Day trip from Faial to Pico: ferry times, car hire and what fits in a day

If you are staying in Horta, Pico is the island across the channel, and the question is how much of it you can see between a morning boat and an evening one. The answer is the west end: Madalena, the walled vineyards at Criação Velha, the Gruta das Torres lava tube and the lava coast at Cachorro and Lajido. The mountain and the south coast around Lajes need a night on the island. Everything below assumes you hire a car on the Pico side, because the buses do not run often enough to make a day of it.

The crossing is the Atlânticoline Linha Azul between Horta and Madalena, about 30 minutes each way. It runs all year, but the timetable changes with the season, and that decides how long you get on Pico.

The winter 2026/27 timetable, in force from October and valid until 31 December 2026, has four return crossings a day:

• Horta to Madalena at 07:30, 10:45, 14:15 and 17:15
• Madalena to Horta at 08:15, 11:30, 15:00 and 18:00
• extra sailings on some weekdays, including a 09:00 from Horta on Wednesdays and Thursdays and a late 22:35 back from Madalena on Wednesdays

So in winter a full day means the 07:30 out and the 18:00 back, which gives you close to ten hours on Pico. The 10:45 out still leaves time for the vineyards and one more stop. Miss the 18:00 and, on most days, you are sleeping in Madalena. From June to September there are more sailings, with an extra boat early in the morning and another late in the day, so the summer day can run longer. The timetable after 31 December was not yet published when this was written; check the Atlânticoline booking portal for your date.

In August 2026 an adult non-resident paid €8.20 each way, €16.40 return, and a child aged 3 to 12 paid €4.10 one way. Be at the boat at least 10 minutes before it leaves, with your ticket and an identity document. In July and August, book the evening boat back in advance. Our guide to the ferries from Faial covers booking, refunds and the other lines.

You can take a car across from Faial, but vehicles have to be at the boat at least 20 minutes before it sails, and most day-trippers simply rent on Pico. Car hire firms hand over cars at the Madalena ferry terminal: Sixt, for example, meets customers in the public car park of the maritime terminal, across the road from the exit. Book ahead in summer and give the 07:30 sailing as your arrival, so the car is waiting when you walk off the boat.

Leave a margin at the end of the day. Returning the car, walking back into the terminal and boarding all take time, and the last daily boat back is the one you cannot afford to miss.

All of this sits within a short drive of Madalena, so you spend the day on Pico rather than in the car.

Start at the vineyards of Criação Velha, about ten minutes south of the ferry. From the Moinho do Frade, a restored windmill above the vines, you look over the small plots walled in black basalt that put Pico on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2004. The official trail through them, PR05PIC Vinhas da Criação Velha, is 7 km one way and takes about two hours, from Porto do Calhau to Areia Larga by the Madalena harbour. On a day trip, walk out and back from the windmill for half an hour or so. Look for the rola-pipas, the ramps cut into the shore rock for rolling wine barrels down to the boats, and the old cart ruts worn into the lava. The path is basalt and loose stone with no shade, so wear proper shoes.

The Gruta das Torres is just above Criação Velha. It is the longest lava tube in Portugal, 5,150 m in all, and the guided visit covers about 450 m of it in roughly an hour, with a helmet and torch. Visits inside were suspended in June 2024 because of unstable rock, and the cave reopened in July 2026 with reinforced safety measures and permanent monitoring. Tour places are limited, so ring the visitor centre (+351 924 403 921) or book online before you cross, and plan the rest of the day around your tour time. Without a booking, the cave is the stop most likely to fall through.

In the afternoon, drive north along the coast to Cachorro, where paved paths lead out over lava arches with the sea running underneath. A coastal lane continues about 2 km east to Lajido de Santa Luzia, a hamlet of black stone houses with red window frames. The Pico Island Vineyard Culture Interpretation Centre is there, run by the regional natural park: a short film, then a guided visit to vineyard and fig plots, an old wine store and a traditional still that is still in use. After it, the walls you saw in the morning make more sense. Then head back to Madalena for the boat.

Take the 10:45 over and you have a little under seven hours. Do the windmill and a stretch of the vineyard path, then either the cave (if you have a tour booked) or Cachorro and Lajido, not both.

On a wet day the vineyards are still walkable, but the rock is slippery, so keep to the windmill viewpoint. In Madalena itself, the Museu do Vinho is in the old farm buildings of a Carmelite convent, next to a grove of dragon trees. It belongs to the Museu do Pico network and closes on Mondays. If the sea is too rough at Cachorro, look at the arches from the road and go on to the interpretation centre, which is mostly indoors.

The real risk on a bad day is the crossing itself. Atlânticoline cancels sailings when the sea makes the channel unsafe and posts changes on its releases page. Check it the evening before and in the morning, and do not plan a Pico day trip for the day before a flight out of Horta.

Climbing Mount Pico is not a day trip from Faial. The trail starts at the Casa da Montanha at about 1,200 m, where every climb has to be registered, and the official estimate is three to four hours up and as long again down. See our guide to climbing Mount Pico and stay at least one night.

Lajes do Pico, with whale watching and the whalers' museum, is on the far side of the island. With an early whale trip booked it can be done, but you would see little else. For that, and for the south coast, spend at least one night on Pico. Our guide to where to stay on Pico compares the bases.

How long is the ferry from Horta to Pico?

About 30 minutes from Horta to Madalena on the Atlânticoline Linha Azul, which runs all year.

What time is the last ferry back from Pico to Faial?

On the winter 2026/27 timetable, valid until 31 December 2026, the last daily boat from Madalena is at 18:00, with a later 22:35 sailing on Wednesdays only. Summer timetables have more sailings. Check the booking portal for your date.

Do I need a car for a day trip to Pico?

Yes, if you want to see more than Madalena. Hire firms hand cars over at the Madalena ferry terminal; book ahead in summer.

Can I climb Mount Pico on a day trip from Faial?

Not realistically. The official estimate is three to four hours up and the same down, from a trailhead well above Madalena, and the climb has to be registered at the Casa da Montanha. Stay at least one night on Pico.