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Terceira is one of the largest islands in the Azores, and the second largest in terms of population. The island is 29 kilometres long by 18 kilometres wide, with a perimeter of 90 kilometres. It has an area of 402.2 square kilometres. Being quite a big island, it is important to discover how to get around Terceira island, which is why I am writing this article.
There are, basically, 3 ways to get around Terceira island:
- A) Most flexible way: rent a car in the Azores. There are plenty of rental cars on the island, so I recommend using AutoEurope, a price aggregator, to get the best rates. You can also rent a car on AutoEurope and cancel up to 48 hours in advance without any penalty.
- B) Cheapest way: you can use the island’s public transport. Unfortunately, it is scarce.
- C) You can occasionally call a taxi. But taxis are quite expensive on Terceira, and I will explain why.
We will now explore each of the methods.
A) Rent a car to get around Terceira island
I generally favour public transport, as it is the most environmentally friendly alternative, but it is not easy to explore the Azores, and Terceira in particular, without using a car.
Terceira is a very large island, and some parts – including some of its best-known attractions, such as Algar do Carvão and Miradouro da Serra do Cume – are not accessible by public transport.
On the other hand, even in the areas served by public transport, it has a very low frequency (for example, the bus that connects Praia da Vitória with Angra do Heroísmo, the main cities on the island, only runs once every hour). This means that if you only use public transport, you will be quite limited in terms of timetables.
Therefore, the best way to get around Terceira island is definitely to rent a car.
How to rent a car in Terceira?
I already wrote about this in my article about Driving in the Azores islands: 10 life saving tips, but I’ll say it again here: when planning your trip to the Azores, book your car FIRST, and only then your accommodation!
There is a chronic shortage of rental cars in the Azores islands. And if you can’t find a car, you won’t be able to explore the island properly.
There are several rental car companies in Terceira, so I usually use AutoEurope to get the best prices.
Terceira is one of the most central islands in the Azores and, together with São Miguel, it is the only one with direct flights not only from mainland Portugal but also from several cities in the USA and Canada. So, you can be 100% sure that you will arrive on the island by plane.
So, when you rent your car with AutoEurope, I recommend that you book the Lajes civil airport (TER) as your pick-up point.
Is it expensive to rent a car in Terceira?
I was personally surprised at how cheap it was to rent a car in Terceira. To give you an idea, I rented a car in the first two weeks of September 2024, that is, for 15 days, and I paid €370. That works out to an average of €25/day, in the middle of high season. It’s very cheap, and much cheaper than what you’ll get on the other islands of the Azores.
Is it easy to drive in Terceira?
Yes, it is very easy! :) I would say that, in general:
- everything is well signposted, from the towns to the main attractions;
- the island has good network coverage, except in some of the highest points in the centre of the island (where Algar do Carvão, Miradouro de Santa Bárbara and other tourist attractions are located);
- in addition, one thing that I really like about Terceira is that people are very careful when driving. In general, they drive very slowly, always within the speed limit, and I have never seen anyone making dangerous manoeuvres. This makes driving in Terceira particularly easy and safe.
Are the roads in Terceira in good condition?
This is another thing that makes getting around Terceira by car very easy: the roads are in excellent condition! In fact, compared to the other islands, I would even say that it is the Azorean island with the best roads.
Are there many gas stations on Terceira?
Another positive thing about Terceira is that it has dozens of gas stations at your disposal. This is in stark contrast to islands like São Jorge, for example, where you always have to keep an eye on your car’s fuel tank because gas stations are scarce.
There are lots of gas stations on Terceira, especially around the cities of Angra do Heroísmo and Praia da Vitória. The only area of the island where there are not many gas stations is in the northwest, but there are not many things to see in that area, so the probability of spending much time there is very low.
Is it easy to park on Terceira Island?
Yes, it is quite easy! There are always small (or large) car parks near all the tourist attractions, including beaches, viewpoints and even trailheads.
The only difficult area to park on the island is in the centre of Angra do Heroísmo. There, not only is parking scarce, but you have to pay to park your car on the streets. To do so, you can use one of the parking meters spread throughout the city or you can download the iparque Driver app and pay with your credit card.
In any case, DO pay for your parking in Angra do Heroísmo: I once forgot to pay and got a parking ticket!
What about tolls?
There are no tolls on Terceira ;)
How to get around Terceira island using the bus
When I arrived in Terceira I was very pleased to see so many buses in circulation, because I thought it would be easy to explore the island by public transport. In fact, this is not true, as I will explain below.
Terceira currently has 21 bus lines available, which mainly run along the coastal area of the island.
However, there are several problems with using Terceira’s buses.
Firstly, it is not easy to understand how to use the bus network. The bus stops are not always well signposted (such as Feteira, for example). On the other hand, the available timetables are not always easy to interpret, or even correct. Here is an example of a timetable I found at a bus stop:
Terceira bus timetables
If you want, you can try to check the Terceira bus timetables on the website of MobiAzores, the company that owns them. But to do this, you need to know exactly which bus you want to take, and the name of the stop where you will get on and the stop where you will get off. This is because the MobiAzores website does not allow you to simulate trips.
There is another website I found, of a bus company called EVT, which was acquired by MobiAzores. But it also sucks!
How much does a bus trip cost in Terceira?
Once again, the MobiAzores website is not at all clear on this aspect; at least I couldn’t find the price of bus tickets on their website.
The only thing I can tell you, from my own experience, is that buses in Terceira are, in fact, very cheap. I once took a bus to travel within the city of Angra de Heroísmo and paid €0.30 (!) for a ticket.
For the trip Angra do Heroísmo – Praia da Vitória, I paid around €2.95. But the trip took a very long time…
Where to buy bus tickets?
There is no need to buy your ticket in advance, as you can simply pay for your journey on the bus using your credit/debit card or by paying cash directly to the driver.
If you REALLY want to buy physical tickets, you can buy them here:
Angra do Heroísmo
Avenida Álvaro Martins Homem, n.23
9700-017 Angra do Heroísmo
Monday to Friday: 09:00 – 13:00 and 14:00 – 17:30
Closed on weekends and public holidays
Praia da Vitória
Rua Cidade da Artésia, Edifício Polivalente, nº 37
(at Edifício da Segurança Social, Primeiro Andar)
9760-437 Praia da Vitória
Working days from 09:00 – 12:30 and 13:30 – 17:30
Closed on weekends and holidays
Is it possible to buy a day pass?
There are no daily passes. There are several types of passes, but only for local residents.
Why I don’t recommend to get around Terceira Island by bus
For several reasons:
1) Because there are few buses. Most of the buses in circulation are, in fact, rented to tourism companies. There are very, very few buses running for the benefit of the local population.
2) Because it is not easy to plan a trip using only public transport. The stops are not always well signposted, and the transport company’s website is not at all user-friendly and does not allow you to plan your trip in detail.
3) Because there are very interesting areas on the island that are simply not accessible by public transport, such as Algar do Carvão and some of the most beautiful viewpoints on the island (Santa Barbara and Serra do Cume).
If you want, you can explore Angra do Heroísmo and Praia da Vitória by bus, but honestly, they are very small towns that are best explored on foot.
Using taxis to get around Terceira Island
Another alternative is to use taxis to get around Terceira island. I have done this several times, mainly to return to the starting point, when I did linear trails on the island.
I do not recommend using taxis in Terceira (or, in general, in the Azores) because they are sooooo expensive.
To give you an idea, I called a taxi that charged me €15 to travel a distance of 3.5km, from the village of São Sebastião to the Farol das Contendas. It is a journey of less than TEN minutes! To go from Lajes airport to the centre of Angra do Heroísmo, which is a 20-minute journey, they currently charge between €22 and €26.
In addition to being expensive, taxis in the Azores have another problem: they do not use meters. So, as soon as you get in the taxi (or, better yet, even before you get in) ask how much the journey costs, so as not to get an unpleasant surprise at the end.
Where to catch a taxi in Terceira?
There are only taxi ranks in the centre of Angra do Heroísmo (near Praça Velha) and in the centre of Praia da Vitória, in Praça P. Francisco Ornelas da Câmara.
However, if you are in any other town on the island, go to the nearest café or grocery store and simply ask for help to call a taxi.
