Sao Miguel which is the largest island in the Autonomous Region of the Azores has two golf courses. One is called Batalha and it’s a relatively modern championship course with great views, greens, clubhouse, membership fees; the works. The other is Furnas which I’ll talk about tomorrow. Just know there are a total of 63 golf holes on the 9 islands and 45 of them are on Sao Miguel.
I really loved this golf course and the three 9 hole courses are all similar but distinctly different. Which one is most challenging, who knows but they were all fun. I played Batalha twice and I’m keen on making it my home course. You know, flying my clubs out to the Azores, getting a locker, a bar tab and calling it a day. The clubhouse has insane views and is oh so peaceful; it’s also a short ~10 minute drive from downtown Ponta Delgada.
I’ve written a whole post about Batalha Golf Course; click to read.
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Beautiful for sure. Mrs. Anton tells me she’s always wanted to see the Azores, and she’s become a pretty good golfer. Gotta plan to make this part of a bigger trip, as a quick check revealed the Azores to be 16 hours from our current home.
Don’t know if you’ve seen much of Asia, but we loved the Angkor/Siem Reap region if Cambodia. Spent a week in Bangkok and played golf in Phuket on that trip, too. But I’d skip Thailand and spend some time in Burma, Vietnam and a couple of days in Tokyo next time. Hongkong/Kowloon was fun, too.
But I hope you can see Angkor Wat and that area before they turn it into Reno. Can recommend a great guide there.
Hello Anton,
You’d love it then and here is something oddly great – Furnas(another course) will cost you 80E a game or 350E for a year long membership. You an see why it’s so appealing for me. For 800E I can join all 45 holes on the island and play them 365 days a year… Should I play a mere 80 rounds that’s 10E a round; tough to beat.
I have spent a good deal of time in SE Asia and did get to see Angkor Wat; a beautiful place indeed. I do like SE Asia but I don’t feel like it has that much for me besides good food and late nights out. That said, I am keen to return as I’m hungry and the food there has ruined me for the rest of the world.
Vietnam is always a good choice, if you’re up north I think Sapa is a beyond scenic and very underrated destination; I loved my time there.
You’re right. The prices make the courses and the destination look even better. Even the best hotels look like a bargain on TripAdvisor. Looks like a worthy HQ if that’s what you decide to do.
You’ve written about a number of places we can’t wait to see. Until then, I’m living vicariously. So post often.
I shall and thanks for the kind words. It’s beyond affordable and wait until you order some surf and turf; also a pleasant surprise on your palate and pocketbook.
Only thing is flights, not that often and not much competition which reflects in the price. That said, savings once there make it negligible. 😉