Planning your trip to Terceira, the third largest (and second most populated) island of the Azores but have no idea where to stay?
In this article we tell you which are the best areas to stay in Terceira, the pros and cons of each of the areas, the accommodations in which we have stayed in RandomTrip in our different visits to the island and recommendations of several accommodations in each of the areas. In addition, we recommend whether it is better to base in a specific area of the island or divide the stay in different areas, depending on the duration of your trip, based on our own experience since we did it both ways in different trips.
Don’t miss anything on the island with our complete guide to Terceira
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Best area to stay in Terceira
Terceira is the third largest island of the Azores, although much more touristic and developed than the second (Pico). As indicated in our complete guide to Terceira, we consider the ideal time to visit the island to be between 5 and 7 days.
We have divided the island into three areas, which you can see below on the map, and below we indicate the pros and cons of staying in each area. As, in general, from almost any point of the island you will be maximum 30 minutes away from most places, you can choose a single base or split your stay without any problem.
At RandomTrip we have been to Terceira twice: the first time we divided our stay in 2 bases (a few days in the capital, Angra do HeroÃsmo, and a few days in Porto Judeu, also in the south), and the second time we stayed only in one accommodation during the whole stay (Quinta do Martelo, in São Mateus, also in the south).
No option is better or worse, and it depends a little bit on your tastes, budget, how many days you have on the island, if you are going to rent a car or not, if you don’t mind driving at night to go to dinner, etc.
Here are the pros and cons of each area:
- Angra do HeroÃsmo:
- Main city and capital of the island
- Where there is more choice of accommodation and restaurants
- Restaurants are kore expensive, more crowded (especially in high season) and more touristy (less quality)
- More expensive accommodations
- Parking can be a problem
- If you don’t rent a car, it is the easiest place to hire tours.
- Other places in the south of Terceira (São Mateus, Feteira, Porto Judeu…):
- Smaller and manageable villages or towns
- Good offer of accommodations and restaurants
- Less touristy and better priced restaurants
- Less expensive accommodations
- Easy parking
- North of Terceira (Praia da Vitória, Lajes, Biscoitos…):
- Praia da Vitória is the second main city of the island, although less bustling than Angra. The rest of the places are rather small and quiet villages.
- Good offer of accommodations and restaurants
- Better quality restaurants, although some are also touristy.
- Less expensive accommodations
- Easy parking
If you choose to stay outside Angra do HeroÃsmo, we recommend you to take a look at the accommodations of the rural tourism association Casas Açorianas. During our 2025 trip to the Azores, we collaborated with the association with the aim of getting to know some of their associated rural tourism accommodations, which we include below with photos of our experience. In addition, you can see the stories we made those days in Terceira where the accommodations are shown in this link.
Best accommodations and hotels in Terceira
Where to stay in Angra do HeroÃsmo
Angra do HeroÃsmo is probably the preferred option for most people visiting Terceira, mainly due to its gastronomic and accommodation offer and the fact that everything in Terceira is close by. It is also the ideal place to stay if you don’t rent a car, since most of the shared tours depart from there, although in our opinion the best way to get to know Terceira is to rent a car.
However, it also has several disadvantages: we have noticed a rather high increase in accommodation prices in recent years, parking can be complicated (if you stay in Angra do HeroÃsmo, we recommend looking for accommodation that includes parking or has a free parking area nearby), restaurants fill up and you have to book sometimes several days in advance, and restaurant prices have also increased while also decreasing in quality and/or quantity.
Below is a list of accommodations we have listed in Angra for our next visits to Terceira:
My Angra Charming House (from 50€/night): one of the cheapest options in downtown Angra, this hostel offers rooms with private or shared bathroom and beds in dormitory. Don’t be fooled by the name, it doesn’t really look like a hostel because of how nice it is.
Casa Flor d’Sal (from 55€/night): an apartment with a double bed (and a sofa bed) for up to three people, with terrace, in the center of Angra.
Hotel do Caracol (from 75€/night): comfortable double rooms with private bathroom in a hotel with swimming pool and views of the Atlantic Ocean. It is a 15-minute walk from the historic center of Angra, includes breakfast and has indoor parking included.
Lost in Terceira (from 60€/night): Although it is not in the center of Angra (it is a 5 min drive), it is ideal if you are looking for a two-bedroom house, comfortable, well equipped, with a small garden and 10 attention (everyone values the attention of AdÃlia and João).
Terceira Mar Hotel (from 89€/night): 4-star hotel with saltwater infinity pool, indoor pool, Turkish bath and massage service. Ideal to wake up not only with a sea view but also with a delicious breakfast buffet with regional products.
The Shipyard (from 95€/night): studios and apartments with sea views in a very new hotel, 8 minutes walk from Prainha.
Torel Terra Brava (from 112€/night): if you want something more luxurious, you have this 5-star hotel with indoor and outdoor swimming pool, sauna, Turkish bath and 46 beautiful and comfortable rooms in the historic center of the city.
You can see more accommodations in Angra do HeroÃsmo here:
Where to stay in the south of Terceira: São Mateus, Feteira, Porto Judeu…
The other places in the south of Terceira are an ideal choice for accommodation, since they are equally well located (everything in Terceira is close, usually within a 30-minute drive), have several options for dining in the evening (or you can drive a few minutes to Angra where there is more choice) and it is possible to find special accommodations and/or with sea views at good prices.
It was precisely in one of these special accommodations in the south of the island, very close to the capital (5 km from Angra do HeroÃsmo, 10 minutes by car) that we stayed on our last trip to the island. Staying at Quinta do Martelo (from 85€/night), a partner of Casas Açorianas, is a trip in itself, a trip back in time.
The farm takes us back to the rural life of yesteryear with authenticity and attention to detail. Its name comes from an eighteenth century knocker that still adorns the front door of the farm and they are so serious about time travel that they keep the store, the pottery, the cellar, the carpentry, etc., as they were. The tour guide is the owner, Gilberto, who will tell you curiosities in great detail that will make you doubt if you are still in 21st century. You can see our experience at Quinta do Martelo in the videos we published in our Instagram stories.
The slogan of Quinta do Martelo, Tradition and Nature, sums up quite well the priority of Gilberto Vieira, pioneer in Rural Tourism in Portugal, owner of the farm and current president of the rural tourism association Casas Açorianas: “Aqui não fazemos decoração- só de coração- aqui fazemos recomposição” (“here we don’t do decoration, we do recomposition”). Furthermore, the principle of the farm is that all activities are ecological and sustainable, trying to live as much as possible in balance with nature.
Entering each of Quinta do Martelo‘s lodging units is to immerse yourself in an ethnographic world of daily accessories of yesteryear and Catholic liturgy that transport you to the home of a Terceira family from more than half a century ago. From the house switches to the family photographs, the hand-carved cutlery to the carefully crafted, personalized, locally handmade pottery, everything is thought out in detail. The breakfasts, made with local products, are abundant and delicious.
In addition to the accommodation units and the areas of the farm that make us travel back in time, the farm has a swimming pool and a delicious (and famous) restaurant, known as one of the best on the island where you can enjoy an authentic experience and taste one of the best alcatras of the island, a typical dish from Terceira. The restaurant is open to everyone, not just guests, and is highly recommended.
The traditional restaurant “Quinta do Martelo” boasts authentic gastronomy from Terceira and offers not only one of the best Alcatras but also other typical dishes such as “Galinha na Telha no Alambique” (chicken between tiles in the Alambic), or a delicious vegetable soup (from the farm’s garden). Also here everything is carefully prepared to make us feel in the Terceira life of yesteryear, from the entrance through the mercearia (the store), the original restored furniture and even the crockery. In addition to the exquisite and abundant food, the service is impeccable, the staff is very friendly.
If you go in a group and give advance notice, before dinner you can have an interesting tasting at the “Mercearia” (the store), with a detailed explanation by Gilberto. In this experience you will taste several types of cheeses, typical dishes and local products such as Porto Martins olives (the only olives produced in the Azores are from Terceira), lupins salted directly from the sea, favas com molho de unha and even potatoes with pimenta da terra, a very good Azorean sauce.
On our first trip to the island, we split our stay between Angra do HeroÃsmo and Porto Judeu, in one of the accommodations in the area with a pool overlooking the Cabras islets. The accommodation we stayed in no longer exists and is currently a private house but there are several accommodations next door with a pool and/or a similar view.
Recommended accommodations in the south of Terceira (overlooking the Cabras islets):
Casinha de Muda da Feteira (from 52€/night, Feteira): one-bedroom house with hammock facing the sea, overlooking the Cabras islets.
AlLuar Lodge (from 60€/night, Porto Judeu): Bungalows with pool right next to the Miradouro da Cruz do Canário, facing the sea with the Cabras islets in front. The accommodation where we were initially going to stay on Inês’ birthday (but finally we went on a trip to the neighboring island of Pico).
Farol Guest House (from 70€/night, São Mateus): very close to the Negrito natural pool (and the Beira Mar restaurant), this accommodation with a view offers modern double rooms, some with balcony and sea view.
Apartmento Bela Vista Ilha Terceira (from 72€/night, Feteira): an apartment with balcony overlooking the sea and the islet that accommodates up to 5 people.
Casa Doce Mar (from 80€/night, Feteira): a house that accommodates up to 6 people. It has 2 bedrooms, each room with a double bed and a single bed.
Canário do Mar (from 115€/night, Porto Judeu): another option next to the Miradouro da Cruz do Canário, this house with one bedroom and sofa bed faces the sea. Bicycle rental service is available.
You can see more accommodations in the south of Terceira here:
Where to stay in the north of Terceira: Praia da Vitória, Lajes, Biscoitos…
In the north of Terceira there are also several options to stay: Praia da Vitória is the second urban center of the island, much quieter than Angra do HeroÃsmo but with a good offer of restaurants for dinner. You also have Lajes (next to the airport) and Biscoitos (with its famous and incredible natural pools and vineyards), as well as other small towns that dot the north coast.
At Randomtrip we have not stayed in this area, but we leave you a list of accommodations that we have noted for future visits to the island:
The Music House (Lajes, from 54€/night): one-bedroom apartment with terrace, garden and breathtaking sea views
Casa da Salga (Biscoitos, from 67€/night): an amazing house with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, barbecue and another smaller house if you are less, with only one bedroom. The best: the sea views and that it is 8 minutes walk from the natural pools of Biscoitos.
Alojamento Ponta Negra (Biscoitos, from 70€/night): comfortable apartments 15 minutes walk from the natural pools of Biscoitos.
Hostel da Palmeira (Praia da Vitória, from 80€/night): those who stay here say that it feels more like a hotel than a hostel. This impeccable accommodation has double rooms (some with terrace) and bunk beds for those looking for a more economical option.
Hotel Varandas do Atlântico(Praia da Vitória, from 90€/night): double rooms with desk and private bathroom, in front of the beach, in a 3-star hotel
Quinta Rico (Quatro Ribeiras, from 100€/night): house with 5 bedrooms, swimming pool and sea view, accommodates up to 10 people.
Photography House by PontaNegraAzores (Altares, from 103€/night): beautiful new one-bedroom house with amazing views
Atlântida Mar Hotel (Praia da Vitória, from 111€/night): spacious and comfortable rooms in a 4-star hotel with outdoor pool, sauna, whirlpool and gym, as well as direct access to Praia’s promenade.
Quinta dos Reis (Biscoitos, from 125€/night): excellent two-bedroom house with garden, barbecue and private parking
Caparica Azores Ecolodge (Biscoitos, from 130€/night): Six cabins in the middle of nature where you can disconnect from everything. From some of them we can contemplate the sky and from others even the sea. If there are several of you, there is a house with a garden and two bedrooms. One of the most special accommodations on the island.
Casas do Morgadio (Biscoitos, from 145€/night): one-bedroom villa among vineyards with swimming pool
You can see more accommodations in the north of Terceira here:
Remember that all prices mentioned in this post are approximate and may change depending on the type of room and the season of each accommodation.
Disclaimer: Casas Açorianas-Associação de Turismo em Espaço Rural invited us to try some of the partner accommodations in Terceira mentioned in this guide but all opinions and information expressed in this post are our own.
Hopefully this post based on our own experiences of the two trips we made to Terceira will help you decide in which area and which accommodation to choose on the island. The place where we return after each adventure and where we wake up to start a new day of traveling influences (to a greater or lesser extent depending on the importance you give to it and the budget you have to dedicate to this part) to make it more special so we hope we have helped you to have clearer ideas and… Have a good stay, Randomtripper!
