Porto Santo Beach

Binter's page for Madeira to Porto Santo, read the same day, says the flight is 25 minutes, with flights daily in the morning and in the afternoon. It prints "a partir de 36,25€" next to the mobility subsidy. The fixed 36,25€, and 31,25€ for students, is written for residents of Porto Santo, on return tickets whose origin is Porto Santo. A general fare from Funchal is not copied here. The week's clocks are on Binter's timetable page.

Visit Madeira says the island is 11 km long and 6 km wide. Buses leave from beside the main service station, in the centre. The same page says they run daily to and from Porto do Porto Santo, where the ferry arrives and leaves, and that a tourist bus goes round the island once a day, about two hours. It prints no clock and no fare. Moinho Rent a Car's homepage says "Viaje em segurança nos nossos transportes públicos" and points CARREIRAS and HORÁRIOS at /transportes/. That address did not open on 7 October 2026. No bus time is copied here.

The taxi rank is by that service station. Visit Madeira gives +351 291 765 760 and geral@aitram.pt for the company that runs the taxis. No taxi fare is printed there.

The same page names Moinho Rent-a-car at Parque Empresarial do Porto Santo, lote 9, Sítio do Tanque, 9400-173, +351 291 982 141, moinhoreservas@gmail.com; Dunas Viagens e Turismo on Rua Dr. Nuno Silvestre Teixeira, 9400-172 Vila Baleira, +351 291 983 088; and Lazermar at Rua João Gonçalves Zarco 66, +351 926 700 471. It says several firms rent bicycles, and it also mentions cars, scooters, and quad bikes. It does not say which of the three rents the bicycles. On Moinho's homepage that day a Skoda Fabia was 70€ a day and a seven-seat Dacia Jogger was 120€ a day. The Jogger page also prints 110€ a day when the hire is two days or more. The car pages say the driver must be over 21 and have one year of experience.

A cycle path follows ER111 from Ribeiro Cochino to Praia da Calheta, almost 5 km, with gentle slopes. Cabeço da Ponta is four kilometres from the centre of Vila Baleira, and that beach has no public car park. Miradouro da Portela is at the east end, a little over a kilometre and a half from the centre. A distance from the harbour to the sand is not printed on these pages.

Visit Madeira calls it a golden beach of 9 km along the south coast, with calm clear water. In 2022 European Best Destinations named it the best beach in Europe. The swimming page says the water is a little warmer than on Madeira, and that swell near the shore depends on the weather. Less experienced swimmers can find the entry hard. The same page says there are always calmer stretches. It does not print a wave height.

IPMA's beach page for Porto Santo, opened 7 October 2026, shows 7 Out through 16 Out and the columns Mar total, Ondulação, and Temp. Água, from the SWAN and ALADIN models. The heights are not copied here. The same day the warnings page listed Madeira-Porto Santo as Verde.

Portaria n.º 206/2026, in the Jornal Oficial of 13 May 2026, names the bathing waters and the praias de banhos, the beaches where lifeguards are present in the season. Article 2 says a bathing water that is not a praia de banhos did not have bather surveillance assured on the day the ordinance was published. The ordinance prints Cabeço da Ponta (PTMQ7P) as 15 de maio a 31 de outubro, Fontinha (PTMJ9M) as 15 de maio a 31 outubro, and Ribeiro Salgado (PTME8L) as 1 de maio a 31 outubro. Those three are the praias de banhos. Ribeiro Cochino (PTMQ9D), Calheta, Lagoa, Pedras Pretas, Penedo, and Porto das Salemas are printed as 1 de junho a 30 setembro, with a dash in the praia de banhos column. Calheta is also listed as a praia de uso limitado. On 7 October 2026 the three lifeguarded seasons were still open. The Ribeiro Cochino and Calheta seasons in that ordinance had ended on 30 September.

Visit Madeira says Praia do Ribeiro Salgado is a Praia com Bandeira Azul, in front of two hotels. Cabeço da Ponta, on that site, has a lifeguard, a rescue boat, and a first-aid post. Praia da Calheta is the southwest end of the nine kilometres, sand mixed with rock, with a car park, changing rooms, toilets, and a restaurant. Ilhéu da Cal is in that view.

Miradouro do Pico do Castelo is at 437 m. From it: part of the bay, the centre of Vila Baleira, Ilhéu da Cal, and Ilhéu de Cima. The page says you can drive up. It also describes a walk from the Camacha area around Pico do Facho, 516 m, of 3,2 km or 4,6 km. The PS PR 2 page, read the same day, starts the walk at Moledo, by the regional road, and gives 3,2 km in 1h30 or 4,6 km in 2h15. The box on that page lists the longer one: easy, 4,6 km, 2h15, Moledo to Miradouro do Canhão, 435 m / 225 m. The two pages do not name the same start.

Pico de Ana Ferreira is 283 m, the highest point on the west side. The prismatic columns are known as the piano. Visit Madeira says the place to look at them is Miradouro da Pedreira, near the Porto Santo golf club. Neither picture on these pages is that hill.

The picture on this page is the Beachcam camera at Praia do Ribeiro Cochinho, beside Bar do Henrique. It is that stretch of sand. It is not the pier, and it is not where the ferry ties up. Ponta da Calheta is the other end of the 9 km.

The other Porto Santo picture is NetMadeira, from Miradouro da Portela. The airport is sometimes in that frame. The ferry queue is not.