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The Best Beaches In Madeira Island
First it is important to mention that Madeira Island is a volcanic Island, you can find pebble beaches and also black sand beaches. If you are looking for yellow sand beach, we have 2 artificial beaches in Madeira Island (Calheta Beach and Machico Beach)and a Natural one in Porto Santo Island which has an extension of 9 km of super thin golden sand with therapeutic conditions.
To make it easy to reach the right places, I connected google maps to the headlines. So if you click on " Praia Do Toco" a link to google maps will be activated and will help you reaching the destination on the guide.
1- Praia Do Toco In Funchal
Entrance - Free
There are a few beaches in Funchal but for some reason this one is very untouched by the human hands and it is nice and relaxing. Most of the people that go to this beach is locals, but it is not a very busy beach. It is quite hidden and not a lot of people know this place.
To access this beach you will need to go down +/- 3 min stairway, this beach does not have bathroom or bars but the locals made a shower, where you can use it after your day at the beach.
2- Praia de São Tiago also known as "Praia do Arsenal" In Funchal
Entrance - free admission
This is another beach known by the locals, this beach has steps free access and is in the Funchal Old Town next to the Fort São Tiago. This place has a nice beach bar, toilets and showers.
You will find a few fisherman´s hanging around as they have their small boats there, it is a good place to go for a swim any time of the day and I am sure you will have an amazing time.
It is also a pebble beach, I recommend if you are not used to walk in pebble beach to purchase some beach shoes to provide you extra comfort when entering into the water.
3- Natural Swimming Pools of Doca Do Cavacas In Funchal
Entrance - Paid
This is a good option in Funchal for someone that wants to enjoy some Natural Swimming Pools on the South of the Island. This beach does not have steps free access, there are steps to reach this hidden gem. This place has a Bar, bathroom and showers. To enter you have to pay around 5€ but it worth every single penny. There is also the option to buy 5 entries for 7.10€ and you can use those entries to access these beaches in Funchal:
Complexo Balnear Da Ponta Gorda
Complexo Balnear Da Barreirinha
The views from this Natural Swimming Pools are breathtaking and I am sure you will have so many selfies to show to family and friends about this place. If you want to swim in high sea, this place offers you direct access to it, as it is far from the shore, the sea in this area is quite deep, giving you a unique swimming experience.
4- Garajau Beach in Caniço de Baixo
Entrance - free admission
Cable Car - Paid
In days that you find the sea a bit agitated in the south or very windy, this beach is perfect to go as it has a small bay protected by high mountains. You can access this beach by car (sometimes you are not allowed to drive all the way down as it is very narrow and there are limited parking spaces) or you can use the cable car to access the beach. In my opinion, I like more parking the car on the top and take the cable car, if you are not afraid of heights you will be fine, it is quite an adventure. The beach has a bar, toilets and showers which is nice and it is free to use the beach.
This area is also in a Natural Reserve, which makes it one of the best locations for snorkeling or scuba diving.
5- Prainha do Caniçal
Entrance - free admission
To reach this nice black sand beach, you have to use the stairs access. It is a very nice small beach, not very known by the the tourists and it is an amazing spot. They have a bar by the beach, showers and toilets. There is free parking on the main road and it is a 4 min walk to the beach. The water is so clean and clear in sunny days that you will make nice memories at this beach.
I made a video a small video clip last January when I went for a swim there, the water was 19 Celsius, but it was refreshing as we had a 26 Celsius exterior temperature.
6 - Praia Do Porto Do Seixal
Entrance - free admission
This is one of the most searched beaches in the last years as it is getting very popular in social media, this beach offers views from the mountains and sea that makes you feel that you are in a different island like Hawaii or Azores. No matter the weather, the views are always spectacular. It is also a black sand beach, with easy access by car. You will find very close to the beach, bars and restaurants.
