Terceira
The nine islands of the Azores are divided into three groups:
(The central)Terceira, Graciosa, Sao Jorge, Pico and Faial islands.
(The eastern) Sao Miguel and Santa Maria islands.
(The western) Flores and Corvo islands.
Today we are focussing on Terceira Island. With a surface-area of 403 km2 and a total coastal length of around 116.6 km Terceira is quite large, imagine the Isle of white, which is almost the same size at around 381Km2.
To explore Terceira in more detail
One of the three capital cities of the Azores is Angra do Heroismo, and it can be found here on Terceira to the south of the island. It's steeped in history and is classified in UNESCO’s International Heritage list. WIKI
The island is serviced by Lajes International Airport with flights to mainland Portugal and between the islands being offered by Tui, Ryanair, Aireuropa, Sata, Tap and Azores Airlines.
The island is just as you would expect, traditionally Portuguese with narrow cobbled streets and Portuguese style houses in the towns and has a very well maintained dual carriageway connecting the capital to the airport. Terceira is a beautiful green island, volcanic in origin and one with patchwork fields with dry stone walls. It also has nice sandy beaches, a pretty harbour and lots of rugged countryside with forests ideal for walking, imagine a Scottish island, it's kind of the same but with better weather and masses of brightly coloured Hydrangeas. There is also a golf course on Terceira. The Terceira Island 18 hole Golf Club is located a few kilometres from Angra do Heroísmo and Praia da Vitória.
The climate is much cooler than the mainland averaging 30°C/86°F in the summer and rarely dropping below 7°C/45°F during the winter. The yearly average temperature is a 17ºC/63ºF and cloud is often present even during the summer months. You should also consider the wind and the humidity if planning to purchase here.
The Islands population is around 56,000 inhabitants and property is plentiful. You can pick up a three bedroom house here for around 80,000 euros if you look hard enough and we would recommend finding an agent to do this for you. Check the directories file for Real estate agents on Terceira.