cold!

The other three pools, two of which are built together, are at much more pleasant temperatures, in the range of 25 – 37 ºC.

The four swimming pools are spread over levels, with the highest level having the famous lagoon, and the one with the coldest water.

Local tip: go first to the larger pool, whose water is much colder, and then head to the warmer pools. That way, you don’t get too cold, and it’s much nicer!

Amenities

Showers and changing rooms

Technically there are showers and changing rooms on Caldeira Velha hot springs in São Miguel island but honestly, they’re a bit sketchy. Is that the “changing rooms” consist of tiny wooden cabins, where we can clearly see the heads of the people who are changing inside. They are, therefore, quite exposed and not at all comfortable and it would never cross my mind to use them.

Local tip: instead of juggling inside a tiny cabin, just pack some old shorts and a warm sweater and put them on outside. I usually wrap myself in a towel, take off my bikini and then put on shorts and an undershirt and that’s it! 

Lockers

There are lockers, and you need to pay an extra 2€ to use them. But it is really not worth it because everyone carries their stuff around and no one steals anything. Everyone is in their swimwear, so where could they possibly hide your stolen iPhone? 😂

Is it suitable for children?

I already wrote my personal opinion about bringing children to thermal pools in my article about Dona Beija hot springs in São Miguel island. 

 I believe thermal pools should be kid-friendly place, for several reasons:

– Security: the thermal pools at Caldeira Velha, similarly to the ones at Dona Beija, are kind of infinity pools, with water constantly flowing into the pool and water constantly falling into a pit, There isn’t any barrier to the pit, so if you take children, you’ll always have to pay attention to make sure they don’t fall in there.

– Water temperature: one thing I’ve noticed several times is that children, precisely because they have less body mass than adults, get uncomfortable with the hot water temperature much more quickly than we do. That means they’ll start to get restless and want to get out of there much faster than you will.

– Comfort of other guests: Caldeira Velha hot springs in São Miguel island are small, and people go there to relax. It’s not cool to get there and have to put up with screaming and jumping on other people’s kids. Be mindful of that – this is not your pool, it’s a shared space.
For these reasons no, I don’t think that Caldeiras Velhas hot springs in São Miguel island are suitable for children. If you want to take your family for a swim, I suggest you take advantage of the fantastic natural pools in São Miguel island :)

Is there a car parking lot nearby?

Yes, but PAY ATTENTION! Right at the entrance to Caldeira Velha hot springs in São Miguel island there are two small car parks, BUT YOU CANNOT USE THEM! One of them is for staff and people with reduced mobility, and the other is for tourist buses, which can only park there for 10 minutes (to let their group out). If you park your car there, they can – and will – call the police to remove it.

There is a giant parking lot for visitors, with a wooden staircase that gives direct access to the entrance to the park.

If you come up the road, that car park will appear on your right. Turn right and go straight ahead – you’ll go up a small street and, at the top, you’ll find the aforementioned park.

If you are coming from the opposite direction, so down the road, you will find the Caldeira Velha hot springs in São Miguel island entrance on your left and the two small car parks that you CANNOT use – keep going down the road, and right after that you will see the sign, on your left, for the car parking for visitors.