Madeira

Things to do in Porto Santo

Above all Porto Santo is a beach holiday destination. Next to wellness and spa in the hotels, most things to do will be situated on the beach, upon on under water.

Should you make a day trip to Porto Santo, starting from Madeira, then you'll have plenty of time to explore the island. Crossing the ocean using the ferry from Funchal is already an adventure in itself.
If your planning a longer Porto Santo holiday, then it may be important to know that you have to love sun, sea and beach because that's really the main attraction on the island.


Plays on the beach Playing golf Sailing Horse riding on Porto Santo

Here is an overview of things to do on Porto Santo:

  • Diving and snorkelling.
    Deap blue sea and clean water surround Porto Santo.
    The best diving places are to be found on the South coast and near Ilhéu de Cima (Cima Island).
    The diving center is situated near the harbour of Porto Santo.
    There you can also rent diving and snorkel equipment.
     
  • Boating trips, sailing and other water sports.
    Several boating trips can be made.
    Head for Ilhéu de Baixo, Ilhéu de Ferro (cost approx. 35 Euro), make a boating tour around the island (cost approx 45 Euro), or make a boating trip that includes whale and dolphin spotting (45 euro).
     
  • Cycling.
    A bicyle is the perfect means for getting around on Porto santo.
     
  • Golf, tennis and horse riding.
    The most fanatic golf players will find a golf court on Porto Santo that includes 2 x 18 holes and 1 x 9 holes. Similar to the Palheiro Golf en Santo da Serra Golf courts on Madeira, access is not cheap. Given that this web site is above all a site with information by a tourist and made for the tourist, i leave this chapter to more specialised Web sites.
    Just this: the golf courst is situatated to the North of the Pico de Ana Ferreira.
    That's also wehre the tennis courts and Porto Santo Riding Centre reside.
     
  • Visit to Vila Baleira.
    Vila Baleira is the capital of Porto Santo, but at the same time also the only city on the island. In fact it is no mora than a larger village that has several restaurants and bars.
    Things to see are the church dating from 17th century and the former house of Christopher Columbus.
Walks and day tours:
  • Walk or cycle towards the top of the Pico de Facho.
  • Visit Portela and the view upon the wind mills./li>
  • On top of the Pico de Ana Ferreira you get a nice view on the golf courts and the Ilhas Desertas (Desertas island).
  • The Pico do Castelo offers a view on the valleys and the small islands near the shore of Porto Santo.
  • Quinta das Palmeiras is one of the few gardens and includes a mini-zoo (note the word mini).

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More info about Porto Santo

Porto Santo vs Madeira
The Porto Santo Line – Ferry between Funchal, Madeira and Porto Santo
Porto Santo hotels

Click for our home pages about Porto Santo and Madeira

 

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