Calheta Sand Beach

The council lists 3 parques de estacionamento, plus spaces for reduced mobility, along Avenida D. Manuel I. It does not print a charge. Beach access is free. Coordinates on that page: 32°43'14.54"N, 17°10'40.67"W. The town hall is Avenida D. Manuel I, n.º 46, 9370-135 Calheta, 291 820 200, 963 434 157, camara@cmcalheta.pt.

Visit Madeira lists a covered parking area among the services for a boat at the recreational port. That line does not price the beach parks, and it does not count the spaces.

Rodoeste's locality sheet is VILA DA CALHETA.pdf. The header is Rua do Esmeraldo, 50 - 52, 9000-051 Funchal, Tel.: 291 220 148, rodoeste@rodoeste.pt. The sheet prints no "válido a partir de" date. The schedules page, read the same day, says the clocks are estimates and may vary with traffic, and that there are no buses on the 25th December. The sheet says "Não se efectuam viagens a 25 de DEZEMBRO." Open the PDF before you travel.

The clocks printed on that sheet: Segunda a Sexta-Feira, FUNCHAL - VILA da CALHETA: 10:00 carreira nº 80, VIA RÁPIDA, Ribeira Brava 11:00, Ponta do Sol 11:05, via Madalena do Mar e Fajã, chegada 11:30, destino Porto Moniz, Paúl do Mar, Jardim do Mar. 16:05 carreira nº 115, Ribeira Brava 17:30, Ponta do Sol 17.45, via Canhas e Arco da Calheta, chegada 18:20, destino Paúl do Mar. 16:30 carreira nº 146, VIA RÁPIDA, transbordo na Ribeira Brava para carreira nº 115, Ribeira Brava 17:30, Ponta do Sol 17:45, chegada 18:20. 17:40 carreira nº 142, Ribeira Brava 19:00, Ponta do Sol 19:10, via Canhas e Fajã, chegada 19:50, destino Ponta do Pargo e Paúl do Mar. 18:20 carreira nº 139, VIA RÁPIDA, transbordo na Ribeira Brava para carreira nº 142, Ribeira Brava 19.00, Ponta do Sol 19:10, chegada 19:50. Sábados / Domingos e Feriados: 10:00 a) carreira nº 80, Ribeira Brava 11:00, Ponta do Sol 11:05, via Madalena do Mar e Fajã, chegada 11:30, destino Porto Moniz via EXPRESSO. 16:05 carreira nº 142, Ribeira Brava 17:30, Ponta do Sol 17:40, chegada 18:20, destino Ponta do Pargo. a) Não se realiza a 26 de Dezembro e 1 de Janeiro. VILA DA CALHETA - FUNCHAL, Segunda a Sexta Feira: Ponta do Pargo 05h45, passagem 06:25, carreira nº 142, VIA RÁPIDA, via Fajã e Canhas, Ponta do Sol 07:00, Ribeira Brava 07:30, Funchal 08:05. Ponta do Pargo 07h30, passagem 08.30, carreira nº 142, via Estrela, Arco da Calheta e Canhas, Ponta do Sol 09:35, Ribeira Brava 10.10, Funchal 10:45. Paúl do Mar 13h30, passagem 14:30, carreira nº 142, transbordo na Ribeira Brava para carreira nº 7, via Fajã e Madalena do Mar, Ponta do Sol 15:00, Ribeira Brava 15:30, Funchal 16:05. Porto Moniz 16h00, passagem 17:45, carreira nº 80, via Estrela, Arco da Calheta e Canhas, Ponta do Sol 18:30, Ribeira Brava 19:00, Funchal 19:40. Sábados / Domingos e Feriados, regresso: Ponta do Pargo 07h00, passagem 08:00, carreira nº 142, transbordo na Ribeira Brava para carreira nº 6, via Estrela, Arco da Calheta e Canhas, Ponta do Sol 08:40, Ribeira Brava 09:05, Funchal 09:40. Porto Moniz 16h00, passagem 17:30 a), carreira nº 80, via Fajã e Madalena do Mar, Ponta do Sol 17:50, Ribeira Brava 18:05, Funchal 18:40. Circuito interno, 2ª a 6ª Feira: saída 08:05, Vila da Calheta - Fajã - Arco da Calheta - Loreto - Lombos - Estrela da Calheta - Vila da Calheta (08h50). Saída 10:05, Vila da Calheta (10h40), transbordo na Estrela da Calheta para carreira nº 142, Ponta do Pargo.

Visit Madeira, read 7 October 2026: the beach is next to the Porto de Recreio. It is 100 metres long, with a sunbathing area of about 7300 m². Inaugurated in 2004, it was the first artificial beach in Madeira, with golden sand imported from Morocco. The Portuguese page says areia amarela importada de Marrocos. Two quebra-mares em talude protect it. Access is free. The page lists sun loungers and parasols, a bar, changing rooms, and first aid. It does not print a price for the loungers. It names canoeing and windsurf.

The swimming pages call the sea calm. The Portuguese page says dois pontões you can see from the sand. The English page says two piers. Imported sand, busy in summer, late sunsets on the tip of the west coast. Be careful, especially alone and outside the bathing season. Neither page prints a wind speed.

The council calls the shore duas enseadas artificiais, separated by an opening to the Atlantic. The east cove is by Hotel Calheta Beach. The west cove is by Praceta 24 de Junho. Support includes changing rooms, toilets including for reduced mobility, a first-aid post, bars and restaurants. You enter the sea by the sand or by steps. Showers, sunbeds and parasols are paid: sunbed €4, sunbed plus parasol €7, two sunbeds plus a parasol €11, shower at the reception €1, ashtray free à consignação. The page lists Posto de Praia - Nadador Salvador and does not print the months.

Portaria n.º 206/2026, Jornal Oficial of 13 de maio de 2026, signed on 12 May 2026, in force the next day. A praia de banhos is a beach where lifeguards are present during the bathing 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. Calheta, code PTMW8M, is a praia de banhos, 29 de junho a 30 de setembro. Portinho PTMH8F, Porto PTMK9W and Ribeira das Galinhas PTME9L have a dash in that column and the season 15 de junho a 15 de setembro. Serra de Água PTMK3V is a praia de banhos, 1 de julho a 1 de outubro. On 7 October 2026 the Calheta season in that ordinance had ended.

The recreational port is next to the artificial beach. Visit Madeira: about 16 nautical miles from Funchal, 337 berths for boats of 6 to 25 metres, maximum draft 3,5 m, and 40 places for jet-skis. Fuel is diesel and unleaded 95. The page also lists a covered parking area, a slipway, a car wash, a small-boat repair area, a crane, and a pump-out. It does not print a berth price.

MUDAS, Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Madeira, is Casa das Mudas on the hill above the town. Visit Madeira says a little over 30 minutes from Funchal, inaugurated in October 2004, designed by Paulo David. Tuesday to Saturday 09h30-13h00 and 14h00-17h30. Closed Mondays, Sundays and public holidays. Estrada Simão Gonçalves da Câmara, n.º 37, 9370-139 Calheta. (+351) 291 820 900. mudas@madeira.gov.pt. Lift and access ramps.

Engenho da Calheta. The Portuguese page says the Sociedade dos Engenhos da Calheta dates from the end of the 19th century and the start of the 20th, the mill is in the heart of the town, it runs once a year, normally after Easter, and the tasting room and bar-cellar can be visited all year. That page prints no clock. The English museum page gives Avenida D. Manuel I, n.º 29, 9370-135 Calheta, Monday to Friday 8:00 - 19:00, weekends and public holidays 10:00 - 19:00, (+351) 291 822 264, engenhosdacalheta@sapo.pt. The two pages do not print the same hours.

Paul do Mar is a parish of Calheta. Visit Madeira calls it a fishing centre. A tuna cannery for export opened in 1912, and the chimney of the old factory is still there. Surfers use the waves, as they do at neighbouring Jardim do Mar. This site has a picture of Paul do Mar, and one of Jardim do Mar. Ponta do Sol is on the VE3, and it has its own picture. Prazeres is another parish. PR 20 Vereda do Jardim do Mar starts there and ends at Jardim do Mar (Largo da Igreja): 1,9 km, easy, 1h30, altitude 530 m / 35 m, a drop of about 500 m. The page says to pay on SIMplifica and does not print the amount. Miradouro da Raposeira, about 600 m, in Fajã da Ovelha, looks down on Paul do Mar and can see Prazeres, whose name the page traces to an old chapel of Nossa Senhora dos Prazeres. VE3 ends at Raposeira. That viewpoint page does not print a parking charge.

The picture on this page is the Madeira-Web Beaches Live camera. Madeira-web's own page says the feed looks over the beach, the marina and the mountains, in partnership with MUDAS. It is not a lifeguard flag, and it does not show a free space in the 3 parques de estacionamento.

Look before you leave Funchal. A full sand, or white water already inside the two coves, is a reason to change the plan. The drive will not fix it. The swimming pages say the beach is busy in summer and that the sunsets are late. The council says to limit sun between 11H-16H, and that the sand reflects it. Neither page prints a wind speed that closes the beach.