The Azores are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, consisting of nine larger and a few smaller uninhabited islands, around 1,400 kilometers from mainland Europe.

The Azores have around 260,000 inhabitants and are politically part of Portugal.

The only official language on the islands is Portuguese and the euro is used as a means of payment.

The larger islands include Sao Miguel, Santa Maria, Faial, Pico, Sao Jorge, Graciosa, Terceira, Flores and Corvo.

The predominantly volcanic archipelago has a subtropical climate; the highest elevation is the Pico volcano at 2,351 meters. The Azores are world-renowned for an enormous diversity of plants, including almost 80 endemic species that are only found there.

The largest cities in the Azores include Ponta Delgada, Horta, Angra do Heroismo, Madalena, Lagoa, Vila Franca do Campo, Vila do Porto, Ribeira Grande, Praia de Vitoria and Povoacao.

The islands' most important export products include beef, wine, dairy products and tea. Tourism plays another important role in the local economy.

In July 2017 I traveled to the beautiful Azores for the only time so far. I reached the main island of Sao Miguel after a three-hour flight from Lisbon with the Portuguese airline TAP.

I stayed there for two nights in a very comfortable hostel, not far from the city center. With this affordable price of just 15 euros per night and a unique ambience, it was the best cheap accommodation ever on all my trips around the world.

The capital Ponta Delgada is a very beautiful and cozy city. It was pretty easy to explore the entire city on foot immediately after I arrived.

For the second day I booked an island tour lasting several hours. In an open minibus I was able to admire the incredible beauty of the Azores. The numerous different and colorful plant species make the Atlantic island so unique. I have never seen this on this scale anywhere else in the world.

The inexpensive tour and the prevailing sunshine, at a pleasant 22 degrees Celsius, were really great. In addition, there was a constant light wind, which is absolutely normal for the Azores.

After a great three-day stay on this impressive and unique Atlantic island, I continued my journey to another Portuguese island, Madeira.