Porto Santo, worth a visit?
Porto Santo is part of the Autonomous region of Madeira. The island is about 50 km’s away from Madeira and it reachable with a ferry in about 2h30. The main asset of the island that you simply can’t find in Madeira? A 9km long golden sand beach.
We decided to visit the island in one day. That means you depart from 8:00 from Funchal, arrive around 10:30 in Porto Santo and depart again at 20:00 so you’ll arrive back in Funchal around 22:30. The ferry itself is already a nice adventure for the kids. But the ocean can get rough. Our trip to Porto Santo was pretty rough and both kids got seasick.
When we arrived at Porto Santo we went straight to the beach, and we have to admit: it’s absolutely wonderful. We were no in the holiday season, so it was pretty quiet. During the summers it gets more packed. We spend the whole day at the beach and enjoyed it very much.
On the other hand: you choose Madeira not for the beaches, otherwise you picked to a beach destination. If you plan a visit to Porto Santo, that means that it will take at least one day of your holiday schedule. So it depends on your personal preferences & planning.
