Day 2: Island Tour on Porto Santo

July 17, 2025

Today we rented a car until tomorrow evening to explore the island at our leisure.

For €10, the car rental company FIVE Rent a Car delivers the car to the hotel.

We have breakfast at 8 o'clock. The buffet is not very crowded. In addition to cornflakes, muesli, and yogurt, there are also bread & rolls, various types of sausage & cheese, eggs, vegetables, rösti, etc., and of course fruits (including banana, kiwi, 3 types of melon, apples, etc.) and sweet dishes like cake, croissants, and small pastry specialties. There's something for everyone here.

Shortly after 9 o'clock, our rental car is delivered, a small Mitsubishi Space Star in cement gray. The lady from the rental company explains to us that the booked price does not include insurance; we could add tire & glass or full coverage (plus €20 per day). Considering the fact that the car has scratches and dents all around, we decide to go for the full coverage version.

After loading the car, we drive to the Miradouro Pico do Castelo, from where one can enjoy a beautiful view over the island including the airport.

The path is partly a gravel road, and I'm really glad we chose the full coverage insurance...

The guys want to climb Pico, but it's already too hot for me (there's not a breeze!), so I wait at one of the grilling places at the viewpoint (the Portuguese know how to do this!).

After a short while, both return. It's too hot for them, they broke off halfway. Oh wow... It's only 10 o'clock...

We continue with our island zoomer to Fonte da Areia - downhill on the gravel road with really nasty potholes!!! However, this is actually the regular road, which is even signposted from below. Phew, this could still be funny...

We don't find a spring at Fonte da Areia, but instead a spectacular viewpoint with grilling spots, swings, and bizarre rock walls.

Very nice here!

A few meters further, a new viewpoint is being built - something is happening here!

We circle the eastern part of the island. Here you'll find forests and trees on the slopes, over which the clouds move. It has a mystical feel to it. There is certainly a microclimate here. As soon as we drive around the mountain a bit, it suddenly feels at least 5 degrees (or more) cooler. There’s also a breeze, while on the other side of the mountain it was completely still.

We stop at Miradouro de Pedregal and circle the mountain, holding at the small local museum 'Casa da Serra'.

Afterward, we drive from the village of Serra de Fora to the sea, where the natural pools Piscinas Naturais do Porto dos Frades are said to be located. Supposedly nice for snorkeling. When we get out, we stand in front of an invisible wall of heat! No wind, burning sun (really painful on the skin), and my little pocket thermometer reads +32.5 degrees!! Crazy!!!!

We walk a bit past the rocky bay over small sand dunes to the volcanic rock formations by the sea.

In the distance, we see snorkelers again to the north on the beach/pool (?), but it's way too hot for us, we prefer to continue driving.

On the way back toward the hotel, we stop at Miradouro da Portela, from where one has a fantastic view of the 9 km long sandy beach of the island, can see the harbor with its sailboats and the ferry, and can take a short walk across the road to the 3 historical windmills Moinhos Vento Porto Santo (of course, we do this 😜).

The sea is crystal clear even from up here! A dream! By the way, you can also reach here by island bus or sightseeing bus. The views that you can reach via gravel road (and there are many) are only accessible by rental car or jeep tour.

We drive south of the island, past the hotel, and make a detour to the center of the island to Pico de Ana Ferreira. Here is another attraction of the island. At 283 meters above sea level, it is the highest point in the western part of the island of Porto Santo. At its summit, there is a spectacular row of prismatic columns, formed thousands of years ago by volcanic activity.

We are alone here, take extensive photos, and then continue to the Miradouro das Flores, my favorite viewpoint today. The approach is a bit adventurous, as you have to drive up a rather steep gravel road.

We share the parking lot with several tour jeeps and day tourists. But overall, there aren’t many people around, the tourists are limited, we find parking spaces easily everywhere, and are often even completely alone at viewpoints.

The husband wants to check out the path to Praia do Zimbrainho, but our son and I have already signaled that we have no desire to hike on this sweaty journey at the current temperatures. We drive down the side road from Miradoura das Flores to the beach. Of course, again a gravel road, this time also with sand, potholes, and ruts. I'm already having a mini crisis in the passenger seat, but my husband calmly continues until the stop sign and the no entry sign. While our son and I were in the car, he walked the path to the coast, where the descent to the beach begins, but realizes that it’s not worth the effort in the heat - and the way back to the car is just as difficult as the drive back to the road: our small Mitsubishi struggles to get up the sandy rut hill. We really feel a weight lift off our shoulders when we reach the top again. Note: this detour is NOT suitable for underpowered compact cars!

It is 4:30 PM when we arrive at the westernmost end of the 9 km long sandy beach in Ponta Calheta at Praia da Calheta.

Here there seems to be a new restaurant/bar that is not yet available on Google Maps. We treat ourselves to an ice cream and look around the beach. This one is quite different because here there is actually no direct access to the sea, as volcanic rock formations rise everywhere directly at the beach. The rock gate is eye-catching and apparently a popular Instagram & TikTok motif.

The sea, it’s a continuous tide, rushes through the rock gate. It looks beautifully cool. I want to come back tomorrow during low tide. Maybe one can walk through the gate then?

We drive back to the hotel, jump into the refreshing sea, swim a few laps in the hotel pool, and then get dressed for dinner. Since we have the rental car until tomorrow evening, we want to take the chance to watch the sunset on the other side of the island.

In the village of Camacha, we eat a delicious dinner at the restaurant 'Grill Torres' (the vegetarian rice with nuts is really delicious) and then drive again toward the grilling spot at Fonte da Areia.

Beforehand, we make a detour to the dunes & rock formations a few meters further, which I can definitely recommend as a photo motif.

Unfortunately, it is very cloudy today, so the sunset is not really spectacular, but the view of the sea from the swing has its charm 🥰

What a beautiful day to wrap up on a small but especially (against expectation) varied island!!!

For the statistics:

Accommodation: Porto Santo Beach & Spa Hotel

Walked: 8.7 km

Drove: 74 km

Weather: sunny, up to +32.5 degrees, nearly windstill!!!