Heightened sanitation
Daily cleaning, installation of cabin HEPA filters on flights to São Miguel
Low season |
January | Best time to beat the crowds with an average 4% drop in price. |
---|---|---|
High season |
December | Most popular time to fly with an average 8% increase in price. |
Average price round-trip |
$956 | (avg. price over the last 2 weeks) |
Good deal round-trip |
$533 | or less |
Good deal one-way |
$232 | or less |
Entry restrictions
Portugal has reopened its borders to travelers arriving from the EU, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea or Thailand
Until further notice travel from the UK into Portugal is restricted to Portuguese nationals and foreign citizens with legal residency in Portugal.
Travelers from areas other than those listed above may enter or transit through Portugal only if they have an "essential" reason such as professional, study, family reunification, health, or humanitarian reasons. Business travelers should be prepared to describe the reason for business travel and may be asked for evidence. Students must have the appropriate visa and/or be prepared to present evidence of registration with a Portuguese educational institution.
Third country national holders of residency permits or long-term resident visas issued by EU member states may transit Portugal to return to their country of residence.
Entry requirements
Travelers arriving from the EU, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea or Thailand, will be subject to health screening on arrival at mainland airports.
Travelers arriving from the UK must be a Portuguese national or a citizen legally resident in Portugal and be required to present a medical certificate with a negative COVID-19 PCR test result issued within 72 hours of departure. Travelers without a valid medical certificate with a negative PCR test result will be tested at the airport.
Travelers entering Portugal from countries other than those listed above (except those only transiting through Portugal and not leaving the airport) must present a negative COVID-19 test result issued in the last 72 hours. They will also be subject to health screening on arrival. Their temperature will be checked and if it is high or they show symptoms, they will be referred to the health authorities.
Travelers arriving in Madeira and Porto Santo must complete and submit an epidemiological survey 12-48 hours before departure. This will generate a QR code which must be presented upon arrival. On arrival, travelers must present a medical certificate with a negative COVID-19 PCR test result issued within 72 hours prior to departure. More information is available here.
Travelers arriving in the Azores must present a medical certificate with a negative COVID-19 PCR test result issued within 72 hours prior to departure. More info is available here
From 9 December, travelers will need a negative COVID-19 test for travel from São Miguel and Terceira to any of the other islands in the archipelago.
Quarantine requirements
Travelers arriving in Madeira and Azores without a medical certificate with a negative COVID-19 PCR test result issued within 72 hours prior to departure are subject to COVID-19 test and quarantine until they received the test results.
Residents in Madeira and Azores returning home to the region, will need to take a second COVID-19 test 5-7 days from the date they were first tested. They must self-isolate at home until they know the result of the second test.
There are currently 109,312 active cases of COVID-19 diagnosed in PT and 7,925 deaths as of Jan 12 2021
Please see our Coronavirus (COVID-19) Travel Restrictions page for more information on restrictions worldwide.
Azores Airlines has waived its change and cancellation fees on flights to São Miguel. Confirm policy on booking site.
An average nonstop flight from the United States to São Miguel takes 21h 51m, covering a distance of 3428 miles. The most popular route is Boston - Ponta Delgada (Açores) with an average flight time of 4h 50m.
The cheapest ticket to São Miguel from the United States found in the last 72 hours was $252. The most popular route is from Boston to Ponta Delgada (Açores) and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was $252.
Azores Airlines flies the most frequently from the United States to São Miguel.
Based on KAYAK flight searches, the most popular destination is Ponta Delgada (Açores) (100% of total searches to São Miguel).
KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a given destination and date is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.
Scores according to KAYAK customer reviews
Pros: "Crew was awesome, seat spacing comfort not so much."
Cons: "Need to have seat upright to use trays to eat on flight"
Pros: "The crew was very friendly and responsive and the flight left right on time."
Cons: "The food was not good and there was very little in way of tv entertainment."
Pros: "I liked that pillows, blankets and headphones were provided."
Cons: "Boarding was a cluster (mainly because the lines were unorganized)."
Cons: "Boarding process was disorganized and no announcement was made about paper boarding passes and not accepting electronic ones. The seats were very cramped"
Pros: "Chief of the cabin"
Cons: "Terrible customer service. Attention to disable customers is null. They literally torture the disable passengers. Very rude and insulting wheel chair staff."
Cons: "Watch out for the extra fees and restrictions. We booked a flight knowing that we weren’t allowed a free carryon. We didn’t know the cost for one checked bag was $120!"
Cons: "Not enough space for hand luhggage. Changed gate very short before boarding. No gluten free meal available on board."
Cons: "Milan airport closed and flight diverted. Horrible experience"
Pros: "loved the pillow and the blanket and the movie options"
Cons: "Terrible terrible service in helping with a tight connecting flight, terrible"
Pros: "Great flight, friendly and helpful crew."
Cons: "Didn’t connect to entertainment didnt"
Pros: "The crew was personable and was kind at the transfer desk in Lisbon."
Cons: "No USB hole, flight was so delayed that I missed my connection. I like JetBlue better than TAP."
Cons: "Not getting new business configuration"
Pros: "Liked connections and price. Nice crew."
Cons: "There was a hefty charge to reserve seats which wasn’t clearly mentioned on the Justfly website. Knee room was the tightest I’ve had on a commercial flight. The seats barely reclined which is important on an overnight flight."
Pros: "Very nice flight. Complimentary wine, meals and movies. We were in Economy Plus so the leg room was quite good."
Cons: "The flight was oversold and we got bumped off with 20 other passengers even though we had all booked months in advance. I’m still not in Marrakech, now a flight to New Jersey. I’m so sad and it’s my wedding anniversary."
Cons: "Flight got canceled and delayed, staffs very mean and unprofessional"
Pros: "The crew & cleanliness in general . On time ."
Cons: "What I don’t like in all modern flights in economy( not enough leg room) . I’m 5feet 8 and can hardly fit . I’m Not overweight. I can’t imagine what taller people must feel like."
Pros: "I liked the foot rests and leg room. The gluten-free meal was wonderful."
Cons: "Although I had a delicious gluten-free dinner roll with the main meal, I was served a soggy rice cracker for breakfast. Why not another roll?"
Pros: "The crew was very attentive and helpful"
Cons: "It was hot in the cabin. The lights were turned on and off without an announcement and without much time to sleep."
Pros: "Seats felt smaller than most international flights"
Cons: "Rock hard seats. Surly stewardess. Mediocre to poor food."
Pros: "Paid a bit more for roomier seats up front and worth it. Seemed like newer aircraft with "leather" seats and better padding than the older aircrafts."
Pros: "There was great entertainment on the first flight"
Cons: "Flight Washington delayed. Airport about closes upon Arrival!"
Pros: "I asked if it were possible to change my seat at the gate and was promptly given a window seat. They were very pleasant and professional. Food was very good and movie choices excellent. Good customer service."
Pros: "Overall flight was smooth and crew seemed nice."
Cons: "Flight was delayed leaving Boston due to an ac problem. In the end they got it squared away but we sat on the plane for an hour at the gate with absolutely no air flow and it was pretty uncomfortable. Feel as though they should've come around and gave waters, etc to passengers. Also could have improved the selection of in flight entertainment, not many offerings"
Pros: "Comfortable seat"
Cons: "No lounge airside at Lisbon airport, no shops open that early in the morning"
Pros: "Some random charter flight with a 1960sBoeing. Although the ticket said TAP. Definitely wasn't"
Pros: "Movie selection was good."
Cons: "Staff was rude and food was terrible."
Pros: "I tot was nice that the flight was not completely full so that we could have a little bit of room"
Cons: "Second connecting flight was very rough. We thought that this would be the shorter, easier flight but it was not"
Cons: "After we had to turn around to BOS because of a technical issue with the plane, the customer server was really unhelpful! I ended up figuring out a completely other flight, through another airline and booked myself on that flight. I worked with this Airline almost an hour to get myself on it and then it seems that it took TAP Portugal that hour PLUS SOME to suggest alternate flights to other stranded passengers."
Pros: "Everything was good"
Cons: "I enjoyed flying with tap"
Pros: "Free blanket, pillow, headphones, and wine! Flight was on time, no one weighed or measured carry on bags."
Cons: "Tight seats for an international flight!"
Pros: "I don't know. We weren't able to make out flight. We booked 6 months in advance through Easyjet. Our flight time was 7:45. Sometime between then and our flight, they changed the time to 6:20 without informing us. We found out when we went to check in and our flight time was different. This caused us to miss our flight. We tried to get a refund and they denied changing anything even though we have documentation."
Cons: "We booked 6 months in advance through Easyjet. Our flight time was 7:45. Sometime between then and our flight, they changed the time to 6:20 without informing us. We found out when we went to check in and our flight time was different. This caused us to miss our flight. We tried to get a refund and they denied changing anything even though we have documentation."
Pros: "Good price. Fast, friendly crew."
Cons: "Incredibly tiny seats."
Pros: "very pleasant experience flying TAP. Baggage check was free, and for our international flight we had a top notch entertainment system in seat. Would definitely fly again!"
Pros: "Lots of leg room at no extra charge. The planes are new and very clean. The attendants were friendly and helpful. Food was acceptable."
Cons: "TAP can't process global entry at Logan international airport yet."
Pros: "The service they provided us reminded us of how airlines used to treat their customers in the past. Meals were provided as was entertainment (there were individual tv screens for us to watch movies on) all for no additional cost to us. From the customer service to the services provided and the legroom on the flight -- everything was more than what we expected and we would consider flying TAP Portugal again."
Cons: "Late arrival in Lisbon, missed our connecting flight to Munich."
Pros: "The food was good and the seats were very comfortable. The selection of moves was alright. The crew was very gracious despite all the problems with boarding."
Cons: "The boarding process could not have been worse. Both legs were delayed because of bag issues. One leg a significant portion of us had to get off the flight because there was not room for all the luggage. They made me a check my carry on bag because it was over small mediocre weight requirement even though lots of people had heavier bags. Then they LOST that bad for 2 days and it was a nightmare getting it back in another country. The second leg, a person whose bag was on board was unaccounted for, so we were delayed again."
Pros: "Flight was very good and comfortable."
Cons: "My luggage did not arrive to the final destination."
Pros: "Latency is a big problem with TAP. Had two flights and bothe were late with very unpleasant Result for me, missed next flight."
Pros: "the flight itself was great"
Cons: "the airport in Lisbon is really disorganized with few people to check all the passports, so it took a long time to get to the connecting flight."
Pros: "Good organized, friendly staff"
Pros: "Nice new plane, lie flat beds, great value for the price"
Pros: "Wine and sparkling wine were better than anticipated, food was better than average;"
Cons: "I am pretty tall, so would have liked my legroom. Also, my luggage was lost, which is unusual. I had a 3h layover in LIS and did not expect luggage would be lost that easily."
Pros: "great staff"
Cons: "More food also snacks along the way"
Pros: "Salmon salad was awesome! Movie selection was good."
Cons: "The plane was a bit jankey. They didn't give out headphones until later in the flight. Being in business didn't seem like there was a lot of care, service or hustle on the crews part."
Pros: "Professional, friendly crew. Good food."
Cons: "No in flight entertainment - SATA app, WiFi did not work."
Pros: "Crew did the best they could"
Cons: "We flew near hurricane Lorenzo and the flight was the bumpiest I’ve ever had"
Pros: "Flight left Boston on time and arrived in Ponta Delgada 15 minutes early. Very clean and well maintained Airbus 321"
Pros: "Clean plane and friendly crew. Excellent landing."
Cons: "No entertainment system. SATA internet did not work"
Pros: "I sat in an exit row, so I had lots of leg room"
Cons: "They announced we should pick up our luggage and go through customs, before catching our connecting flight to Teceira. This was not so and we almost missed out next flight, very disconcerting."
Cons: "Took off late missed my connecting flight and they lost my luggage and claim process is taking for ever"
Pros: "The flight was changed from 9:20pm to 4am. Then they bumped me to the next day because they oversold the flight. So I missed 1 1/2 days of my retreat."
Cons: "Everything!"
Pros: "Tight seats, but freee wine makes up for it!"
Cons: "They cancelled the flight and made us try stand in line for an hour to get bussed to the hotel- another hour wait. No luggage because it was in a bin so no clothes or anything. Left at 6 am next morning . Got to Sao Miguel and missed my flight that was to leave the day before. Made me wait on stand by before putting me up in a grand hotel with no luggage. It was Still in Boston. I had to buy things to wear and use. So late no dinner at hotel . Terrible"
Pros: "Nice crew"
Cons: "No entertainment. Or difficult to access."
Pros: "It was beautiful"
Cons: "My brain new luggage was very badly damaged"
Pros: "Flight crew was very nice."
Cons: "Could not pick seats when buying tickets through website. Had to call airline separately, which we did. However, actual tickets that we received at airport were for different seats. Happened to another couple on our flight as well."
Pros: "All the expectations are met: on time, professional staff, average comfort, ok food."
Cons: "Rowdy older passengers"
Pros: "very friendly airline...thank you."
Pros: "The crew were very kind very professional"
Cons: "No entertainment at all"
Pros: "Nice crew, good food and free wine."
Cons: "Flight was delayed and they charge extra for seating next to each other."
Pros: "Everything was on time. Good flight."
Cons: "My seat was broken and would not stay in upright position. They took too long to serve dinner."
Pros: "nothing"
Cons: "5 hrs delay and missed all connecting flights. Airline initially rescheduled flight 2 days later. Called Kayak and got no support. Kayak agent told us to keep pushing the airline. After 2 hrs of "working" with the airline, we were able to fly into Madrid the following day. Had to spend extra money for hotel room and car rental in Madrid because our final destination was Sevilla. Will never work with Azores or Kayak again. BTW, did we mention that while "working" with Azores to reschedule flight, we were booked to fly into an island off of Africa. Luckily, we followed up online with the changed itinerary."
Pros: "Service and the upgrade"
Cons: "Nothing"
Pros: "Flight staff was professional, vegan meal was decent, good leg room"
Cons: "Seats were fairly hard and uncomfortable for a long flight"
Pros: "Everything was smooth and comfortable."
Cons: "There is no in- flight entertainment."
Pros: "Crew were lovely. Economy seats were pretty comfortable, with legroom. They allow one free checked item. Free food!"
Cons: "I ordered a vegan meal and got pasta with cheese. We were half an hour late taking off."
Cons: "Airline was 2 hours late and missed our connection which made us miss our first port for our cruise we then had to make other arrangements while the airline did nothing to help. I would NEVER FLY with them again."
Pros: "Crew was nice enough"
Cons: "Flight was delayed over 3 hours causing me to miss my connecting flight upon arrival in Lisbon. No in flight entertainment, only one meal served, no spot to plug in electronics, and the bathroom door was broken and didn't lock. I would suggest paying a little more for a better and more reliable airline."
Pros: "SATA was very hospitable when our flight was delayed into the next day. They provided a hotel and dinner/breakfast vouchers."
Cons: "The App proved to be useles when our flight was delayed 14+ hours. We were able to check in the day of the flight, but were never alerted when the flight was delayed. We called customer service and waited on hold for 30+ minutes without connecting, even though the automated message said the wait would be 6 mins. Communication as a whole was quite poor and created a lot of anxiety amongst the visibly upset travelers."
Cons: "The flight was delayed due to "technical issues" two hours. This seems to be a consistent thing with SATA and Azores Airlines. The crew was rude when my bag did not fit in the cabin and they had to move it, too."
Pros: "Quick Easy check in, great flight and staff!"
Pros: "Crew members were O.K."
Cons: "- There are no more direct flights into Terceira (coming from the U.S.A.) which is ridiculous!!! - Both flights were delayed. The one from Boston to São Miguel was delayed 4 hours. The flight from São Miguel to Terceira was delayed in 30 minutes. - As if the delay wasn't enough, we had to return to gate as the plane prepared for takeoff because of technical problems. SATA (Azorean Airlines) international planes are too old..."
Cons: "Delayed, no reimbursement, ac was off while we just sat on the runway, missed my connecting flight. Meanwhile all their other flights were delayed also. I couldn't believe how hot it was for so long on the plane. Worst flight I've ever been on"
Cons: "Way too warm, uncomfortable seats, no entertainment"
Pros: "Not much"
Cons: "Never had such an uncomfortable flight! The temperature at my seat was far too hot- I and others were sweating constantly. Also I am 6' 3" but wouldn't recommend anyone over 6' fly this airline, at least not in the normal economy seats- I've never had the experience of being unable to move my legs due to the seat in front."
Cons: "Long delay, no apologies, uncomfortable all around"
Cons: "They sold me a flight jknowing it was delayed by more than 13 hours"
Cons: "DELAYS, BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE, NO ACCOUNTABILITY."
Cons: "Long delay not on time"
Pros: "The flight was delayed for 2 hours. The movie was horrible. No ones speakers worked. Serive was fine"
Pros: "Smooth ride. The pilot communicated well. Food/drinks were good. Airline stewards were polite."
Cons: "The boarding process was disorganized"
Cons: "Flight was cancelled"
Pros: "The flight crew was absolutely wonderful and very helpful with our 3-year-old son. He keeps asking to go on plane again because of how attentive they were and made his trip very enjoyable."
Cons: "No entertainment at all. The seats could have more recline as it was an overnight flight and nearly impossible to sleep. The trays for business class are so close that it is awkward and uncomfortable to use."
Pros: "Food was good. Full dinner and breakfast"
Cons: "Made us get off the plane in Azores but would not let us in to shops and cafe. Meal not served till 11pm. Seats very narrow."
Pros: "Very very very budget. Old aircraft, poor service, overall negative experience."
Cons: "The seats were very cramped, small and poor. The staff was unresponsive. The lights were on all night (red eye!) and the meal service was unnecessary (12 midnight?!)."
Cons: "The 12 hour delay without being told why. We would be told we would leave at a certain time and then it was cancelled, told a different time and it was cancelled, and told again, etc was suppose to be in Lisbon in the morning, arrived in Lisbon near midnight."
Pros: "serves wine for free."
Cons: "No entertainment, seats are extremely small and uncomfortable."
Pros: "It was a economical flight. The food was pretty good as well."
Cons: "We had changes to pretty much every leg of our flights. One was delayed by 2.5 hours. I understand that flights get delayed but they hardly gave us any information as to what was going on. The flight was pretty smooth but the flight attendants didn't seem interested in our comfort. They weren't rude but they weren't pleasant either. I guess I'm used to a different style of service that I did not receive on Azores."
Pros: "Flight was on time. Staff was courteous."
Cons: "Food was average. No entertainment."
Pros: "Crew was attentive and it was a direct flight"
Cons: "There was very little room in the seats. It was terribly uncomfortable and made worse when the seat in front was declined"
Pros: "well im not an expert but , my flight was 2.5 h late , i understand thinks happen , but i believe is solution on that . On my job if im late my costumers dont coming back ( it is just how to control the time ) If we not can control the hours on the flights how we can control airplanes in the air ????!!!!!!!!!! Carlos Cristovao"
Pros: "Price, friendly service"
Cons: "packed in like sardines"
Pros: "The price"
Cons: "Nothing"
Airlines flying to São Miguel have enacted additional safety measures and adjusted policies to better accommodate travelers. Policies vary by airline.
Heightened sanitation
Daily cleaning, installation of cabin HEPA filters on flights to São Miguel
Mandatory masks
Masks required on board, masks provided on flights to São Miguel
Social distancing seating
Middle seats unavailable to book on flights to São Miguel
Pre-flight testing
Testing for antibodies, testing for symptoms for flights to São Miguel
Flexible cancellations
Waiving of change fees. Search flexible flights to São Miguel