Gruta do Carvão - Monumento Natural

This is a must do, so cool! We did the short tour which lasted about 45 minutes. You have plenty of time to take photos and look around. Rodrigo was our guide and he did a fantastic job explaining everything. You get to see two different parts of the lava tube and there's open space so it's not tight. Email or call to make a reservation in advance.

I took the short tour. It is an interesting short segment of a lava tube cave, rather easy to navigate. The tour guide was very friendly and explained things well.

It was so cool ! The guide was funny and nice, and spoke english for the one that doesn't understand Portuguese. I recommend it :)!

Thank you, Iris, for the funny, informative and interesting tour! I highly recommend to anyone who wants to know more about the island!

Booking appointment via email is possible, however, note to arrive 10 min before the tour to buy your ticket.

We took the half hour tour. Well worth it. Very knowledge guide, fun experience!

Our guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. The cave itself was easy to navigate (we did the short tour version) and well lit for safety.

We came on a semi sunny day and in early December so there was no one else on our tour. Can’t beat 8 euros for a private experience!

Our guide Rodrigo was extremely knowledgeable about the caves and kept the tour fun and engaging throughout, the lava tunnels are really special. I would warn anyone with mobility issues or who isn't physically fit to avoid the tunnels though as they're difficult to move around and the larger route requires some crawling through tight spaces 👍 ps. Book in advance as the tours are very popular.

Great experience to do while in sao Miguel. Thoughtful and dedicated staff, they are doing a great job keeping the natural heritage of the island. You should learn about the lava tunnels and walk in them! Short tour is for all levels and super cool!

Only wish we'd done the FULL experience - For which I'll remind you - Don't wear whites or trendy clothes if you don't want iron ore stains on them. Bring clothes for purpose, especially if you're on the long tour, crawling through areas etc. We wanted the long tour ourselves but they didn't have the slots! Very cool though & particularly the guide's knowledge & energy. Top points.

We got a nice tour. Really sweet lady giving lots of information about the place. It's A beautiful vulcânica cave. Loved to see this side of the island. Really unique.

Great experience and interesting to discover. Definitely worth a try. I'd you want to book the long tour however, you may need to book a month in advance, and the short tour might a day or two.

Firstly let me say this place is amazing but you have to book in advance. A couple of days for the short tour, and at least 4-6 weeks in advance for the long tour!

The short tour is great, about 30-45 mins and you visit two areas. It's really accessible for all ages and full of interesting info. Our guide was funny, well informed and genuinely seemed interested in the caves. Definitely worth a visit.

The long tour has limited capacity, in September 2023 it only ran around once a week for 5 people. We were told there are some areas where you would have to crawl a bit and some areas that were quite dark, bar your flashlight; but, if you are up for the adventure it seems very worthwhile.

Fantastic educational tour. The short trip was very suitable for all ages, plan to come back and do the long trip. Must reserve the long trip in advance so keep that in mind.

This visit is guided and paid. You NEED to make a reservation. We loved it, our small child loved it. We had the small tour, it give us another experience of how the lava works. And it was worth it

We did the long 2 hour tour on Wednesday, April 24th, 2024 with our guide Hugo and one more couple. They only do this tour 1x/week and it was well worth it. Book in advance. Learned some much from Hugo regarding volcanoes, the Azorean environment and so much more. Very educational. My husband and I really enjoyed it. Highly recommended.

Great guided tour, good explanation, plenty of details and interesting facts. Adequate sized groups, spaced in between. Bring comfortable clothes and shoes. Call first to book a place.

We took the longer tour, the one you need to crawl a bit. I would recommand it to everyone who is phisically able to do so / who is fit. It was definitely worth it and some kind of adventure. We could have interesting insights and got enough informations on the cave. Also our questions have been answered without problems. The tourguide was very friendly and did it with his heart. He also offered to take pictures of us at a special (tight) place to take as a souvenir.
I also took my mirror reflexcamera with me (in a camera bag). It was not a problem, but of course it would habe been more comfortable without (but really still very possible).
All in all everything worked out well. I have no complaints. Mabye just to know: We booked half a week in advance, but some do it a month or more in advance because of the amount of people they can take. Just keep this in mind.

Make a reservation!! We showed up and were turned away since it was full and had to come back once we made a reservation. They have tours in both English and Portuguese separately so sign up accordingly. The caves were really neat and there were some fun facts along the way! They make sure you have time to get all the photos you want and don't feel rushed. You will have to wear a helmet down there and it can be chilly so you may want to bring a jacket

Our tour guide was so lovely - very sweet and very informative! A quick experience but so worth it, it's very cool to be in a lava tube under the city!! Affordable and well worth a visit

Wonderful , interesting, friendly and knowledgeable staff. I think they should shout more about their caves. Also if you knew beforehand you could e mail them and book a 2 hour caving adventure. This only happens 1x week and only 5 people allowed. It is a 2 hour experience. The caves are amazing and don't leave Sao miguel without visiting them.