Is it true that in the Azores we have a day where only men go out together… and the next week only women?

Yes. This is absolutely real. And if you’re visiting the Azores in early February, it can look very confusing.

It’s called Dia dos Amigos (Friends Day). It happens on a specific Thursday before Carnival. On that day, restaurants across the islands are completely packed with groups of men. No partners. No kids. Just friends eating, drinking, and behaving like they’re 23 again.

It’s basically a very organized sausage party.

And yes, let’s address it. Not all men do this, but some groups finish the night at striptease shows. And here’s the funny part, many of them have the unofficial “green light” from their wives or girlfriends. It’s tradition. It’s allowed. It’s understood.

The demand is so high that sometimes they bring strippers from mainland Portugal because the islands alone can’t handle the volume. That’s commitment.

Then comes Dia das Amigas (Girls’ Friends Day) the following Thursday. Same concept. Same madness. But now it’s all women. Restaurants fully booked again. Zero men allowed.

And yes, equal rights. Some groups end the night watching male striptease shows. Same green light. Same tradition. Same chaos. Mainland reinforcements included.

Before anyone panics, this isn’t scandal season. It’s cultural. It’s social. It’s an excuse to celebrate friendship without your partner hovering over your shoulder for one night.

If you walk into a restaurant and it’s 100 percent men or 100 percent women, relax. You didn’t enter a cult meeting.

It’s just Dia dos Amigos. Very Azorean. Very organized. Slightly wild. Completely normal.