Porto Santo Island Madeira Vila Baleira
41
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
Atlas Ocean Voyages (1 Cruises)
Ponant (4 Cruises)
Silversea Cruises (5 Cruises)
Windstar Cruises (27 Cruises)
Wind Spirit
22 Cruises
| 6 January | 11 days | Round-trip from Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain |
| 16 January | 11 days | Round-trip from Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain |
| 22 October | 29 days | One-way from Tarragona to Santa Cruz de Tenerife |
| 31 October | 20 days | One-way from Malaga to Santa Cruz de Tenerife |
Frequently Asked Questions
At the pier on the island's eastern end, a short distance from Vila Baleira, its only real town. You can reach the town on foot along the shore or in a few minutes by taxi.
Yes. The 9-kilometre beach runs the length of the south coast and begins near the pier. A few hundred metres of walking is enough to find a quiet stretch, even in summer.
Its fine calcareous sand, soft underfoot, long credited with therapeutic properties: people come to bury their legs in it to ease rheumatism. The water is clear, warmer than in Madeira, and shelves gently.
He lived here before redrawing the map of the world. The navigator married Filipa Moniz, daughter of the island's first captain-donatary, and the house where he is said to have stayed now holds a museum tracing his Portuguese years and his voyages.
The town unfolds in a peaceful hour: a palm-shaded square, a white church, whitewashed houses, a jetty reaching into the blue, the Columbus house-museum, a few craft shops and cafés where time stretches out.
Pico do Castelo, the replanted volcanic cone above Vila Baleira that once served as a refuge during pirate raids, and the Portela viewpoint further east, which takes in the whole beach and the nearby islets. Taxis offer one- or two-hour circuits linking them.
Yes. Dive schools line the beach, and certified divers ask for the wreck of the Madeirense, a former ferry deliberately sunk offshore to create an artificial reef, now colonized by grouper and barracuda.
No, and that is not a flaw. The island is golden, arid, almost desert-like, and its luxury comes down to three things: an enormous beach, clear water and quiet. Anyone hunting built heritage will come away hungry.
Black scabbardfish, grilled octopus, limpets seared in garlic butter and lemon, then bolo do caco, the round bread baked on stone. Terraces also serve poncha, the Madeiran cocktail of cane rum and fruit, best taken with the restraint the sun demands.
The euro and Portuguese. Cards work in the restaurants and shops of Vila Baleira; keep cash for beach kiosks and taxis. English is understood in tourism.
