(No availability) 8 Day All-Inclusive Culinary Vacation in the Azores Islands: Curated Food, Wine & Nature Experience
Madalena, Pico Island, Azores
The listing is fully booked, get notified when dates are available
We’ll only ever send you one email notification and will never spam you
Similar available listings
We've found similar listings that are available to book for the dates you've chosen
Sightseeing and Wine Holiday in the Azores
While the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean has been making the news in recent years, the island of Pico is a hidden gem yet to be discovered by most! Oh! My Cod Tours loves going beyond the obvious, getting up close with captivating places and the local people, via their gastronomy, culture, and ways of life – always with a laid-back approach to group travel. This is why they’d like to invite you to this Oh! My Cod Pico Experience!
Highlights
- Exclusive curated food experiences with natives
- Fine dining with wine pairing at the award-winning winery Azores Wine Company
- Discover the Unesco Heritage of Pico Vineyards and meet local wine producers
- Sample a wine unique in the whole world, which goes for 600 EUR a bottle
- Climb and sleep on top of a volcano or discover Faial Island!
- Taste farm-to-table products and discover their terroir
- Behind-the-scenes cultural experiences (depending on the season)
- 7 nights accommodation
7 days with instruction in English
The organizer also speaks: French, Portuguese
Group size: Maximum of 8 participants
Airport transfer included:
Pico Airport
Accommodation
You'll stay at a hand-picked accommodation in Pico Island (don’t worry about packing and unpacking your luggage, as during the entire trip you will get to comfortably stay at the same accommodation).
On Oh! My Cod Food & Cultural Trips' adventures, the majority of the accommodations will be in local properties with full amenities. You will be able to enjoy relaxing moments at home the way you wish.
Program
Who is this trip for?
Foodies, food and wine lovers, nature lovers, slow food enthusiasts, solo travelers, couples, and small groups of friends. Oh! My Cod Food & Cultural Trips loves working with people from diverse cultural backgrounds and identities. This is a Lgbtq2s+ friendly experience.
Top 10 experiences in this Culinary Wine and Adventure trip
- Fine dining with wine pairing at the award-winning winery Azores Wine Company. Backstage access during a private visit to the winery. Wine pairing with exclusive bottles which are not available in the market.
- Exclusive curated food experiences with natives: harvest and lunch with locals; indulge yourself with a meal prepared by a senior local in the luxurious São Jorge Island facing the ocean; discover Portuguese cuisine with a homemade meal cooked by your chef / hosts; meet a multigenerational wine producing family, know their history, visit their home (now an ethnographic museum) and taste their wine with a homemade meal.
- Discover the Unesco Heritage of Pico Vineyards, get to taste limited editions of Pico Wine and meet local wine producers who are at the forefront of this landscape and sustainable revolution.
- Sample a wine unique in the whole world, which goes for €600 a bottle: this is the same wine that Russian tzars used to drink, from vineyards with more than 130 years old. This wine has 18% alcohol but is not fortified – is this a miracle?!
- Climb and sleep on top of a volcano or discover Faial Island!
- Taste farm-to-table products and discover their terroir (namely a hydroponic small farm, cheeses with PDO status, PGI grass-fed beef, tropical fruits, coffee) and sample the uttermost fresh seafood: the diversity of the Atlantic Ocean on your plate including goose barnacles, the best tuna in Europe, and so much more!
- Behind-the-scenes cultural experiences, depending on the season: wine harvest, cooking up a feast for religious ceremonies (Espírito Santo Celebrations), cheese making, bread baking class, among others.
- 7 volcanic natural swimming pools, such a fun and refreshing experience.
- Dolphin and whale watching experience, with a sustainable local enterprise led by certified guides.
- The amazing Azores Oh! My Cod hosts and philosophy, are available to you 24 h / 24 h during this trip
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival at Pico
Arrival to the island, either by flight from the mainland or by ferry from the neighboring Faial Island. Introduction to fellow travelers during welcome dinner, at one of the most celebrated typical restaurants in Madalena. Sample some of the most representative local dishes, including local blue tuna, Azores PGI beef, barnacles, and more.
Day 2: Awe-inspiring scenery
Start the day with a walk among the UNESCO-protected Landscape of the Pico Island Vineyard Culture. Explore the historical town of Lajes do Pico, where you enjoy a fresh fish meal with several local varieties not easily seen elsewhere.
Relax and swim in the incredible natural pools. Road trip and admire the scenery of Pico's plateau.
Free evening to explore at your own rhythm, or simply rest.
Day 3: From whales to wines
Free morning to sleep in and relax. Whale and dolphin watching boat trip.
Learn about the history of whale hunting and the local people involved in this trade, the baleeiros.
Sunset with an al fresco wine tasting with an up-and-coming young female wine producer.
Day 4: Day trip to another island
Depending on the time of the year and weather conditions, you will travel to Faial or São Jorge, by ferry boat. Activities on the other islands may include wine tastings, themed meals in special locations, lunch with a local family in a remote "Fajã", a visit to a cheese factory, and visit to a tropical fruits or coffee plantations, among others.
Day 5: Wine harvest and fine dining
Depending on the island and the time of the year, you may stay overnight at a different island. If so, you will return to Pico after lunch. In August and September, participate in the wine harvest with the locals: grapes, great local food, and lots of laughter are guaranteed!
Fine dining dinner of 6 courses and 4 wines, at the celebrated Azores Wine Company.
Day 6: Sun and natural pool
Explore the area of Lajido, where one of our favorite natural pools is located! Wine tasting at a local cellar, followed by a traditional multi-course lunch. A beautiful opportunity to try family-produced wines and traditional festive dishes such as Sopas de Espírito Santo, not usually served at restaurants.
You travel onwards to Sao Roque do Pico in the north of the island, where you'll also have the chance to have an invigorating swim at a natural pool. Have an early night in, as tomorrow it's a BIG day.
Day 7: Climb Mount Pico
Trek the biggest mountain in Portugal with an expert guide. You will pack your lunch with local products, to energize you as you go up. Enjoy marvelous views all over the island and the Atlantic Ocean. Alternatively, come hike with us in volcanic and verdant landscapes (suitable to all levels), and end with a refreshing dip in the ocean.
Group picnic in a natural setting, with a tasting of local delicacies.
Optional: enjoy a massage to recover your muscles before you enjoy a special evening.
Home-made farewell dinner prepared by your hosts! This will be a great opportunity to taste other typical Portuguese dishes and wines from the Portuguese mainland.
Day 8: Say goodbye, or not!
Return home or, optionally, stay longer in Pico or any of the other Azores islands. Officially, the Pico Experience ends here, but the Oh! My Cod Food & Cultural Trips team is happy to give you some tips on how to travel onwards, both in the Azores and especially in the mainland, in Lisbon, where Oh! My Cod Food & Cultural Trips offers other highly rated gastronomic and cultural experiences.
Included excursions
Water sports
- Go whale-watching: this is one of the world’s top spots to do it!
- Swim in the most beautiful natural pools all around the island
- Snorkel in a stunning Marine Protected Area
- See dolphins during a boat trip
Nature and adventure
- Climb Mount Pico, the highest mountain in Portugal (2,351 meters / 7,713 feet)
- Immerse yourself in nature as you explore Pico’s hiking trails (from the coastal lava fields to the verdant central high plateau)
- Walk and get immersed in the surrealistic Pico vineyards landscape, Unesco Heritage
- Admire centuries-old dragon trees at the biggest Dracaena draco forest in Macaronesia
- Visit a local hydroponic small farm
- Soak in the scenic views all around you: mountain, greenery, ocean… it’s all there!
- All these activities are led by an OMC host or/and a local guide.
Day trips to Faial or São Jorge Islands
Explore one of the neighboring islands: Faial or São Jorge. Depending on the day-trip destination you will:
- Sip local coffee from the Azores at a local plantation
- Experience what living in a “fajã” is like
- Enjoy a traditional meal cooked by locals in an exclusive setting
- Taste giant clams from a local lake
- Swim in one of the best natural pools in the region
- Lay down your towel on a black sand beach surrounded by unique landscapes
- Taste a unique wine from the first vineyards planted at the foot of Capelinhos Volcano
Location
The Azores islands are an internationally certified sustainable destination, nominated every year for several categories by the World Travel Awards. The remote island of Pico is yet to know the effects of mass tourism, welcoming each visitor to its black and green landscape in a distinctive and slow-paced way.
This curated Pico trips focus on the foodways! The local gastronomy of the Azores, its unique volcanic Pico wines, and the people who make it all possible, but this time around also with a dash of adventure in an incredible natural setting! You will be far from the crowds but still intertwined with the local communities, curating exclusive food and cultural experiences and encounters you wouldn’t otherwise be able to live.
Pico Island
Pico Island is strategically located in the so-called Azorean Triangle, close to two other islands, Faial and São Jorge, that can be reached by ferry boat in as little as half an hour.
Pico has a very unique ecosystem due to the black Volcanic rock present all over the island. Thanks to the local’s tenacity who, against all odds, among other achievements, managed to grow fantastic grapes from rocks in the landscape of Pico Wine, which since 2004 has been considered a UNESCO World Heritage site!
Pico Island is also where you can climb the highest mountain in Portugal, Mount Pico, that reaches 2351 m / 7713 ft high.
Food
This experience includes transportation to all activities and meals listed, 6 meals, and up to 5 wine tastings.
Azores gastronomy
- Indulge in the local cuisine of the Azores islands
- Sample the most delectable sustainable tuna in the world
- Try local seafood delicacies, such as limpets, barnacles and giant clams
- Taste Azorean grass-fed PGI beef cooked in typical recipes
- You will visit Pico’s most renowned restaurants to taste its “land and sea”
- From simple family-style eateries with deliciously authentic food to a multi-course fine dining meal with wine pairing at the Azores Wine Company
- Enjoy a group meal prepared by OMC Chef Natacha Dias that will give a broader view of Portuguese cuisine and wine.
- Visit an artisanal cheese factory and taste Azorean PDO cheeses
- Sip local coffee from the Azores
- Savor the islands’ tropical fruits
Pico wine
- Discover the volcanic vineyards of Pico, a Unesco World Heritage site
- Learn the fascinating history of Pico wine (always with a glass in hand!)
- Taste Pico’s best wines, during at least 5 distinct wine tastings
- Meet well-established and awarded wine producers as well as talented, new-generation female winemakers who are at the forefront of Pico’s unique wine landscape and sustainable revolution.
- Get limited editions of Pico Wine and meet local wine producers
This will be a full immersion into Pico’s wine culture – one of the most distinctive in the world!
Azorean people and culture
- Meet the people of Pico Island
- Enjoy a meal with a local family
- Understand the whaling history of the region
- Participate in the wine harvest with the locals (August & September trips only!)
- Be a part of, and maybe even help cook up a feast for the religious ceremonies of the Espirito Santo with the locals (exclusive to certain periods of the year)
- Discover the local handicrafts created by resident artisans (on fish scales, in wood, on lava stone, scrimshaw and others)
- Make new friends with fellow travel
Dietary restrictions
Oh! My Cod Food & Cultural Trips embraces a willingness to try new things! But Oh! My Cod Food & Cultural Trips tries its best to accommodate dietary restrictions (vegetarian, pescatarian, keto diet, and others) and food allergies (celiac disease, dairy-free, and others). Please let them know about any specific restrictions or food allergies.
The following meals are included:
- Drinks
The following drinks are included:
- Alcoholic beverages
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Lactose Free
- Other dietary requirements on request
If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation
Things to do (optional)
Rest or experience more
Oh! My Cod Food & Cultural Trips has a great program lined up for you, but it’s not all rush, rush!
Take it easy and recharge your batteries
You can also soak up the sun …
…and/or take a refreshing dip at one of the natural pools
Apart from the scheduled activities and meals, you’ll have free time too!
The Oh! My Cod Food & Cultural Trips team can help you to book additional activities such as:
- Massages
- Scuba-diving tours
- Snorkeling activities
- Excursion into a lava cave
- Visiting local museums
- Baking activities with a local
- Culinary workshops with OMC Chef Natacha Dias
What's included
- 7 nights at hand-picked accommodation during the entire trip
- All meals and drinks included in OMC activities
- Full admission to all proposed activities, locations, and events (water sports, trekking, cooking class, cultural events, museums, gastronomic experiences at restaurants or private, wine tastings, behind-the-scenes cultural experiences)
- 4-5 Azorean wine-tasting sessions from local producers
- All-inclusive day-trip to one of the neighboring islands (Faial or São Jorge)
- Two OMC hosts food and cultural experts throughout the entire experience and an OMC Chef on specific days
- Transportation during all activities mentioned in the program
- Private transfers to and from Pico airport or ferry terminal (arrival and departure day)
What's not included
- Flights and/or ferry to and from Pico Island
- All activities, meals, and costs not listed as included on the weekly OMC itinerary
- Travel insurance (mandatory)
- Visa to Portugal, if applicable
- On-going trips to other islands before or after this culinary trip (but Oh! My Cod Food & Cultural Trips is happy to make suggestions!)
How to get there
Recommended Airports
PDL
João Paulo II Airport
261 km
Transfer not provided
PIX
Pico Airport
7 km
Transfer included
Arrival by airplane
Please book your flight to arrive at Pico Airport (PIX). Pick-up and drop-off at Pico Airport (PIX) or Pico ferry terminal is included in the price.
There are many different ways of getting to Pico Island. You can fly directly from Lisbon. You can fly to Faial or Sao Jorge and then get a 30-minute ferry to Pico (there are frequent crossings). Sometimes this option can be cheaper than flying directly.
You can fly to Pico from the US with or without a stopover at Ponta Delgada (São Miguel Island and get a glimpse of this island).
Whether you fly directly to Pico or arrive there by ferry, the team will meet you at either the airport or the ferry port and take you to your accommodation via private transfer.
Airport: Pico Airport
Airport transfer included: Pico Airport
No additional charges. You can request this in the next step.
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 100% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
Why choose Tripaneer.com
Largest Selection
Friendly Customer Service
Offers for every budget
Best Price