About 1,000 miles west of the coast of Portugal sits the volcanic island of Sao Miguel. Part of the Azores, the archipelago sits exposed in the middle of the Atlantic ocean and is often described by returning roadtrippers as Europe’s answer to Hawaii. The good news is it’s considerably easier to reach, and boasts roads so challenging that they form the basis of the European Rally Championship.

Hop on a direct flight from London Stansted and four hours later you can step off in the capital, Ponta Delgada, and judge for yourself whether the largest island of the Azores lives up to its description. In places, the rally route picks its way around the Sete Cidades Massif volcanic complex; one wrong move and competitors could tumble hundreds of feet down into the lake that now fills the crater of the dormant volcano.

You could ship your car here or hire something suitably small and wieldy which will be up to the twists, turns and many hairpins packed into this 60 by 16km (37 by 10 mile) island. We drove it in an eager little Mazda2, but those after a sports car could hire a Mazda MX-5.

The great thing about taking a roadtrip around Sao Miguel is that there is so much to see. And no lap of the island would be complete without pulling up at its ghost hotel, the Monte Palace. The former five-star hotel was built in 1989 but closed it doors after little over a year.

Legend has it foreign developers had speculated that more visitors to Sao Miguel would be prepared to pay top dollar if a luxury hotel was perched overlooking the most impressive landscape on offer - twin lakes of Lagoa Azul and Lagoa Verde, pooled in volcanic basins, at Sete Cidades. What the foreigners hadn’t reckoned on was the mist and rain that would envelop the hotel’s lofty vantage point.

If you’ve a head for heights, you can climb onto the roof of the hotel, at your own risk. The view is spectacular, but it’s knowing that the authorities have left the crumbling building’s fabric open to explorers that puts a smile on your face. In most places it would be fenced off. When you feel like taking photos, you can pull into to rest stops such as the Ponta do Sossego. Perched high on the eastern tip of the island, off what is effectively Sao Miguel’s ring road, it’s somewhat more enticing than the M25’s Clackett Lane service station. There are manicured gardens built around terraces that fall toward the shore line, and visitors can stretch their legs then use one of the communal barbecues, fashioned from stone, to cook a spot of lunch. Grilled lobster cavaco, anyone?

You have to be careful, though. There are deep concrete drainage ditches about the places that will drag any errant car to a panel-mangling end. And you can round a blind bend only to find that a gardening team dispatched in Piaggio Apes by the local authority is cheerfully blocking your side of the road, as they set to pruning the millions of hydrangea bushes that line the roads.

It also pays to watch your step at Lake Furnas. Hot sulphuric water bubbles to the surface through thermal vents. Locals who know what they’re doing place steel pots inside the vents, packed with pork, beef, chicken, chorizo and vegetables. These stew for hours and are then served as cozido das Furnas at restaurants.

By the end of a two day detour around Sao Miguel, it would be rude not to end it with a dip at Termas da Ferraria, thermal baths built on the shoreline. With the sea crashing against the bathing pool, it’s a wild way to reflect on this hidden gem of an island.

Words James Mills Twitter | Instagram
Photography David Smith