The Azores: is it good
for a family trip?
Yes, and the flight is the shortest reason to say so. Azores Airlines flies Boston to Ponta Delgada nonstop in about 5 hours 5 minutes, one of the shortest transatlantic routes from Logan, and Boston is the best US gateway for it.
The Fredette Family in the Azores
How The Azores scored with our kids.
Six things we rate every trip on, out of 10, from our own family travel, plus our overall score, which is simply the average of the six. Flight ease and value are calculated the same way for every destination.
Flight ease
9.4/10About 5.1 hours nonstop from Boston. We score every flight the same way: start at 10, take off half a point for each hour beyond 4 (a quarter point per hour past 10), and a point for each connection. Azores Airlines flies Logan to Ponta Delgada nonstop, about eight times a week, fewer in winter.
Kid friendly
8/10It is a small island with so much to do outside. The girls loved the botanical garden in Ponta Delgada, which has a playground with little ponds and birds. We road-tripped all over the island twice with them for spectacular views, swam in the hot springs in Furnas, and everyone in the restaurants was really friendly with the kids.
Walkability
6.5/10Ponta Delgada is easy on foot, but the viewpoints, Furnas and the rest of the island all need the car.
Value
7.1/10Portugal's cost of living index is 48.7 (Numbeo, mid-2026, where New York is 100 and the US overall is 69.7), about 30% below home. We score value the same way for every destination: costing the same as home is a 5, and every 10 points cheaper or pricier moves it a point. It is a country-wide average, so big cities and tourist hot spots run higher and small towns and villages lower. Ponta Delgada runs a little above this number, and the smaller villages below it.
Food
7/10A lot of comfort food and some fish, but not a ton for our girls. They may have traveled the world, but they still love pasta and chicken nuggets like every other kid, and those were harder to find in Ponta Delgada. We did find a few kid-friendly places.
Weather
6.5/10Like Ireland: wet and unpredictable.
Overall
7.4/10Big outdoor adventure on the shortest flight in Europe; the food and weather keep it grounded.
How long is the flight from Boston to the Azores?
About 5 hours 5 minutes nonstop. Azores Airlines flies Logan to Ponta Delgada on Sao Miguel about eight times a week, fewer in winter. That makes it the shortest transatlantic route in our regular rotation, closer to a domestic cross-country flight than a European trip, and a genuine option for a family not ready for a longer overnight flight.
Flying to the Azores from Boston is also why the islands score 9.4 for flight ease above: one nonstop, no connection, and only about an hour past the four-hour mark where we start taking points off.
Sao Miguel is our home base.
Our full guide builds the trip around Ponta Delgada on Sao Miguel, with a flexible one-week or two-week plan and an honest breakdown of what we would keep and what we would skip.
Search Vrbo rentals, already set to Ponta Delgada. Look for two bedrooms and a full kitchen. Where we would stay. Affiliate link, our disclosure.
What families ask us.
Is there a nonstop flight from Boston to the Azores?
Yes. Azores Airlines flies Boston to Ponta Delgada nonstop in about 5 hours 5 minutes, one of the shortest transatlantic flights from Logan, and Boston is the best US gateway for this route.
How long is the flight from Boston to the Azores?
About 5 hours 5 minutes on the Azores Airlines nonstop from Logan to Ponta Delgada, which runs about eight times a week and less often in winter. Flight time from Boston to the Azores is shorter than nearly any other transatlantic route, closer to a cross-country US flight than a typical trip to Europe.
Is the Azores good for a family trip with kids?
Yes. It scored 8 out of 10 for kid friendliness with our girls: the botanical garden playground in Ponta Delgada, road trips around Sao Miguel for the views, and swimming in the Furnas hot springs. Our full guide builds the trip around Ponta Delgada, with a flexible home-base plan and an honest note about what we would skip.
Is the Azores a good short first international trip?
Yes. At about 5 hours 5 minutes nonstop from Boston, it is one of the easiest transatlantic options for a family not ready to commit to a longer overnight flight, which is why it scores 9.4 for flight ease. Plan on a rental car, since the viewpoints and Furnas are outside Ponta Delgada.
Where can I read the full Azores itinerary?
In our Azores, Portugal guide. It covers the home-base plan in Ponta Delgada, day trips around Sao Miguel including Furnas and the crater lakes, where we would stay, and what the trip costs from Boston, with an honest list of what we would keep and what we would skip.