Porto Moniz Lava Natural Pools

The council page says the municipal pools are open all year: 09:00 to 17:00 in winter, and 09:00 to 19:00 in summer time. The page calls that second span horário de verão and does not date the change.

Entry is paid all year. Over 3 years: €3.00. Age 3 or under: free. A municipal card in series SX, RJ or RB, PM, and AC: €0.50. A student card or a 65 card: €1.50. A disability card at 60% or more: free. Take the card. The page says the rest of the discount rule is the notice at the ticket office. The pools phone on that page is 291 850 190.

The same page lists a bar, changing rooms, a children’s play area, a first-aid post, loungers and sun umbrellas for hire, and lifeguards on duty. It does not print a hire price. It also gives a yearly average water temperature of 20 to 21ºC.

Portaria n.º 206/2026, Jornal Oficial of 13 May 2026, names the bathing water Porto Moniz, code PTMV3Q, as a bathing beach from 15 April to 15 October 2026. On that portaria a bathing beach is a beach where lifeguards are provided during the bathing season. The council page is the one that says the complex stays open outside those dates. The portaria does not name Cachalote.

The ViaExpresso concession page says the VE2 runs 14.05 km from São Vicente to Porto Moniz, and calls it an alternative to the old ER101. The same page splits that as São Vicente to Seixal 6.50 km and Seixal to Porto Moniz 7.55 km. It does not give a driving time.

The same page calls the VE4 the preferred link from the south coast to the north coast on the west of the island. It runs from Serra de Água to São Vicente, and a large part of it is the Encumeada tunnel, 3.1 km. The VE2 starts at the São Vicente end of that road.

The Direção Regional de Estradas page, dated 7 July 2025 and still that page on 7 October 2026, lists the ER101 as the coastal road through Porto Moniz toward Ponta do Pargo, and the ER105 from Porto Moniz (Portas da Vila, ER101) up to Serra de Água by Paúl da Serra. That page does not give a driving time from Funchal.

Visit Madeira lists a car park at the municipal pools and does not give a price or a number of spaces.

The council parking page, read on 7 October 2026, says about 70% of the parking capacity in the town is free. It also lists 144 spaces where the blue lines are charged every day from 09:00 to 19:00: a minimum of €0.20, €0.80 an hour, and €0.20 for each 15 minutes. Pay with coins at the meter, from €0.05 to €2.00, and put the ticket on the windscreen. A missed payment is increased by 100% of the daily rate. The page does not print that daily rate, and it does not say which of the 144 spaces are the pool car park.

Rodoeste’s carreira 80 sheet, still the file on their site on 7 October 2026, is marked valid from 9 January 2023. The times are approximate passage. Weekdays: Funchal 10:00, Porto Moniz 13:00. Saturday, Sunday and holidays: Funchal 10:00, Porto Moniz 12:30, and that column uses the express between Calheta and Ponta do Pargo. Back from Porto Moniz at 16:00: Funchal 19:35 on weekdays, 18:40 on Saturday, Sunday and holidays. No service on 25 and 26 December or 1 January. The sheet does not print a fare.

The Porto Moniz locality sheet on the same site prints the weekday 10:00 as arriving at 13:30, and the weekday 16:00 as reaching Funchal at 19:40. The weekend pair matches the carreira 80 sheet: 12:30 there and 18:40 back. The two sheets do not agree on the weekday clocks. Read both before you travel.

Rodoeste’s carreira 139 sheet, marked valid from 1 March 2021 and still the file on 7 October 2026, is the north-coast bus through the Encumeada tunnel. Every day, with a change at São Vicente from carreira 6 to carreira 150: Funchal 07:35, Porto Moniz 10:45, Santa 10:55. Monday to Saturday, same change: Funchal 13:30, Porto Moniz 16:55. Monday to Friday, same change: Funchal 14:10, Porto Moniz 16:55. On weekdays those two afternoon buses then end at Achadas da Cruz. Saturday, with a change at Ribeira Brava from carreira 146 to carreira 6: Funchal 17:35, Porto Moniz 20:35. The sheet does not print a fare.

The same 139 sheet prints returns from Porto Moniz. Columns marked b change at São Vicente from carreira 150 to carreira 6. Weekdays 06:10, Funchal 07:30. Weekdays 06:40, Funchal 09:35. Saturday and Sunday 07:10, Funchal 09:35. Weekdays 12:10, Funchal 14:05. Saturday 14:10, Funchal 17:05. The weekday 18:20 and 19:05 departures from Funchal do not line up with one Porto Moniz clock on that sheet, and the locality sheet sends both to Santa at 20:30. Those evening trips are left out. No 139 service on 1 January, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, or 25 and 26 December.

A same-day return after the 07:35 bus is the carreira 139 at 12:10 on weekdays, or the carreira 80 at 16:00. After the 10:00 carreira 80, the 12:10 has already gone, and 16:00 is the return on that sheet. The afternoon carreira 139 reaches Porto Moniz at 16:55, after that 16:00 departure. The council page keeps the municipal pools open until 17:00 in winter and 19:00 in summer time, so the 16:00 bus leaves before closing.

A taxi uses the regional meter. The second amendment to Convenção n.º 1/2019, in force on 6 February 2026, sets the flag at €4.00 by day and €4.80 at night for a 4-seat car. The flag covers the first kilometre. After that it is €0.10 every 65 m by day, or every 52 m from 21:00 to 06:00 and all day on Saturday, Sunday and holidays. That document does not publish a fixed price to Porto Moniz. Waiting, luggage (€1.50) and an empty return are extra.

The council page places the Cachalote pools near the Aquário da Madeira, the Centro de Ciência Viva, and the municipal pools. Neither that page nor Visit Madeira prints a walking time, so none is copied here.

The aquarium is in the rebuilt Forte de São João Baptista, Rua Forte São João Baptista. The council page says the original fort was built in 1730 and the aquarium opened on 4 September 2005, with more than 90 native species in 12 tanks. Open every day 10:00 to 18:00. Tickets on that page: single aquarium ticket €8, normal €7, group from 5 people €5, junior aged 5 to 14 €4, senior from 65 €4, group of 5 or more juniors or seniors €3.

The Centro de Ciência Viva is at the Espaço Multiusos, Rotunda do Ilhéu Mole. Open Monday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00, including holidays, closed 25 December. The permanent exhibition is the Laurissilva, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Tickets on that page: normal €3.50, junior aged 5 to 14 €2.50, senior over 65 €3.00, group over 5 people €3.00, school groups €2.50, under 5 free. The note of about 1h30 on that page is for a booked group visit, not a walk from the pools.

The picture on this page is the NetMadeira camera over the main bathing complex. It shows whether water is already running over the outer rocks. The council page does not print a wave height that closes the gate. The picture does not sell the ticket.

The hillside camera is Madeira-Web Places Live. That one shows the town from above. This one is the pools.