Ponta Delgada airport to the citytaxi, the buses that stop near the old terminal, Furnas, Ribeira Grande and Terceira's Lajes airport

Checked on 11 October 2026. São Miguel’s buses changed operator on 1 September 2026, so line numbers and airport-bus details in older guides may no longer apply. Times below come from the AzoresBus timetables and fares from official sources, each with its date. Where we could not verify a figure the page says so. Timetables change: check before you go.

Short answer: take a taxi from the rank at arrivals. The centre is about 5 km by road, around 7 minutes [1][15]. Azorean taxis do not have to use a meter; the latest official table we found gives €6.56 for 5 km (daytime, up to four passengers), plus 20% at night, on Sundays and on public holidays [17][18]. We found no bus that stops at the terminal. The nearest AzoresBus stop, Antiga Aerogare at the old terminal, is about 1.6 km on foot by a routing model, then 5 to 12 minutes into town [3][4][14]. For Furnas or Ribeira Grande, change in the centre at the Alfândega stop [19][20][21]. With children and suitcases, a taxi saves the walk and the wait.

The options at a glance

To	How	Time	Price we could verify
Ponta Delgada centre	Taxi from arrivals	About 7 min, 4.9 km [15]	€6.56 for 5 km, daytime, up to 4 people, 2022 table [17]
Ponta Delgada centre	Walk 1.6 km to Antiga Aerogare, then an AzoresBus line	About 22 min on foot [14], then 5–12 min [4][5][6][7][8]	Single ticket from the driver: check the fare
Ribeira Grande	Taxi, or bus 102 / 110 from the centre	21 min by car [24]; 35–58 min by bus [20][21]	Taxi €20.62 for 24 km, 2022 table [17]
Furnas	Taxi, or bus 318 / 110 from the centre	43 min by car [23]; about 1 h 20 to 1 h 30 by bus [19][20]	Taxi €38.38 for 48 km, 2022 table [17]
Hire car	Desks in the terminal		See car hire on São Miguel

Road distances and times are routing-model figures without traffic, not measured journeys [15][23][24].

Taxi

Taxis wait at arrivals, and the airport also lists an adapted taxi service, Cresaçor, for passengers who need one [1].

How the fare works. Taxis in the Azores are exempt from taximeters; fares follow a regional table of maximum prices, confirmed by a regional law of October 2025 [18]. The latest table we could find is from April 2022 (Despacho Normativo 10/2022) [17]:

• First kilometre: €3.60. Each further kilometre: €0.74 in a standard taxi for up to four passengers, €0.94 for five or more [17].
• Ready-made prices in the table: €6.56 for 5 km, €20.62 for 24 km, €38.38 for 48 km (one way, daytime, up to four passengers) [17]. The centre is about 5 km by road from the airport, Ribeira Grande about 24 km and Furnas about 48 km by road [15][24][23].
• Supplements: +20% between 21:00 and 06:00 and on Sundays and public holidays; €0.20 per minute of waiting; €0.50 if you book by phone or through a radio-taxi centre; €2.50 for luggage over 30 kg or larger than 55 x 35 x 20 cm [17].
• Free: pushchairs, children’s travel accessories and wheelchairs [17].
• The price sheet must be displayed inside the taxi, on the rear left side window [17].

The table is more than four years old and may have been updated since; we found no newer one, so treat the amounts as a guide and check the sheet in the car before you set off.

Pre-booked transfer or pick-up: many hotels and rentals on São Miguel arrange airport pick-ups. When you book, confirm the price, child seats, room for luggage and what happens if the flight is late. We did not compare operators for this page.

Is there an airport bus?

Not to the terminal itself, as far as we could find in October 2026.

• The airport’s own page lists only taxis under public transport (archived copy of 1 March 2026; the live site blocks automated access) [1].
• AzoresBus, which took over all island lines on 1 September 2026 [2], publishes 56 line timetables; none has a stop named after the airport [3].
• The closest stop is “P. Delgada (Antiga Aerogare)”, the old terminal. On OpenStreetMap the old terminal building is about 1.5 km east of today’s terminal, and the walking route to the stop beside it is about 1.65 km, roughly 22 minutes (routing model) [13][14]. We could not confirm the stop’s exact position on the ground.
• The ANC AeroBus minibus that linked the airport with 21 stops in town from August 2019 [16] is no longer listed by the airport [1], and we found no 2026 timetable, so treat older blog posts that mention it as unconfirmed.
• The town MiniBus run by the municipality covers central Ponta Delgada on weekdays 07:30–19:30 and Saturday mornings; we found no airport stop on its network [27].

Bus from Antiga Aerogare into town

This makes sense mainly if you travel light and land in daylight. The daytime buses below run from Antiga Aerogare to the Alfândega stop on the seafront in 5 to 12 minutes [4][5][6][7][8].

Departures towards the centre (October 2026 timetables, all year):

• Monday to Friday: 28 buses (29 on school days) from 06:42 (line 203) to 19:47 (line 200, the last daytime bus): several an hour until about 09:15, then roughly hourly, with gaps of up to 65 minutes in the afternoon [4][5][6][7][8].
• Saturdays: 07:16, 07:56, 08:04, 08:46, 09:02, 09:46, 10:01, 10:46, 12:10, 12:47, 15:44 and 17:31 [4][5][8].
• Sundays and public holidays: only line 206, at 08:01, 12:01, 16:01 and 19:22 [8]. From June to September a 20:56 runs on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays [8].
• Late at night, every day: night line N03 passes at 22:06 and 00:06 and reaches Forte S. Brás, at the west end of the seafront, 4 minutes later [9].

Tickets: single tickets are sold by the driver and are valid for one trip [11]; check the fare when you board. If you plan to use the bus for the next days, a 24-hour ticket for the whole network costs €7 on a €2 pre-paid card (48 h €12, 72 h €16, 120 h €25), counted from the first validation [10]. Passes are sold at points of sale, not on the bus [11]; the ticket office in Ponta Delgada is in the Solmar building on Avenida Infante D. Henrique, open weekdays 09:00–19:00 and Saturdays 09:00–13:00 [12]. Children under 4 travel free if they do not take a seat [11].

How the rest of the network works, with day trips by bus: São Miguel without a car.

Hiring a car at the airport

Several of São Miguel’s sights have no practical bus: Lagoa do Fogo outside the summer shuttle, the Sete Cidades viewpoints above the village, Ponta da Ferraria and much of the north-east. That is why many visitors pick up a car on arrival. The desks in the terminal, deposits, debit cards, insurance and the summer road closure at Lagoa do Fogo are in car hire on São Miguel. If you only need a car for a couple of days, you can take a taxi into town first and hire later.

Ponta Delgada airport to Furnas

There is no direct bus. Go to the centre first (taxi, or the bus above), then take an island bus from the Alfândega stop [19][20]:

• Line 318, south coast: 1 h 18 to 1 h 28 to Furnas on the all-year runs. It leaves Ponta Delgada at 09:00, 13:45 and 16:00 on weekdays, plus 18:10 Monday to Thursday and 18:30 on Fridays, and an extra 10:00 on weekdays in the school holidays [19]. On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays only at 09:00 and 15:00, with extra runs at 08:30 and 16:45 from June to September [19].
• Line 110, north coast via Ribeira Grande: 07:15 and 15:15 every day, 1 h 27 to Furnas [20].
• Last bus of the day to Furnas: 18:10 Monday to Thursday, 18:30 on Fridays, but 15:15 on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays outside June to September (16:45 in summer) [19][20]. If you land later than early afternoon on those days, plan on a taxi or a car.

By road Furnas is about 48 km from the airport, 43 minutes without traffic [23]; the 2022 taxi table gives €38.38 for 48 km in the daytime [17]. What to do there: Furnas and hot springs on São Miguel.

Ponta Delgada airport to Ribeira Grande

Ribeira Grande, on the north coast, is about 24 km and 21 minutes by car [24]. By bus, change in the centre:

• Line 102 from Alfândega to the Ribeira Grande bus terminal, 44 to 58 minutes. All-year departures: weekdays 07:35, 08:15, 09:15, 11:30, then hourly at half past from 12:30 to 17:30, 18:40 and 19:15; Saturdays 08:15, 10:00, 12:00, 13:30, 15:30, 17:30 and 19:00; Sundays and holidays 08:30, 10:00, 12:30, 14:25, 16:30 and 18:30 [21].
• Line 110 at 07:15 and 15:15 every day reaches the terminal in 35 minutes [20].
• Night line N05 leaves Alfândega at 21:15 and 23:15 every day, arriving 44 minutes later [22].

A taxi for 24 km comes to €20.62 in the 2022 table, before supplements [17].

Terceira: Lajes airport to Angra do Heroísmo

If you fly into Terceira instead, you land at Lajes (TER), about 21 km and 21 minutes by road from Angra do Heroísmo [26].

• Bus: EVT, the island operator, runs airport–Angra connections from a stop in the departures area, €2.95 [25]. On weekdays and Saturdays a few line 5 buses go straight to Angra in 40 to 50 minutes (06:50, 08:05 and 12:10); the other departures change in Praia da Vitória and take 1 h 10 to 1 h 45, and on Sundays 1 h 10 to 2 h 40 [25]. The file has a few inconsistent rows, so allow for that.
• First and last departures: weekdays 06:40 to 18:40, Saturdays 06:40 to 17:50, Sundays 08:10 to 17:35, with no direct bus on Sundays [25]. After the last listed bus, plan on a taxi.
• Check first: the timetable file is dated December 2021 and EVT’s website was not loading when we checked, so confirm the times locally [25].
• Taxi: the same Azores price table applies [17]; we did not verify a fare for this route.

Angra itself, the caves and the 2026/27 closure of Algar do Carvão: Angra do Heroísmo.

With children and luggage

• Taxi: pushchairs and wheelchairs travel free; luggage over 30 kg or larger than 55 x 35 x 20 cm can cost €2.50 extra [17]. We did not confirm whether taxis carry child seats, so ask when you book or at the rank.
• Bus: children under 4 ride free without a seat [11]. The 1.6 km walk to the old terminal stop with suitcases and small children is not something we would plan around [14].
• Weekend arrivals for Furnas: the last bus leaves Ponta Delgada at 15:15 on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays outside summer [20].

Related

• São Miguel without a car: the 2026 AzoresBus network, passes and day trips
• Car hire on São Miguel: airport desks, deposits and insurance
• Flights to the Azores: who flies to Ponta Delgada and Terceira
• Where to stay in the Azores
• Ponta Delgada, Furnas, Angra do Heroísmo

Sources

Listed in the source list on this page and numbered as in the [n] references above. Read on 10 and 11 October 2026; the airport page from an archived copy (1 March 2026) because the live site blocks automated access.