Ribeira Grande sits roughly in the middle of São Miguel's north coast, which makes it a good base for the rest of the island. The volcanic crater lakes at Sete Cidades are forty minutes west, the hot springs and yellow-blue lake at Furnas are forty minutes east, and the south-coast capital of Ponta Delgada is fifteen minutes south for shopping, restaurants, or a museum afternoon.
Closer to town, the Lagoa do Fogo crater lake is half an hour's drive up into the mountains and rewards a short hike down to its black-sand shore. The tea plantations at Gorreana and Porto Formoso are an easy half-day combination along the coast road.