PortugalAzores archipelagoIsland
Terceira Island
400 km² rising to 1,022 m out of the Atlantic Ocean.
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
400km²
Area
132km
Coastline
1,022m
Highest point
Serra de Santa Bárbara
56,437
People
23°C
Warmest sea
August
1,520km
To the mainland
When to go to Terceira Island
Best for the beach from July to August.
The sea is warmest in August (23 °C) and coolest in March (16 °C). Comfortable swimming (21 °C or more): from July to September.
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.
Island in the Azores archipelago
Terceira Island is an island in Portugal. It belongs to Azores archipelago. It covers 400 km², with 132 km of coastline. Its highest point, Serra de Santa Bárbara, rises to 1,022 m. About 56,437 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,520 km away.
Getting there
- Lajes Airport (TER)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at TER airport (Praia da Vitória)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- Ferries2 ferry terminals on the island
- 1,520 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From July to Augustbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Terceira Island.
- 15beachesPrainha, Silveira, Zona Balnear do Porto das Cinco and 12 more
- 63viewpointsMiradouro Serra de Santa Bárbara, Miradouro das Veredas 1, Miradouro das Veredas 2 and 60 more
- 4lighthousesFarol da Serreta, Farol da Ponta das Contendas, Farol das Contendas and 1 more
- 2ferry terminalsPraia da Vitória, Angra do Heroísmo
- 3marinasPraia da Vitoria - Marina, Marina de Angra, Marina da Praia da Vitória
- 7named peaksLagoinha, Pico Negrão, Serra do Morião and 4 more
- 20volcanoesSerra de Santa Bárbara, Caldeira de Guilherme Moniz, Pico Gaspar and 17 more
- 5castles and fortsFortaleza de São João Baptista, Forte São Jorge, Forte de São Pedro and 2 more
- 15ruins and archaeological sitesForte do Bom Jesus, Forte da Rua Longa, Forte da Greta and 12 more
- 1dive centresDeep Blue Diving Center
- 1surf spotsSpot de Surf
- 14waymarked walking routesPRC01TER Mistérios Negros, PRC03TER Serreta, PR02TER Baías da Agualva and 11 more
- 8campsitesParque de Campismo dos Biscoitos, Zona de Campismo, Serreta trail to Lagointha and 5 more
- 45hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 169restaurants, 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
Terceira Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Terceira Island, each with its own numbers.
3beaches and covesCoastya
Beach with the warmest sea
22.9°C
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
3 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Praia Grande22.9°C
- Prainha de Angra22.9°C
- Praia da Riviera22.9°C
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 296 m above the sea. 39 % of it is below 200 m.
- 9 %0–50 m
- 30 %50–200 m
- 44 %200–500 m
- 18 %500–1,000 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
- Angra do Heroísmo12,045 people
- Praia da Vitória6,061 people
- São Mateus3,757 people
- Lajes3,744 people
- Ribeirinha2,684 people
- Porto Judeu2,501 people
- São Sebastião2,096 people
- São Bartolomeu1,983 people
- Biscoitos1,425 people
- Fonte Bastardo1,278 people
- Santa Bárbara1,274 people
- Feteira1,239 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 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 18 | 17 |
| Night low (°C) | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 17 | 16 |
| Sea (°C) | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 17 |
| Rain (mm) | 79 | 76 | 79 | 62 | 56 | 40 | 23 | 27 | 62 | 82 | 70 | 115 |
| Wet days | 14 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 13 | 16 | 14 | 17 |
| Sun h/day | 3.6 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 6.9 | 7.9 | 8.4 | 9.2 | 9.2 | 7.6 | 5.3 | 4.0 | 3.0 |
| Wind (km/h) | 28 | 27 | 28 | 25 | 22 | 20 | 16 | 17 | 20 | 26 | 27 | 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 | +1.2 | +1.4 | +1.4 | +0.8 | +0.5 | −0.4 | +0.2 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.5 | ±0.0 | −0.2 |
| 2021 | −0.3 | −0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.9 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +1.3 | +1.4 | +1.0 |
| 2022 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.4 | −0.1 | ±0.0 | −0.6 | ±0.0 | +1.3 | +1.0 | +0.6 | −0.1 | −0.5 |
| 2023 | −0.6 | −0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.6 |
| 2024 | +0.9 | +1.2 | +1.0 | +0.6 | +1.4 | +1.6 | +1.4 | +2.2 | +1.5 | +1.5 | +1.5 | +1.5 |
| 2025 | +1.6 | +1.2 | +0.6 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | +1.0 | +0.2 | +1.3 | +0.3 | +1.1 | +0.5 | −0.1 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
São Jorge IslandPortugal244 km²1,053 m62 km away
Graciosa IslandPortugal61 km²402 m70 km away
Pico IslandPortugal445 km²2,351 m95 km away
Faial IslandPortugal173 km²1,043 m122 km away
São Miguel IslandPortugal745 km²1,103 m190 km away
Santa Maria IslandPortugal97 km²587 m276 km away
Flores IslandPortugal141 km²914 m346 km away
Corvo IslandPortugal17 km²718 m344 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q215074) · 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 — 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
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit 
lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit 
mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.You are here
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit