Practical essentials on Pico: health centres, pharmacies, fuel and cash

Pico is 46 kilometres long and has three towns: Madalena in the west, São Roque do Pico on the north coast and Lajes do Pico on the south. The health centres, pharmacies, banks and post offices are in those three towns, and the villages in between have a nursing post or a cash machine at most. From Madalena it is about 20 kilometres to São Roque and 35 to Lajes, and almost 50 to the last fuel station in the east.

If you are staying in one of the towns, most of what follows is a short walk or drive away. If you have a rural house near Prainha, Calheta de Nesquim or the vineyards of Criação Velha, do your errands on the days you are going into town anyway.

In an emergency, call 112, the European emergency number. It works in the Azores as it does anywhere else in the EU.

For anything less urgent, the island's public health service runs a health centre in each town. The regional government's health register lists them as follows:

• Madalena: on the regional road ER 3-2ª, phone +351 292 628 800.
• São Roque do Pico: Avenida António Simas da Costa, phone +351 292 648 070.
• Lajes do Pico: Largo Edmundo Machado Ávila, phone +351 292 679 400.

All three offer general practice, nursing and some specialist consultations. We could not find published opening hours, or confirm whether any of them runs a round-the-clock emergency service, so phone before you go if it is not an emergency.

The same register lists thirteen smaller health posts in the villages. Prainha, Santa Luzia and Santo Amaro, all on the north side, have a GP as well as a nurse. The other ten, among them Criação Velha, São Mateus, Piedade and Calheta de Nesquim, offer nursing only. They are there for local patients first, though for a dressing or a blood pressure check one may be nearer than a town.

Pico has no hospital. The nearest is the Hospital da Horta on Faial (+351 292 201 000), across the channel from Madalena, and a patient who needs hospital care is transferred to another island. The Air Force flies medical transfers in the Azores from its base at Lajes on Terceira. Buy travel insurance that covers medical evacuation, and if you live in the EU, bring your European Health Insurance Card.

The regional register lists five pharmacies:

• Farmácia Madalena, Largo Jaime Ferreira, Madalena, phone +351 292 622 159.
• Farmácia Melo, Estrada Regional 27 at Monte, Candelária, just south of Madalena, phone +351 292 629 100.
• Farmácia Picoense, Rua do Cais 29, São Roque do Pico, phone +351 292 642 364.
• Farmácia Lajense, Rua Padre Manuel José Lopes 5, Lajes do Pico, phone +351 292 672 408.
• Farmácia Piedade, on the regional road at Piedade in the east, phone +351 292 666 733.

Painkillers, plasters and other medicines that need no prescription are also sold in three shops: two in Madalena's supermarkets, Parafarma Melo in the Solmar hypermarket and Parafarma 2351 in Compre Bem, and Parafarma Bem-me-quer on Largo Edmundo Machado Ávila in Lajes.

The register has not been revised in some years, so check what is open when you arrive, and ask at any pharmacy which one is covering nights and Sundays. If you take a regular prescription, bring the full supply for the trip and a copy of the prescription, because a small island pharmacy may not stock your brand.

Repsol lists three stations on Pico, and in October 2026 it gave the same hours for all of them: 07:00 to 22:00, every day of the week. They sell 95 unleaded and diesel.

• São Roque do Pico, on the regional road (Rua Bacelinhos).
• Silveira, on the regional road just west of Lajes do Pico.
• Piedade, near the eastern tip.

The Repsol pages also mention LPG and electric charging, the São Roque one "subject to availability". If you hire an electric car, ask the rental firm where its cars are charged and do not plan around a public point.

OpenStreetMap shows more stations, without hours: three in Madalena (two Azoria, one Galp), a Galp at Bandeiras on the north coast road towards the airport, an Azoria at Cais do Pico in São Roque, and another on the main road through Lajes.

The gaps are what to plan around. We found no station mapped on the south coast between Madalena and Silveira, about 31 kilometres by road, nor on the north coast between São Roque and Piedade, past Prainha and Santo Amaro. Piedade is about 48 kilometres from Madalena. If you are driving a loop round the east end, fill up in Madalena, São Roque or Lajes before you set out rather than relying on Piedade.

Each town has several bank branches with cash machines. In Madalena, Santander, Banco Montepio, Novo Banco dos Açores and the Caixa Económica da Misericórdia de Angra do Heroísmo are all in the centre, close to the ferry terminal, and there are several standalone machines nearby. São Roque has Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Banco Montepio and the Caixa Económica, all at Cais do Pico. Lajes has Santander, Caixa Geral de Depósitos and Banco Montepio, and a Multibanco machine on Rua Machado Serpa. The branches whose hours are mapped open on weekdays only, from 08:30 to 15:00, and some close for an hour at lunch.

Outside the towns, OpenStreetMap shows cash machines at São Mateus on the south coast, Prainha and Santo Amaro on the north, and Santa Cruz das Ribeiras on the south-east. Take out cash before a day in the villages, where a small café or a farm selling cheese may not take cards.

Madalena and Lajes each have a CTT post office. As mapped in 2026, both open on weekdays only, 09:00 to 12:30 and again from 14:00, until 18:00 in Madalena and 17:30 in Lajes. São Roque has its own CTT office at Cais do Pico, with no hours mapped. Treat the post as a weekday errand.

Banks and post offices are closed at weekends. The three Repsol stations keep their 07:00 to 22:00 hours on Sundays too, but village shops may not open, so buy what you need for Sunday on Saturday. Our guide to getting around Pico has car hire, buses, taxis and the ferries, and where to stay on Pico compares the three towns.

• Travel insurance with medical evacuation cover, and the European Health Insurance Card if you have one.
• Your full supply of any regular medicine, with the prescription.
• Cash from Madalena, São Roque or Lajes before a day in the villages.
• A full tank before driving the east end or the south coast.
• Food for Sunday, bought on Saturday.

Is there a hospital on Pico?

No. Pico has health centres in Madalena, São Roque do Pico and Lajes do Pico, and health posts in the villages. The nearest hospital is in Horta on Faial, and patients who need hospital care are transferred to another island.

Where are the pharmacies on Pico?

The regional register lists Farmácia Madalena and Farmácia Melo (Candelária) on the Madalena side, Farmácia Picoense in São Roque, and Farmácia Lajense and Farmácia Piedade in the municipality of Lajes.

Where can I get fuel on Pico?

In Madalena, Bandeiras, São Roque, Lajes and Piedade. In October 2026 Repsol listed its stations in São Roque, Silveira and Piedade as open 07:00 to 22:00 every day. None is mapped on the south coast between Madalena and Silveira.

What number do I call in an emergency?

112, the European emergency number. For non-urgent medical help, call the health centre in Madalena (+351 292 628 800), São Roque (+351 292 648 070) or Lajes (+351 292 679 400).