Island of São Miguel, Azores

tickets terms & conditions​​

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• Learn & Travel Course:

Stream 1:  Emergency & Elective Soft Tissue Surgery, PRACTICAL

Stream 2:  Anaesthesia & Analgesia, PRACTICAL

The streams happen concurrently.

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• Dates:

30 September - 5 October 2025.

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• Specialists:

🎓 Bryony Fullagar, DipACVS Specialist in Small Animal Surgery at VEG;

🎓 Daniela Murgia, DipECVS Specialist in Small Animal Surgery and Professor at Nottingham University.

🎓 Chiara Adami, FRCVS DipACVAA DipECVAA Specialist in Anaesthesia and Professor at Cambridge University.

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• What is included in the ticket?

- 5 nights at a gorgeous 4* Boutique Villa (we rented a whole villa (view) and a few rooms on a second villa located 4 minutes away by foot, belonging to the same family-run business (view); rate 4.9/5 on google, 9.7/10 on booking.com)

- heated jacuzzi

- pool

- 2 days of RACE-approved practical CE/CPD!

- CE/CPD certificate

- breakfasts, lunches, coffee breaks (vegan)

- activities (swims in waterfalls and hot springs, hikes around lagoons, tea plantation, breathtaking viewpoints)

- transport during the activities.​​ 

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• What is not included in the ticket?

- dinners (to give you the opportunity to dine wherever you like)

- flight to Ponta Delgada​

- transport unrelated to the activities

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• Do you need to organise anything?

Only your flight. Ohana organises everything else (local transport, food, hotel, activities...)

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• What is the the program?​​​​​​​​​​​​​

30 Sep: meet at 'Casa Portuguesa Charming House' in Ponta Delgada, by the pool from 3pm

1 Oct: activities

2 Oct: activities

3 Oct: practical course 9.30-12, 13.15-18.00

4 Oct: practical course 9.30-12, 13.15-18.00

5 Oct: after breakfast, return home or continue island hopping with your new vet friends!

We may need to swap the days based on the weather. On 27Sep, we will check the forecast and email you the plan for the week (activities on the sunniest days!)​

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Surgery:

- Exploratory Laparotomy, Gastrotomy, Gastropexy, Enterotomy, Enterectomy, Splenectomy;

- Tracheotomy, Cystotomy, Cystotomy Tubes, Urethrostomy, Feeding tubes;​​

- You will practice on a cadaver with one more person, and each Specialist will privately teach/supervise ~6 people. Very small groups for optimal learning!

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Anaesthesia & Analgesia: 

- Understand CRIs, ECGs, breathing systems and capnographs

- Sedation and anaesthesia for dental procedures, critical patients, cardiac disease, and brachycephalics

- Complications in anaesthesia

- CPR RECOVER guidelines

- Acute and chronic pain management

- Local blocks, practice on cadavers!

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We will email you written notes weeks before, to allow you to focus on practicals while you are in the Azores! Don't worry if you don't have prior experience; we limit our courses to a small number of people, to ensure you are comfortable asking all the questions you could never ask in conferences with hundreds of people!

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• Can I bring my family or friends? I am not a vet, vet nurse, tech or student, can I join?

Yes! Non-vet professionals are always welcome in our courses/missions. Join us for every breakfast, lunch, dinner and activities, and enjoy the pool/jacuzzi while your friend is having lectures. You can have everything mentioned in 'What Is Included In The Ticket' for 1195 (room for 4), 1495 (room for 2) or 1950 (private room). The principle is the same for everyone: the ticket covers your expenses and a small donation to a local animal charity.

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• What's the location of the course/villa?

We rented the whole villa 'Casa Portuguesa Charming House', located right in the town centre of Ponta Delgada (address: Av Gaspar Frutuoso 1, Ponta Delgada) in the island of S. Miguel. It's a 7min drive from the airport to the villa (cost £8). We will do the interactive lectures at the villa, and the practicals on cadavers in a building located 7min away by car (20min walk). ​​

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• Flight tips:

There are direct flights to Ponta Delgada from London, Madrid, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Brussels, Boston, New York, Toronto, Montreal... See all direct flights here. On skyscanner, check flights from your city to Lisbon, then check flights from Lisbon to Ponta Delgada; the cheapest flights to the Azores (Ryanair, Azores Airlines SATA, TAP) are not showing unless you split like this!

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There are also direct flights to Terceira island from London, Boston, New York, Oakland (if you fly before 25 September) etc.

 

Popular island-hop itineraries include:

- Terceira (developed) > Flores (raw and serene) > Ponta Delgada in S. Miguel > home

- or Terceira > Pico (serene) > S. Jorge (serene) > Ponta Delgada in S. Miguel > home .

You fly between the islands with Azores Airlines SATA (https://azoresairlines.pt/en) This airline has an ''Air Pass'' with reduced rates for island hopping - email them with the number of passengers, dates and routes and they'll reply to you with a quote. There is also a ferry, which I only advise for islands that are very close to each other (https://atlanticoline.pt/en)

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• What are the room options?​​​

Room for 4 people (single beds, same gender; private bathroom)

Room for 2 people (single beds for same gender guests who don't know each other, or double bed if coming together; private bathroom)​​​​

Private room (double bed, private bathroom): the hotel doesn't have single rooms and this is in fact a ''Superior Room for 2'' made private for one person, which explains the increased cost (we could be selling two tickets instead of one). If you want to lower the cost, invite a friend to join you.​

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Family room (one double bed or two single beds + one sofa-bed +- kitchenette; private bathroom). Email us for a quote, telling us the number of people, the children's age and which streams you are attending. This room can also be taken by 3 friends.

 

👉 I know you might have reservations about sharing a room, but this always resolves after the first night in our courses :) Our courses are designed in a way that we all become friends soon after we meet, so don't be scared to share. You will also spend little time in the room, you will spend the days learning, in the pool and traveling!​​​​​​​​​​​​

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• What happens to the money you pay?

This money covers your expenses and 100% of profits (amount paid minus expenses) will be donated to the local charity Cantinho dos Animais and to Veterinarians Without Borders - to treat and neuter street dogs and cats, and pets belonging to low-income families. The donation numbers will be shared after the course. Organisers and speakers are working pro-bono. A huge thank you to our partners for supporting this meaningful cause: SPVS, Vetted Recruitment, UniVets Global, MoveOnVet, Pópulo Veterinary Clinic.​​

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• Should I extend my stay to the weekends before and after?

Absolutely!! The Azores are formed of 9 beautiful islands. We will stay in the island of S. Miguel, where there is plenty to explore and we won't be able to see the whole island in 5 days. Diving, hot springs, some of the most beautiful hikes in the world, unforgettable cuisine, etc. If you wish to visit a second island, I advise Flores or S. Jorge. It would be better to visit the islands before the course, instead of after (as the temperature drops quickly in October).​​​​

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• Can you advise an itinerary, hotels, how to travel in the islands, and from island to island?

Of course, we will email every participant a list of recommendations and explain how you island-hop!​​

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• Where can I see footage from previous courses?

Our 2024 Azores course was INCREDIBLE and you can see pictures and videos on our Highlight Folder 'Azores' on instagram @ohana.animalcharity. The easiest way to view these if you don't have insta is to create an account (it takes seconds) or ask a friend to use their account for a minute.

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• Are the tickets or deposit refundable?

They are not, as we had to pay expenses in advance and these are not refundable to us. But you can transfer the ticket to a friend, so your money won't be lost! Remember that all money received will be used to treat and neuter street and shelter animals.

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• What are the payment options?

Google pay, debit card or transfer. Bank transfer results in more money for the animals (compared with payment via the website) because there are no fees. We can reserve a ticket when you pay a 50% deposit. See details for bank transfer.

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• Questions?

Request a call from Carolina, Specialist in Internal Medicine and co-founder of Ohana. 

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See you in Paradise!

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Carolina Albuquerque,

DVM MSc MRCVS CertAVP DipECVIM-CA RCVS and EBVS Specialist in Small Animal Internal Medicine