Thanks Joao! Hope all is well. To add to your comments....
The Portuguese side of the ATMs may not charge, but I did get charged on
withdrawals from non-credit union banks (Banco Espírito Santo is my example).
As to the extra functionality, you are correct, I was unable to charge my phone
at the ATM and needed to go to a store. Which is a good point concerning the
phones. If you do get a Portuguese SIM, it can be charged at the original
store or you can go to many stores advertising the service. You will want to
keep your packaging with the SIM number on it for easy reference when charging.
Concerning the planes, my basic message is to take the delays with patience.
We flew in and out of Terceira and had delays both ways. Many of the seasoned
travelers simply accepted the delay as a part of flying with SATA. The delay
on departure from the Azores was due to mechanical difficulties with the plane
and they had to contract for another plane from Atlas Air. It was a much
larger plane and made the trip from Terceira to Oakland without the Toronto
fueling stop. We enjoyed the flight much more and got to spend almost two more
days on Terceira. Oh, we were able to see the bull fight in Altares with the
extra time. One of the unplanned highlights of our trip was working with the
taxi driver to figure out where the event was (way out in the country) and then
enjoying all of the people in the mountains with a view of Graciosa in the
background. So, things can work out even with the delays. Just set
expectations appropriately. Here is a description of Altares if you happen to
be there during their bull fight: Altares - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Altares - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaAltares is a civil parish in the
municipality of Angra do Heroísmo on the Portuguese island of Terceira in the
archipelago of the Azores. The population in 2011 was... |
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| View on en.wikipedia.org | Preview by Yahoo |
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Best Regards,
Bill
From: João Ventura <j...@venturas.org>
To: azores@googlegroups.com
Cc: want2beuni...@yahoo.com; lisahb...@aol.com
Sent: Thursday, April 23, 2015 12:25 AM
Subject: Re: [AZORES-Genealogy] Azores Trip
Just to complement on what Bill said.
In Portugal, because all the banks were Government owned in the 1980s when ATMs
started to show up, they decided to create a separate company to run the ATM
network. As a result, all the ATM machines in Portugal belong to this network,
so the concept of "charging for widthdrawals" is simply alien to the
Portuguese. There's no such thing, period. As a side-effect, these machines are
also the best ATMs I've ever found in the world (yes, the average ATM in the
deep Azores will probably be a lot better than the one from your US bank in the
midst of SIlicon Valley). However, you'll probably not notice it, as all the
advanced features require a Portuguese bank card. Foreign cards will probaly
allow you to widthraw money and maybe charge your phones (and also maybe to buy
train tickets - I highly doubt it will allow you to buy concert tickets). I
highly advise against AMEX. Don't bother bringing one if you're coming to
Europe. Make sure your card is Visa or Mastercard and you should be OK with our
ATMs and in-store payment terminals.
As to SATA, the delays are really not their fault. Those are islands in the
middle of the North Atlantic, if the winds go above a certain level, for your
safety and theirs, they will simply not take off. Have some flexibility in your
plans, and make sure that you make it to the island of your US return flight a
few days in advance. Flying to and from Terceira is easier as the runway there
is one of the largest in the Azores (it was designated as a Space Shuttle abort
landing site), but do account for possible delays in your São Jorge / Pico
connections.
João Ventura
On Wednesday, 22 April 2015 06:03:37 UTC+2, want2beunique wrote:
Lisa,
I took my first trip to the Azores last year in July. We went to Graciosa
(home island) and Terceira. Here are some of my tips:
Finances:Get a credit card that does not charge foreign exchange fees. One
that has a chip is also advisable. I got the Chase Saphire VISA and have been
happy with it ever since. We did not use travelers checks and I would not
recommend them. Also, do not buy "Euro" loaded VISA cards (pre-paid VISA). I
researched them and found them very poorly reviewed (unable to be used and
drained of funds). Be sure to talk to your bank. Ask them if your ATM card
can be used in Portugal. Give them your travel dates to ensure you have no
problems when traveling. Also do the same for your credit card. I found
agriculture credit unions on Terceira and Graciosa which did not charge for
withdrawals. Your bank or credit union may be able to help with ATMs which you
could utilize without charge.
Phone:We got our iPhones unlocked by Verizon. With them being unlocked and
enrolled for global usage, we could use them in the Azores. This would,
however, be expensive. We ensured data was turned off (cellular data off).
Upon arriving, we went to a Vodafone store in Angra. We were able to buy a
pre-paid SIM card and put it into one of our iPhones. This gave us a phone in
the Azores with a local number from which we could call a taxi (we had our
favorite drivers) and relatives. In many cases, you can call someone and hang
up after one ring and they will call you back. This worked very well in
Terceira.
Accommodations:We used Home Away to book a great house on Terceira. It was
only 70 euros a night. Here is a link to the house ( http://www.homeaway.com/
vacation-rental/p1309665? flspusage=fl ). It was a great location out in the
"country" in Porto Martin. Not the center of activity, but we liked the quiet
and access to the water.
Sata:Schedules are simply concepts of when a plane might arrive or depart. Be
flexible and be sure to contact Sata directly checking for delays. The web
site and phone can give quite different results. We were delayed on arrival
and missed a connecting flight. We were then delayed by more than a day on
departure. It all worked out, but staying flexible is key.
Hope this helps!
Bill in Northern California
From: lisahbskt via Azores Genealogy <azo...@googlegroups.com>
To: azo...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2015 8:39 PM
Subject: [AZORES-Genealogy] Azores Trip
Hello, I am planning my first trip to the Azores in mid to late August for
about 8-10 days. I am planning to go to Terceira for research and to visit the
ancestral homelands on Sao Jorge (Calheta and Topo areas) and Pico (Lajes do
Pico areas). I'd love to hear any suggestions on places to stay, places to eat,
drivers to hire, renting a scooter, not to be missed sights or events, research
tips, using the archives, wifi connection, cell phone tips, use of travelers
cheques vs credit cards, gifts to take with me and recommended items to bring
back etc. Also, if anyone else on the list is planning a trip around that time,
it would be fun to meet up. Please feel free to post to the list or email me
privately. Lisa Caetano HarleySouthern CALisaHBskt at aol dot com--
For options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation)
mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/ group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right
that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership."
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