Still looking for a holiday in April? We have knocked £100 off selected holidays in April using the direct flight from Manchester and Gatwick.

Whale and dolphin watching experience – 7 nights

Sperm whale breaching

Based in a stunning converted convent, your week will be spent out whale watching, on a history of the whales tour, with a marine biologist looking at their current research, and exploring the cobbled streets of Vila Franca. A fantastic educational week in a lovely location.

Normal price : £1046pp   Offer price : £946pp

For more details on this holiday, please see our website

Cycling on Sao Miguel – 7 nights

Cycling on Sao Miguel

With a choice of 2 great itineraries, we have catered for everyone from occasional cyclists to mad fit tourers. Bikes are new Specialised Cross Trails bought at the end of 2010 to replace our old fleet.

Strenuous itinerary - Normal price : £895pp  Offer price : £795pp
Moderate itinerary – Normal price : £906pp  Offer price : £806pp

For more details on these holidays, please see our website

Walking holiday on Sao Miguel – 7 nights

Sete Cidades crater walk

Explore the craters of Sao Miguel, its boiling pools, its stunning waterfalls and beautiful coastline at your own pace on our independent walking holidays. You can choose to have a hire car and do circular walks or have taxi transfers and do linear walks. Lovely  hotel accommodation and great walks.

Self drive – Normal price : £856pp  Offer price : £756pp
Taxi transfer – Normal price : £959pp  Offer price : £859pp

For more details on these holidays, please see our website

Please note : prices are valid for departures on 02 April, 09 April and 16 April 2011. They cannot be combined with any other offer

This week (13-19 September 2010), we observed five different species, the bottlenose dolphins, the common dolphins, the Atlantic spotted dolphins, the pilot whales and the sperm whales. 

Both whales and dolphins are often seen breaching out of the water with spectacular jumps. The reason for these acrobatic leaps can be various from courtship display, simple fun or related to a less joyful cause like trying to eliminate parasites! Cetaceans are in fact affected by various ectoparasites which in some cases can produce damage on their skin, but do not cause death.

Below is a photo of an Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) while leaping out of the water and showing a parasite attached on its flank.

 Ectoparasites of whales and dolphins include the acorn and stalked barnacles typically found on humpback whales, or the Cryptolepas rhachianecti another barnacle species found on gray whales. Barnacles are not true parasites as they don’t feed on whale skin, rather they exploit the swimming of the whales to filter food in the water. However, when in great number they can bother whale movements. Gray whales are also affected by lices gathering around wounds and scars and feeding on their skin. Other parasites damaging skin tissue are cookie cutter sharks and possibly sea lampreys.

 During one of our encounters with Atlantic spotted dolphins we had the chance to enjoy the sighting of some young individuals leaping high into the air. One of them, at closer look, showed a parasite attached on its flank. Although the resolution of the picture doesn’t help to identify the parasite, its size and shape suggests it could be a cookie cutter shark.     

 Cookie cutter sharks (Isistius brasiliensis) are so called because they leave cookie-shaped scars on the body of large fishes and marine mammals. They have a cylindrical body and a circular mouth, which contains many teeth used by the shark to remove the flesh of the host.

 When we see dolphins showing their acrobatic skills it is not necessarily due to parasites luckily for them, and many exhibitions are related to a courtship display during the breeding season.

Below is a bit of information about the band.

When Portugal’s radio listeners first encountered the genre-blending, Cornelius-like sounds of Gomo, they were entranced. It was 2001 and Gomo’s demo was put into regular rotation, but the DJs were of no help when listeners phoned in, asking, “Where can I get this lovely and strange music?” Paulo Gouveia, the man who is Gomo, had sent the demo to radio stations with no contact information — just a note saying: “Thanks for all the inspiration. Hope you like this.” The multi-instrumentalist was working on new songs and a multimedia live show while all this was going on, and he had no idea Gomo was becoming an overnight favorite. Reviews in the national press and the invitations to play most of the major summer festivals in Portugal clued him in to the phenomenon and soon he was working with Mario Barreiras, the producer who was partly responsible for Silence 4’s rise to the top of Portugal’s pop charts. It was an odd title for a debut but Best of Gomo was the result, and the quirky, precious, and playful album became a radio and music press favorite when it appeared in early 2004. During October of the same year Gomo won the Best New Artist award given by Portugal’s SIC TV, and he was also nominated as Best Portuguese Act at the MTV European Music Awards 2004.

“Jake, who arranged our holiday,was friendly, efficient and knowledgeable. A great asset to your company. Thanks.”
Mr & Mrs McAvoy, London (25 Jul – 08 Aug 09)
Sao Miguel – fly-drive holiday

Cycling on Sao Miguel

 and would certainly consider travelling with you again. Thank you for everything you did, especially in making sure the transfers were smooth even when schedules changed, without us having to do a thing. We will have many wonderful, happy and in some cases funny memories for years to come! Best holiday in years! Thank you!”
Mr & Mrs Jasparro (06 – 17 Jul 09)
Sao Miguel, Pico & Faial – cycling and walking holiday

“We had a fantastic time and hope to return sometime. Everything was as good as we expected and in many cases better! Many thanks.”
Mrs King (15-29 Aug 09)
Sao Miguel & Pico – whale watching holiday staying at Caloura, Talisman & Whalecome ao Pico

“Everything worked seamlessly and the quality of the accomodation, transfers, car hire etc. was excellent. The Azores were beautiful and we may up sticks to Flores to start a self sufficient life! Many thanks.”
Mr & Mrs Dearden (25 Jul – 08 Aug 09)
Sao Miguel, Pico & Flores

“Both whale watching trips were amazing and the natural scenery was breathtaking – your brochure doesn’t really do it justice. After the whale watching our kids were grinning from ear to ear (as were we!). Overall, a very good vacation enjoyed by all of us. One which we will remember with happiness and will be hard to top! Well done and many thanks.”
The Dodd family (4-18 Aug 09)
Sao Miguel & Faial – whale watching holiday staying at House of Varadouro and Quinta Altamira

Hope you enjoy it.
Best regards.

Miguel

For information on a whale watching holiday aboard this great new boat, click here

Flores canyoning
With the greatest potential for canyoning, Flores had its first route opened in 2004. 3 expeditions later, there are now 25 routes mapped  ranging from relatively easy to technically difficult. The longest route is 500m and the biggest vertical height difference on a route is 220m. However, there are some shorter routes which take just 1 hour to complete and are suitable for the less experienced. Many of the routes have beautiful natural pools and are centred around Faja Grande, the west coast between Mosteiros and Lagedo and the southeast coast between Santa Cruz and Lages.

Sao Jorge canyoning
The first route on Sao Jorge was explored in 2006 but this island has some wonderful medium grade routes due to the abundance of water and geology of the island which has resulted in some impressive waterfalls. There are 17 routes on Sao Jorge ranging between 1 to 6 hours.

Sao Miguel
With 11 interesting routes, Sao Miguel’s canyoning is mostly in ravines and the routes are generally not that steep. The first route was opened in 1997 and now there are a few companies offering guided canyoning days on the island mainly in the Nordeste area.

“Thank you very much for your perfect organisation. Everything worked like clockwork, which made it all the easier for us to enjoy what is in any case a wonderful destination. We had dealings with Ian, Diane and Jake – and all were superb. Thanks again – you deserve a nomination!”
Mr & Mrs E, Great Yarmouth (23-30 May 09)