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Flores Island is one of the smallest islands in the Azores, and also the most remote. In fact, it is located in the Western Group, made up of the islands of Flores and Corvo, and is quite far from the other islands of the Azores.
It is not easy to get to Flores Island.
That is why I decided to write this article, where you will discover:
- How to get to Flores Island
- Things nobody tells you about getting to Flores Island
- How to move around Flores Island
How to get to Flores Island
The first thing you should know is that the only direct flights to Flores Island depart from other Azorean islands. In other words, it is not possible to travel directly to Flores Island without being in the Azores, not even from Lisbon or Porto (the main Portuguese cities, in mainland Portugal).
In reality, most of the Azorean islands are like this, because the only islands with direct flights from mainland Portugal and some cities in the USA, Canada and others, are the islands of São Miguel and Terceira.
So, these are the airports with direct connections to Flores Island:
Direct Flights to Flores Island (FLW)
- Ponta Delgada (PDL) – São Miguel Island
- Terceira (TER) – Lajes Airport, in Terceira island
- Horta (HOR) – Faial Island
There are also direct flights from Corvo Island, but you will never go to Corvo (a tiny island with only 400 inhabitants) before going to Flores. In fact, people usually explore Corvo on a day trip from Flores Island.
So my advice is: first get to either PDL airport in São Miguel island or to TER airport in Terceira island, before heading to Flores Island.
List of Airports with Direct flights to São Miguel (PDL)
From Portugal
- Lisbon
- Airport: Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS)
- Airlines: TAP Air Portugal, Azores Airlines
- Porto
- Airport: Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport (OPO)
- Airlines: TAP Air Portugal, Azores Airlines
- Funchal (Madeira)
- Airport: Cristiano Ronaldo Airport (FNC)
- Airlines: TAP Air Portugal, Azores Airlines
From North America
- Newark, USA
- Airport: Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
- Airlines: Azores Airlines (seasonal)
- Boston, USA
- Airport: Logan International Airport (BOS)
- Airlines: Azores Airlines, TAP Air Portugal
- New York City, USA
- Airport: John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
- Airlines: Azores Airlines, TAP Air Portugal
- Montreal, Canada
- Airport: Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL)
- Airlines: Azores Airlines (seasonal)
From other European countries
- London, United Kingdom
- Airport: London Stansted Airport (STN)
- Airlines: Azores Airlines (seasonal)
- Frankfurt, Germany
- Airport: Frankfurt Airport (FRA)
- Airlines: TAP Air Portugal (via Lisbon)
Here’s an updated and comprehensive list of direct flights to Terceira Island (Lajes Airport, TER) that includes European cities as well:
List of Airports with Direct flights to Terceira Island (TER)
From Portugal
- Lisbon, Portugal
- Airport: Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS)
- Airlines: TAP Air Portugal, SATA Air Açores
- Porto, Portugal
- Airport: Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport (OPO)
- Airlines: TAP Air Portugal
- Funchal, Portugal (Madeira)
- Airport: Cristiano Ronaldo Airport (FNC)
- Airlines: TAP Air Portugal
From North America
Boston, USA
- Airport: Logan International Airport (BOS)
- Airlines: Azores Airlines (seasonal)
Things nobody tells you about getting to Flores Island
- It is not easy to get to Flores Island. Not at all! This island only has direct flights from three other Azorean islands (São Miguel, Terceira and Faial) and, unless your city is on the list of airports I mentioned above, you will first have to travel to a city that has flights to these three islands. So, most likely, to get to Flores you will have to take three flights.
- Precisely because the probability of having to take 2 or 3 flights to get to Flores is very high, it is quite possible that you will have to spend the night somewhere in between. In other words, it is quite possible that it will take you 24 hours or more to get to Flores.
- Many (and I mean many!) times flights to Flores are delayed or even cancelled due to bad weather. In other words: it is quite possible that you will arrive in Flores one or two days later than expected, and there is also a strong possibility that you will have to stay on the island for a few more days because of the bad weather.
Getting to and from Flores, especially outside the summer months, is something that requires time, flexibility and patience. Therefore, if you are short on time, I do not recommend visiting Flores island.
How to move around Flores Island
Moving around Flores Island is like moving around any other island in the Azores: you do NEED to rent a car.
Yes, there are a few public buses but their frequency is scarce and they are not very reliable. In any case, if you want to give it a try, you can check its schedules.
Rent a car in Flores Island
As it is a small island and it has a lot of visitors, there are few rental cars and those that do exist are very expensive. Very expensive!
To give you an idea, I rented a car for 15 days in Terceira, in September, and paid €370. On Flores island, for 7 days of rental, also in September, I paid €900. A fortune!
This is why I recommend you to book your car with AutoEurope, a price aggregator that will give you the best prices on the market. It also allows you to cancel your reservation 48 hours in advance without penalty.
Call a taxi
If you don’t want to explore the island too much, then you can occasionally use taxis. Personally, I don’t think it’s very practical. In 2023, over 68,000 people visited Flores, and there are only SEVEN taxis on the entire island. This means that they are ALWAYS full of work.
On the other hand, since the taxis are all parked in Santa Cruz das Flores, they will always charge you for the trip from that point and not from where they pick you up. This makes taking a taxi very expensive.
However, if you need to call a taxi, here are the contact details for taxi drivers in Flores island:
