Ponta da Ferraria
A small natural pool at the southern tip of the Ponta da Ferraria lava delta, where the Azores Natural Parks say a thermal spring heats the sea to around 40°C beside the rock near the spring at ebb tide. The delta formed about 900 years ago from basalt flows of Pico das Camarinhas and is protected within a 40-hectare regional natural monument.
WhatRock pool, GinetesPortugal
WhenJune to November19° in Nov
Getting there Car On foot
CostPublic shoreFree
AccessInside the Pico das Camarinhas and Ponta da Ferraria Natural Monument (Sao Miguel Natural Park); the adjacent sea is a protected area for resource management.
- 17°J
- 16°F
- 16°M
- 16°A
- 17°M
- 19°J
- 22°J
- 23°A
- 23°S
- 21°O
- 19°N
- 18°D
Expect the sea at about 23 °C in August and 16 °C in February, going by the 1991 to 2020 averages. The swimming season runs from June to November.
Getting in
- Access
- The single road down to Ferraria was shut to traffic after a rockfall on 15 September 2025 and reopened on 20 May 2026 with one-way alternating traffic on traffic lights, cars kept to the lane away from the slope; the Regional Secretariat for Tourism, Mobility and Infrastructure has said permanent slope works are planned for the winter (press reports quoting the Secretariat). The PRC43SMI circular trail (3.6 km, about 2 h 30 min) from the Ilha Sabrina viewpoint passes the pool. The 2026 national bathing waters ordinance lists it as a supervised bathing beach from 1 June to 30 September 2026.
- Also here
- Coastal walk
Cost and facilities
- Entry
- Free, public shore
- Official site
- parquesnaturais.azores.gov.pt
- Facilities
- Lifeguard in season