Azores water temperatures in April and May

It depends on what you consider comfortable. For me it is never warm enough when I am there in the summer. The normal swimming season when lifeguards are present is between mid-June to mid-September.

Sometimes our family who live on different islands swim in December and January.

There really isn’t a definitive answer, unfortunately.

Thank you for your response. It is very helpful!

When I was there, from the end of August to late September, the seawater was "cool" but tolerable. Lots of people swim there, of course (locals think nothing of it). But I suspect many international visitors who come there expecting a "tropical beach vacation" are surprised at how cool the water is.

It's not like swimming in Hawaii or Mexico. Maybe more like...North Carolina, or central California? The kinds of words that we used to describe the water temperature were "brisk," "refreshing" and "bracing" (and that was in late August and into September). In April and May? I think you might find the sea temperatures pretty chilly ("stimulating").

Note that it's not really a "beachy" place - if you're looking for a "beach vacation" you may want to think hard about how important that is to you. You won't find beaches there with the fine, white sand that most Americans picture when they dream about beautiful beaches.

https://www.seatemperatu.re/europe/azores/when.html

Comfortably, it would be end of June - early September and even then the water is always a little cold. In April it's too cold and weather doesn't call for swimming either (you will most likely still be wearing a jacket until May). Mid may is when locals start going to the beaches but mostly to get the base tan..no one really goes in the water until mid June.

There are some people who swim year round but it's quick laps for exercise. And even then those types are rare as the swells and currents can be dangerous in the winter months.

If you want to avoid crowds and swim, early September is a good time to go.

I was born and raised there but now even I have a hard time getting in the water when I visit in the summer months.

My family and I were in Sao Miguel in mid/late April 2023. The weather for us was in the upper 50's/low 60's (air temps). Not warm enough for us to swim outdoors (although we did use the indoor heated pool at our hotel). When we were there it was very windy, and we also had some rain. We did enjoy a trip to the thermal pools which is a must do!