Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
173km²
Area
83km
Coastline
1,043m
Highest point
Cabeço Gordo
14,331
People
23°C
Warmest sea
August
1,661km
To the mainland
When to go to Faial Island
Best for the beach from July to September.
The sea is warmest in August (23 °C) and coolest in March (16 °C). Comfortable swimming (21 °C or more): from July to October.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Portuguese island of the Central Group of the Azores
Faial Island is an island in Portugal. It belongs to Azores archipelago. It covers 173 km², with 83 km of coastline. Its highest point, Cabeço Gordo, rises to 1,043 m. About 14,331 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,661 km away.
Getting there
- Horta Airport (HOR)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at HOR airport (Horta)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- Ferries4 ferry terminals on the island
- 1,661 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From July to Septemberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
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On the island
What you find on Faial Island.
- 16beachesPraia do Almoxarife, Praia dos Ingleses, Praia do Porto de Pedro Miguel and 13 more
- 64viewpointsMiradouro da Caldeira, Miradouro da Vista Alegre, Miradouro do Salto da Ribeira and 61 more
- 5lighthousesFarolim dos Cedros, Farol do Vale Formoso, Farol da Ponta dos Capelinhos and 2 more
- 4ferry terminalsHorta, Horta Ferry Terminal and 2 more
- 2marinasHorta Marina, Cais de Santa Cruz
- 58named peaksCabeço Gordo, Cabeço Gordo 2º, Lomba do Meio and 55 more
- 11volcanoesMonte Queimado, Capelinhos Volcano, Caldeirão and 8 more
- 17waterfallsSalto, Salto da Ribeira da Conceição and 15 more
- 4castles and fortsForte de Santa Cruz da Horta, Forte de São Sebastião, Reduto da Patrulha and 1 more
- 3ruins and archaeological sitesPias, Torre do Relógio
- 2dive centresNoberto Dive, Hortasub
- 11waymarked walking routesPRC04FAI Caldeira, PR03FAI Levada, PR06FAI Dez Vulcões and 8 more
- 6campsitesBearsu Nature Almoxarife, Parque de Campismo do Salão, Azul Singular and 3 more
- 232hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 87restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Faial Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Faial Island, each with its own numbers.
3beaches and covesCoastya
13mountainsPeakyas
Highest point
1,043m
Cabeço Gordo
prominence 1,043 m · according to Peakyas
Beach with the warmest sea
23.2°C
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
3 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Praia Do Porto Pim23.2°C
- Praia do Almoxarife23.2°C
- Caldeira do Infernocove23.2°C
13 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Cabeço Gordoprominence 1,043 m1,043m
- Tambrosoprominence 506 m497m
- Capelinhos143m
- Monte da Guia
- Cabeço do Canto
- Cabeço da Fonte
- Monte Carneiro
- Alto da Cruz
5 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 325 m above the sea. 38 % of it is below 200 m.
- 8 %0–50 m
- 30 %50–200 m
- 41 %200–500 m
- 22 %500–1,000 m
- <1 %1,000–2,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Horta6,572 people
- Angústias2,418 people
- Castelo Branco1,309 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 23 | 21 | 19 | 17 |
| Night low (°C) | 15 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 17 | 16 |
| Sea (°C) | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 19 | 18 |
| Rain (mm) | 87 | 84 | 85 | 66 | 66 | 46 | 29 | 38 | 70 | 92 | 75 | 113 |
| Wet days | 14 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 15 | 13 | 17 |
| Sun h/day | 3.5 | 4.6 | 5.8 | 7.1 | 8.0 | 8.6 | 9.6 | 9.3 | 7.6 | 5.5 | 4.0 | 3.0 |
| Wind (km/h) | 28 | 27 | 28 | 25 | 22 | 20 | 16 | 17 | 20 | 26 | 26 | 29 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +0.5 | +0.1 | −0.7 | +0.1 | +0.4 | −0.3 | +0.3 | −0.3 | −0.3 |
| 2021 | −0.1 | −0.5 | ±0.0 | −0.4 | +0.1 | +0.8 | −0.2 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +1.2 | +1.5 | +0.8 |
| 2022 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.5 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | −0.7 | +0.4 | +1.5 | +1.0 | +0.5 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 |
| 2023 | −0.3 | −0.1 | −0.1 | +0.1 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.9 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.7 |
| 2024 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.4 | +1.4 | +1.7 | +1.6 | +2.1 | +1.6 | +1.5 | +1.4 | +1.6 |
| 2025 | +1.7 | +1.1 | +0.5 | −0.1 | +0.3 | +1.0 | +0.2 | +1.2 | +0.1 | +0.7 | +0.1 | ±0.0 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Pico Island
Portugal445 km²2,351 m31 km away
São Jorge IslandPortugal244 km²1,053 m60 km away
Graciosa IslandPortugal61 km²402 m80 km away
Terceira IslandPortugal400 km²1,022 m122 km away
Flores IslandPortugal141 km²914 m239 km away
Corvo IslandPortugal17 km²718 m242 km away
São Miguel IslandPortugal745 km²1,103 m293 km away
Santa Maria IslandPortugal97 km²587 m364 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q657187) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Peakyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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