Flores with kids: calm pools, short walks, the whale museum and what to skip

Flores works for a family, but it takes more planning than most islands. Only two places have a lifeguard, and only in summer. The best walks are long and steep. The buses do not run at weekends. On the other hand, a lot of the island can be seen from the car or a short walk from it, and Santa Cruz has a whaling museum for a wet day. This guide sorts the easy parts from the ones to leave for later.

Prices, opening hours and timetables below carry the year they were published. They change, so check before you go.

The regional programme monitors two bathing waters on Flores, and they are the two to use with young children.

The Piscinas Naturais do Altio are the town pools in Santa Cruz, on the Avenida dos Baleeiros. They are cut into the lava, with steps, showers, toilets and parking, and they are free. The lifeguard season runs from mid-June to mid-September. The water is held by rock, not concrete walls, so it follows the sea outside: calm on a calm day, choppy when the swell comes in. The pools face east and go into shade early in the afternoon, so take the children in the morning.

The Zona Balnear da Fajã Grande on the west coast has rock pools and a concrete apron under the cliff, with showers, toilets, a bar and parking. Its lifeguard season is shorter, July and August only. On a calm morning it is the best swim on the island; when the western swell is running, nobody should be in the water.

A few minutes' walk from Fajã Grande village, the Poço do Bacalhau waterfall drops about 90 metres into a small pool. In calm summer weather people swim there. Nobody watches it.

The sea is warmest late in the summer: around 22 °C in July and 23 °C in August and September on long-term averages, against about 19 °C in June. The UV index is very high from June to August, so plan shade and hats for the middle of the day.

The waterfalls, crater lakes and basalt columns are all close to a road, which suits children better than a long hike.

• The Poço da Ribeira do Ferreiro, also called Lagoa das Patas, is a still pond under a wall of more than a dozen waterfalls. Park at the bridge over the Ribeira do Ferreiro on the Fajã Grande road and walk about 700 metres, 10 to 15 minutes each way. The path is uneven and often wet, so leave the pushchair and use a carrier.
• The Miradouro das Lagoas on the central plateau looks over Lagoa Negra and Lagoa Comprida, one dark and one pale. The viewpoint has steps and is often in cloud; if it is, wait a few minutes.
• Lagoa Rasa and Lagoa Funda, the two southern crater lakes, are seen from a viewpoint on an asphalt forest road with parking next to it. Of all the lake stops this one needs the least walking.
• The Rocha dos Bordões, more than 200 upright basalt columns in the hillside between Lajedo and Mosteiro, is visible from a roadside viewpoint on the ER 1-2.
• The Miradouro Craveiro Lopes above Fajãzinha faces a waterfall about 300 metres high, with parking by the railing.

At the Albarnaz lighthouse in the far north the cliff edge is unfenced. Keep hold of small children there.

Of the official trails, the one that suits a family is the Fajã de Lopo Vaz (PRC04FLO): 3.4 km, about two hours, graded medium. It starts at a picnic area on the clifftop west of Lajes and goes down an old stone staircase to a fajã with fig trees, banana plants and a pebble beach. You come back up the same way, which is the hard part. The trails site warns of falling rocks, so keep away from the foot of the cliff, and do not start it after heavy rain. Children who walk regularly manage it; a toddler would need carrying both ways.

On 4 October 2026 the trails site listed one Flores trail as temporarily closed, Ponta Delgada to Fajã Grande (PR01FLO). Check the alerts page before any walk. The full network is in hiking on Flores.

The Miradouro das Lagoas to Poço do Bacalhau trail (PR03FLO) is 7 km and about three hours, graded hard, high on the plateau where the trail page warns of rain and fog, and it ends on a long stone staircase. Lajedo to Fajã Grande (PR02FLO) is 13.2 km. Both are for teenagers who already walk, not for small children. Drive to the viewpoints at each end instead.

Baía de Alagoa below Cedros looks inviting from the road, but the beach is round stones, there is no ladder and no lifeguard, and the bay is open to the sea. Use it for a picnic: there are toilets and parking on the slope above. The Praia das Lajes, by the harbour in Lajes, has no lifeguard or facilities either.

Flores gets about 1,640 mm of rain a year at the airport, so keep a town day in reserve.

The Boqueirão whale factory at the north end of Santa Cruz worked from 1944 to 1984 and opened as a museum in 2015. It keeps the stoves that turned whale fat into oil and the machinery for grinding flesh and bone, along with harpoons, a boat and a film of one of the last hunts. Outside stands a life-size model of a sperm whale cut in half lengthwise. In September 2026 the museum was listed open Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00 to 18:00.

Next door, the Boqueirão Environmental Interpretation Centre fills the old tanks that once held the factory's whale oil. It covers resident and migrant birds, life between the tides and in open water, whales and dolphins, and hydrothermal vents. It was listed open Monday to Saturday, 09:00 to 12:30 and 13:30 to 17:00. The island museum in the former convent of São Boaventura was listed Tuesday to Saturday, 09:30 to 17:30. None of the three publishes a ticket price; phone the museum on +351 292 592 159 or the centre on +351 292 542 447 to check hours outside summer. More on the town in Santa Cruz das Flores.

When the rain stops, the Reserva Florestal de Recreio Luís Paulo Camacho at Fazenda, just inland of Santa Cruz, has a trout farm that stocks the island's streams and a botanical park with native and imported plants.

The cave and waterfall trips from Santa Cruz take about three hours. In 2026 one operator charged €60 per person for its caves tour, and another started at €85 for a half day. One operator asks that everyone can board without help, and whether the boat enters the caves depends on the sea on the day. None of the operator pages we read gave a minimum age, so ask before you book, and ask about child life jackets. Prices and operators are in boat trips around Flores.

Hire a car, and ask for child seats when you book. The buses run Monday to Friday only, and the line between Santa Cruz and Fajã Grande runs only in July and August. Details in getting around Flores.

There is no hospital on Flores. The health centre is on Rua do Hospital in Santa Cruz (292 590 270), with health posts in Lajes (292 593 165), Fazenda das Lajes (292 593 594) and Ponta Delgada (292 592 133). Patients who need specialist care are flown to a larger island. The pharmacy in Santa Cruz is on Largo 25 de Abril (292 592 294), and Lajes has a pharmacy post on the Avenida do Emigrante (292 593 373). Bring enough of any medicine your child takes regularly. Fuel, cash and the rest are in practical essentials on Flores. The emergency number is 112.

Where can young children swim safely on Flores? At the Altio pools in Santa Cruz, with a lifeguard from mid-June to mid-September, and at Fajã Grande, with a lifeguard in July and August. Everywhere else is unwatched.

What is an easy outing with small children? The Poço da Ribeira do Ferreiro: about 700 metres from the road, 10 to 15 minutes each way, to a pond under more than a dozen waterfalls. Use a carrier rather than a pushchair.

What can we do on Flores when it rains? Go to Santa Cruz for the Boqueirão whale factory museum and the interpretation centre next door. Phone ahead outside summer.

Do we need a car on Flores with children? Yes. The buses run on weekdays only and the bus to Fajã Grande only in July and August.