Azores April — Sete Cidades twin crater lakes on São Miguel emerging from spring cloud in the improving shoulder season

Azores · Portugal

April

The shoulder season begins — conditions improving week by week, hydrangeas filling the roadsides, and uncrowded trails in excellent light.

Best match

#4 of 12 months

There are better months for Azores — see the full ranking below.

See when to go instead →

Climate

High

19°C

Low

13°C

Rain

65mm

Sun

6.5hrs/day

30-year climate normals · Open Meteo ERA5

How April scores in Azores

Weather
Good
Value
Very good
Crowds
Very good
Events
Good
Atmosphere
Excellent

What you gain in April

  • April marks the genuine beginning of the Azores travel season: the crater lake views are reliably clear by late April, the hydrangeas are building toward full bloom, and the whale diversity peaks with blue and sei whales reliably present in addition to the resident sperm whales
  • Easter in the Azores is a significant cultural event: the Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres festival in Ponta Delgada (held on the fifth Sunday after Easter) is the most important religious celebration in the Atlantic islands, drawing thousands of Azorean diaspora from the US and Canada who return specifically for the festival
  • Sea kayaking and coasteering conditions begin to improve in April: the sea temperature (18°C) requires a wetsuit but the calmer April seas make the volcanic cave and arch exploration around São Miguel's north coast and the Faial cliffs more accessible than winter

What you sacrifice

  • April can still deliver 2–3 consecutive wet days from passing Atlantic fronts — the shoulder season weather in the Azores is defined by changeability rather than consistency; a 4-day window of good weather between fronts is the norm, not a week of guaranteed sunshine
  • Crowds build toward the Easter holiday weeks — April in Europe coincides with a tourism surge that is less pronounced in the Azores than in Mediterranean destinations but still increases accommodation pressure in the best properties on São Miguel
  • Not all summer facilities are yet open in April — some diving centres, sea tour operators, and rural guesthouses begin operations only in May

How April compares to May (best month)

FactorAprilMay
Weather
6
7
Value
7
7
Crowds
7
7

April in other destinations

Lisbon (18°C)Barcelona (17.5°C)Tokyo (19.3°C)Bali (31.5°C)Santorini (16.5°C)Paris (14.7°C)New York (16°C)Marrakech (24.3°C)Amsterdam (12.3°C)Maldives (31.5°C)Rome (17.7°C)Bangkok (34.1°C)Istanbul (14.8°C)Vienna (15.2°C)Seoul (16°C)Dubrovnik (16.7°C)Rio de Janeiro (27.8°C)Kyoto (20.1°C)Phuket (33.8°C)Cape Town (22.3°C)Prague (16°C)Amalfi Coast (19°C)Mexico City (27°C)Medellín (27°C)Fiji (29°C)London (15°C)Sydney (22°C)Iceland (7°C)Tulum (31°C)Dubai (34°C)Singapore (33°C)Hoi An (31°C)Chiang Mai (35.5°C)Miami (28.3°C)Florence (18.6°C)Queenstown (15.5°C)Madrid (17.6°C)Porto (18°C)Edinburgh (12°C)Copenhagen (11°C)Budapest (17°C)Kraków (15°C)Tbilisi (18°C)Palawan (32°C)Hanoi (26°C)Osaka (20°C)Goa (34°C)Cusco (20°C)Buenos Aires (23°C)Mykonos (18°C)Zanzibar (30°C)Sri Lanka (32°C)Costa Rica (28°C)Cancun (31°C)Krabi (34°C)Athens (20°C)Seville (24°C)Cartagena (32°C)Siem Reap (35°C)Havana (29°C)Split (18°C)Taipei (26°C)Kuala Lumpur (33°C)Valletta (20°C)Ho Chi Minh City (36°C)Hawaii (28°C)Cappadocia (17°C)Dominican Republic (30°C)Jamaica (31°C)Tanzania (24°C)Seychelles (30°C)Nepal (27°C)Jordan (23°C)Bora Bora (29°C)Los Angeles (23.2°C)Cairo (30.2°C)Kenya (27.2°C)Jaipur (36.5°C)Las Vegas (27.9°C)San Francisco (16.2°C)Madeira (21.5°C)Vancouver (13.8°C)Muscat (36.2°C)Lima (23.5°C)Cinque Terre (17°C)Kotor (17°C)Tel Aviv (24°C)Santiago (22°C)Bogotá (18°C)Bruges (14°C)Penang (33.5°C)Lombok (31.8°C)Cape Verde (27.3°C)Fez (23.1°C)Kerala (34°C)Kigali (25°C)Hong Kong (25°C)Oslo (11°C)Auckland (19°C)
Climate data: 30-year normals (1991–2020) from Open Meteo ERA5 reanalysis. Scores compare months within Azores, not across destinations. Methodology →