Tag 1: Good morning - off to Porto Santo!

July 16, 2025

Where is Porto Santo???

I keep getting that question when people ask me about my travel plans for this summer.

Everyone has certainly heard of Madeira. Just 2.5 hours by ferry or 15 flight minutes north is a small barren island called Porto Santo. Although Porto Santo is so close to Madeira, it offers something that is not found on Madeira: a fine natural sandy beach! A full 9 km long!

Madeira was set as the travel destination, but once I saw pictures of Porto Santo, it was clear: we have to go there too!

So off we go to Porto Santo!

The night ends at 3 AM. One glance at my phone makes me awake: a text message from TAP!!!!

Heart racing. I have bad memories with such SMS from airlines. In March 2024, I received a text from Finnair 2 hours before departure, stating that our flight to Helsinki was canceled... 6 weeks ago, it was Lufthansa, when we wanted to return from a long weekend in Budapest, and the same fateful text announced the canceled return flight home.

But now I can breathe easily! It’s only about the hand luggage. What luck!!!

Our flight to Lisbon departs at 6:05, and we only have a little over an hour to change flights. Oh, will this work????

Hopefully, there won’t be a delay 🙏🏻

We've experienced that before. In 2023, due to the delay of our KLM feeder flight to Amsterdam, we only had 30 minutes to transfer. I never would have thought that we would make our flight to Curacao - even WITH luggage!!!

Well, we are better prepared today and have swimwear and toothbrush in our hand luggage 😅

Our daughter is not joining us on this holiday and is driving us to the airport.

Shortly after 4 AM, we arrive and stand in a long line at the TAP/Air China counter.

Surprisingly, check-in goes quickly, and we can pass through security, where we are basically alone. New: starting from Frankfurt, you are now allowed to take drinks (we each have a 500 ml bottle of water) on board. The water bottle is 'scanned', and you are asked to go to the desk for a baggage check, but at least you have something to drink and don't have to buy it for an exorbitant price in the shop. Speaking of the shop: I actually wanted to buy something for breakfast, but all shops and bakeries open only at 6 AM 🥺 It's not even 5 AM. Bummer!

Our flight to Lisbon departs on time at 6:10. A brand new Airbus A321 Neo.

Somehow I've hit the jackpot again and am sitting at the emergency exit. More legroom than in the rows behind. Perfect. After receiving the safety briefing on how to open the window in an emergency (unlike Lufthansa, everything happens automatically at the push of a button here 😅), I fall asleep during the flight.

In Lisbon, things get hectic. Although we land on time, we stand on the tarmac for an endless amount of time waiting for stairs and buses. The problem: it’s now 8:30 local time, our connecting flight is due to depart at 9:20, and boarding is already in progress...

Endless minutes and a tour of the airport later, we reach the terminal.

We run to our gate No. 18 - by now it’s 9 AM - and we are among the last to board. Phew...!

But: will our bags make it onto the plane in such a short transfer time???

For safety, we have swimwear and toothbrush in our hand luggage, but a suitcase would be nicer...

It’s back on the bus, again across the airport premises 🙈

In front of the plane, it’s wait again!

I see how the bags are loaded into the plane. Ours aren't among them. A second luggage cart comes rolling in - I see our bags directly! Yay!!! We will arrive ON the island with luggage 💪🏻😜

In total, we now depart with a delay of about 30 minutes. That's one of the few exceptions where I am happy about a delay 😅

Flying past Lisbon, we head out onto the Atlantic. The weather is fantastic and we are the only non-Portuguese passengers on the flight 🤣

In Porto Santo, we are greeted with a sticky warm 24 degrees, but it feels like 30. The sun is beating down quite fiercely. The airport consists of a single building. We exit the plane on the tarmac and walk directly to the baggage claim. By the way, only a small jet is parked at the end of the runway besides us. What a lonely airport.

After a short wait, we get a taxi. The hotel 'Porto Santo Beach & Spa Hotel' is only 5 km away. The taxi driver is very talkative and gives us plenty of tips on where to eat, drink cocktails, and shopping. Perfect! The taxi ride costs €10. We check in; however, our room is not ready yet. The hotel, a 4-star hotel, looks a bit run down with the charm of an ex-East German Plattenbau. Quite aged, but the location is amazing: a great garden area, pool, and a beach bar right on the beach! Such luxury is very rare on Porto Santo.

We walk to the beach bar and have lunch while we wait for our room. The boys have Angus and veggie burgers, while I have a halloumi sandwich with grilled vegetables. Super delicious!!

All this with a sea view! After eating, we walk along the beach for a while. The sea is crystal clear and turquoise! A dream!

The special highlight of Porto Santo, a mini island next to Madeira, is the 9 km fine sandy beach!! Allegedly, the sand even has healing powers. We are curious 😋

We stop at a bar a few meters away and have another coffee; afterwards, we can check into our room.

Armed with swimwear, we look for a sunbed by the pool and then head down to the beach. There are no 'private beaches' on Porto Santo, so hotels don’t have sunbeds on the beach. These can be rented by local providers all along the beach (2 sunbeds, 1 umbrella for €15/day, 3rd sunbed at an additional €6). However, we take the free sunbeds at the hotel pool and spend plenty of time splashing in the sea. It’s amazing!!! The water is around 22/23 degrees. Delightfully refreshing 😜

After a quick hour, we switch to the pool and chill until 6:30 PM.

Before searching for a restaurant for dinner, we walk to a small supermarket down the street and buy beer, wine, and water; afterwards, we head to the beach to the restaurant 'Mar e Sol', not far from our hotel. We grab a table with a sea view, and eat omelet, fries, fish, the local garlic bread 'Bolo do Caco', and the traditional cocktail 'Poncha' (sugarcane schnapps, honey, lime, and orange juice). Very tasty!

Strolling back along the beach to the hotel, the beach bar has already closed. Nevertheless, we sit in the chairs, looking at the sea and drinking our supermarket beer and wine. It’s nice here!

For the statistics:

Walked: 7.9 km

Flown:

Frankfurt - Lisbon / TAP Airbus 321 Neo

Seats 17 D/E/F (emergency exit), 3h10

Lisbon - Porto Santo (PXO) / TAP Embraer E190LR, Seats 5 A,B,C, 1h27

Weather: sunny, up to +28 degrees