It’s the perfect island destination for fans of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, History, and underwater treasures.
Terceira is the second biggest island of the Azores, and it’s called the purple island. It’s the home to the oldest city in the Azores and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983, Angra do Heroismo.
Discovered in the 1430s, it was first called Island of Jesus Christ. It was later named Terceira (Portuguese for third, as a reference to it being the third island discovered).
The settlers arrived much later here, in the late 1400s, compared to Santa Maria and São Miguel. The island quickly flourished in the next 200 years. It became the official stopover for ships traveling between Europe, America, and India. In 1836, Charles Darwin stopped here to take a well-deserved 3-day break from his expedition to the Galapagos.
According to his journals, there was nothing important here to see. Well… I beg to differ…
Terceira Island played a part in world heritage and History. It’s linked to the Portuguese Civil War between liberals and absolutists in the 19th century. And during World War II, it was chosen as the location for a British Military Base (later handed over to the United States).
If I had to find a new nickname for Terceira, I’d call it the “cultural island”. It sums up what the island does best.
Hi Kelly,
we will go to Terceira in middle of the July. I would like to ask you (in your opinion) you can see any whale at this time. When we were St. Miguel last year in oktober we didn’t see, only dolphins.
Thank you for reply,
Anikó
Hi Anikó! Well, as a wild animal whales will do as they please. Sometimes they’ll come closer to humans and sometimes they won’t. Technically, you can spot whales all year long and in most of the islands. I suggest you read this information by Visit Azores to know more: https://www.visitazores.com/en/experience-the-azores/whale Cheers!
Thank you very much for the useful information! Have a nice day!
Hi,
We are heading to Terceira and wanted to know if there is any problems with renting cars ? Should we get insurance and would you recommend any rental company at the airport ? Thank you Kelly
Hello Kelly, you should be fine about renting a car in Terceira. I don’t drive, so I can’t advise you on which car rental to choose or what are the rules on insurance. There are nine different car rental companies at the airport, and all of them with a working website. Here’s the full list: http://aerogarelajes.azores.gov.pt/rentacar.aspx