Skip Europe This Summer: Hawaii’s Big Island Is Just as Picturesque as Portugal’s São Miguel Island

Sun, sand, and seashells are classic island staples. From there, most islands will have enough differences to make visiting them feel like a completely different experience. However, sometimes there are even more similarities between two islands than you’d think, even when one is in the Pacific Ocean and one is in the Atlantic. This is the case for São Miguel of the Azores islands and the island of Hawaii (best known as The Big Island). 

The Azores are a string of islands formed by volcanos located far to the west of Portugal’s coast. It takes roughly two and a half hours to reach them from Lisbon, Portugal’s capital, but this distance doesn’t stop them from being an extremely popular destination for vacationing Europeans. São Miguel is the largest of the Azores islands and is known for its volcanic activity, lush landscape, thermal pools, beautiful coastline, and the vast amount of activities offered for travelers. 

In comparison, the Hawaiian islands are a string of islands formed by volcanos located far to the west of the United States, practically in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. From California, it takes anywhere between five and six hours to reach the islands. Yet, despite their remote nature, these islands are famous for being one of the most popular vacation destinations in the world. The island of Hawaii is the largest of the Hawaiian islands and is often called ‘The Big Island’ to avoid confusion. Like the rest of the islands, the Big Island is known for a stunning landscape, a plethora of activities to do both on land and at sea, and its active volcano. 

Sound familiar? Well, get ready because the similarities between the two islands become even more strange! Both islands are famous for their surfing options, with winter being the season when the waves reach their highest potential. They both have some of the most beautiful golf courses in the world, with a few highly ranked. Additionally, since both have active volcanic activity, the beaches they do have are beautiful but are rocky and smaller than some other islands you'd visit.

Finally, both islands have strong associations with pineapple. Whereas this may seem obvious for the Hawaiian island, the São Miguel island is one of the only places in the world where pineapples for mass consumption are grown in greenhouses. As a result, the island, similar to Hawaii, boasts many recipes that include pineapple, and serves pineapple ice cream (you could see it as a substitute for the Dole pineapple whip soft serve). 

Those are the strange similarities, but there are many more, and they are no less important because they include activities for travelers to engage in. On the land, there are multiple hikes for both islands that lead to waterfalls, over creeks, down to beaches, and across volcanos. There’s also ziplining, canyoning, biking, and horseback riding. On the sea, both are world-renowned whale-watching destinations and places where you can swim with dolphins, snorkel, fish, and paraglide. 

Frankly, at this point, the two islands sound more similar than they are different, both in visuals and in activities offered. This means that although a European vacation during the summer sounds terrific, you do not need to look beyond the United States for your perfect island getaway. But, perhaps you disagree and think there are more similar islands between Europe and the USA out there? Use our nomination form and tell us all about it!