🤿 Adventure5 days

Sea, waves, peaks and the Desertas

Garajau · Jardim do Mar · Seixal · PR 1 · Desertas

At a glance

To the three coasts add dawn at Pico do Areeiro and the three-peaks crossing, then a full day by boat to the Desertas reserve, home of the monk-seal colony — the trip that depends on the sea, kept for last.

Difficulty: Moderate · one ridge day, one day at sea
Best season: 2026 bathing seasons: from mid-April (Porto Moniz) or early June to mid/late September depending on the beach, with lifeguards; water 18 °C to 24 °C. Off season, seawater pools and caution.

🎒 Packing list

Mask, snorkel, rash vest
Water shoes for the pebbles
Sunscreen, hat, windbreaker for the boat
Water 1.5 L and snacks
Walking shoes for Ponta de São Lourenço
SIMplifica bookings (PR 8, Cabo Girão) and boat trips

Day by day

Day 1 · Snorkelling at Garajau, kayak, then Prainha6

📍 Garajau → Machico → Caniçal → Ponta de São Lourenço · ⏰ 07:30 · 🚗 ~1 h 18

08:45 → 11:15Breakby car · 20 min · ~20 min
Garajau beach: snorkelling in the reserve
A cable car drops you into the Garajau Partial Nature Reserve (1986): calm clear water, dusky groupers and manta rays, no fishing, non-motorised sports only. Supervised 15 June – 15 September; go in the morning, before the strong sun.
📍 Praia do Garajau
💡 Insider tip — scuba diving on SIMplifica booking.
11:15 → 12:45Visiton foot
Kayaking in the Garajau reserve
📍 Reserva Natural Parcial do Garajau
13:30 → 14:45Mealby car · 25 min · ~25 min
Lunch on Machico bay
After the shadeless peninsula, Machico bay and its terraces: black-scabbard fillet, grilled limpets, bolo do caco — then Banda d'Além beach (supervised 16 June – 27 September) for a siesta.
📍 Machico
15:00 → 17:00Breakby car · 15 min · ~15 min
Prainha, volcanic sand and fossils
The little copper-sand beach near Ponta de São Lourenço, below the Piedade fossil dunes (300,000 years) and the 16th-century chapel. Blue Flag, supervised 30 June – 27 September — the swim after the walk on the peninsula.
📍 Prainha (Caniçal)
17:15 → 17:45Photoby car · 3 min · ~3 min
Ponta do Rosto, both coasts
The only viewpoint showing both the north and south coasts at once: cliffs, a gull colony, Cory's shearwaters and Bulwer's petrels, Porto Santo in clear weather. Reachable by car on the Baía d'Abra road, free.
📍 Miradouro da Ponta do Rosto
19:00Mealby car · 15 min · ~15 min
Dinner on Machico bay
The bay where the island's history began in 1419, with the Desertas in the background: fish or espetada dinner on the seafront, twenty minutes from Funchal by the expressway.
📍 Machico

💡 In the Garajau reserve only non-motorised sports are allowed: mask and snorkel in the morning when the water is calmest, kayak with a school. Save Ponta do Rosto for the evening light.

🌧️ Rainy-day alternative — Rough sea or red flag: Whale Museum (Tue–Sun 10–6), Madeira Story Centre, seawater pools of the bathing complexes, Aquário da Madeira in Porto Moniz.

🎒 What to bring — Swimsuit, towel, mask and snorkel, water shoes for the pebbles and volcanic rocks, hat and sunscreen, 1.5 L of water, windbreaker for the boat.

Garajau reserve: no fishing, non-motorised water sports only, diving on SIMplifica booking; the beach is reached by cable car.
Sun: the National Maritime Authority advises avoiding the sun between 11 am and 4 pm and drinking regularly — hence beach time early and late in the day.
Swimming: lifeguards only during the bathing season set by a regional order of 2026; follow the flags — red = no swimming — and never go into the water to rescue someone: call 112.
Narrow, winding mountain roads, tunnels and fog: journey minutes are estimates without traffic or photo stops — allow extra time.

Day 2 · Jardim do Mar waves, royal road and paragliders7

📍 Jardim do Mar → Prazeres → Paul do Mar → Arco da Calheta → Ponta do Sol · ⏰ 07:30 · 🚗 ~1 h 36

08:45 → 09:00Photoby car · 45 min · ~45 min
Jardim do Mar viewpoint
At the entrance to the parish, the viewpoint picks out the village on its fajã below the high cliffs and the west coast; free, to combine with the Piarro viewpoint higher up.
📍 Miradouro do Jardim do Mar
09:05 → 10:00Visitby car · 1 min · ~1 min
Jardim do Mar, surfers' village
The village set on a fajã below the cliffs, narrow lanes and a restored mill, with the Portinho and Enseada waves — Red Bull Big Wave Challenge, a world-championship stop — reserved for experts. Watch from the seafront.
📍 Jardim do Mar
10:30 → 11:50Visitby car · 15 min · ~15 min
PR 19 Caminho Real do Paul do Mar, zigzag descent
Only 1.8 km but 534 m of cobbled steps down from Prazeres to Paul do Mar, about 1h20, from the Lombo da Rocha viewpoint: part of the island's heritage of difficult access; back up by car or taxi. SIMplifica booking.
💡 Insider tip — PR 20 to Jardim do Mar is closed in 2026.
12:00 → 13:15Mealon foot
Grilled limpets in Paul do Mar
A fishing centre whose fish makes its restaurants' reputation, a former tuna cannery (1912), limpet festival in July: lunch of grilled limpets in garlic butter facing the surfers' waves.
📍 Paul do Mar
14:30 → 15:30Photoby taxi · 20 min · ~20 min
Achada de Santo Antão, paragliding take-off
The "Farol Verde" atop the Arco da Calheta cliff, a paragliding take-off site above Madalena do Mar: views over the south-west coast, free — watch the afternoon flights, or book a tandem.
📍 Miradouro da Achada de Santo Antão (Farol Verde)
16:30 → 19:00Breakby car · 15 min · ~15 min
Ponta do Sol, sunset over the cove
The 160 m pebble cove of the island's sunniest little town: in the evening the sunset reflects on the sea — the best moment. Supervised 10 June – 14 September; summer library on the beach.
📍 Praia da Ponta do Sol
19:15Mealon foot · 1 min · ~1 min
Dinner in Ponta do Sol
The municipality with the most hours of sunshine on the island, bananas and sugar cane: dinner on the seafront after sunset, half an hour from Funchal.
📍 Ponta do Sol

💡 The Jardim do Mar and Paul do Mar spots are for experienced surfers only — beginners find schools at Porto da Cruz; PR 19 is walked down (534 m of steps) and taxied back up.

🌧️ Rainy-day alternative — The official advice is to give up the trails in heavy rain, wind or hail: São Vicente caves, Ribeira Brava Ethnographic Museum, Madeira Story Centre, or the more sheltered south-coast viewpoint road.

🎒 What to bring — Walking shoes, 1.5 L of water per person, snacks, windbreaker and a warm layer — the peaks are windy and cold even in fine weather —, sunscreen, head torch for tunnels, SIMplifica booking on your phone.

PR trails: since 1 January 2026 you book a 30-minute slot on SIMplifica — €4.50 per trail (full PR 1 €10.50), free for residents and children up to 12, registration compulsory even when exempt.
Closures are decided officially (weather, safety, works); a weather warning does not close a trail automatically. Check the official status the day before and on the morning itself.
Sun: the National Maritime Authority advises avoiding the sun between 11 am and 4 pm and drinking regularly — hence beach time early and late in the day.
Swimming: lifeguards only during the bathing season set by a regional order of 2026; follow the flags — red = no swimming — and never go into the water to rescue someone: call 112.
Narrow, winding mountain roads, tunnels and fog: journey minutes are estimates without traffic or photo stops — allow extra time.

Day 3 · Bodyboard and paddle at Seixal, Porto Moniz pools6

📍 Seixal → Porto Moniz → Paul da Serra → Calheta · ⏰ 07:30 · 🚗 ~1 h 55

09:15 → 12:00Breakby car · 50 min · ~50 min
Seixal's black-sand beach
The north coast's postcard, formed naturally beside the harbour of refuge: showers, a bar, kayak hire, bodyboarding and stand-up paddling all year. Supervised 1 June – 30 September; in heavy swell, obey the flags.
📍 Praia do Porto de Abrigo do Seixal
12:15 → 13:30Mealon foot · 1 min · ~1 min
Lunch in Seixal
The village of terraced vines and the black beach: lunch of fish or grilled limpets facing the harbour of refuge, between the beach and the Clube Naval pools.
📍 Seixal
💡 Insider tip — Panelo, Seixal's hotpot, is celebrated on the penultimate weekend of January.
13:45 → 15:00Breakon foot · 2 min · ~2 min
Clube Naval do Seixal volcanic pools
The wide volcanic pools, free (10–7 according to the council), between green mountains and blue sea, with a terrace bar and kayak and diving-gear hire: the safe swim when the ocean is rough.
📍 Piscinas do Clube Naval do Seixal
15:30 → 17:30Breakby car · 15 min · ~15 min
Porto Moniz natural pools
3,800 m² of lava pools constantly refreshed by the sea, water at 20–21 °C: open all year (summer 9–7, winter 9–5), €3 (residents €0.50), supervised season 15 April – 15 October, Blue Flag — in the afternoon, when water and air are warmest.
📍 Piscinas Naturais do Porto Moniz
💡 Insider tip — The Cachalote pools (Aquário) next door are free.
17:45 → 18:15Photoby car · 10 min · ~10 min
Mouth of the Ribeira da Janela
The rocks pierced by a "window" at the mouth of the island's longest river, a Natural Monument; free rocky beach with facilities 9–7, between Seixal and Porto Moniz.
📍 Foz da Ribeira da Janela (Monumento Natural)
19:30Mealby car · 40 min · ~40 min
Dinner in Calheta, late sunsets
The municipality with the island's latest sunsets and lowest rainfall: dinner near the marina, espetada or fish, after the beach.
📍 Calheta

💡 The north sea is lively: Seixal beach is supervised 1 June – 30 September, otherwise the Clube Naval and Porto Moniz pools. Kayak and diving-gear hire on site.

🌧️ Rainy-day alternative — Rough sea or red flag: Whale Museum (Tue–Sun 10–6), Madeira Story Centre, seawater pools of the bathing complexes, Aquário da Madeira in Porto Moniz.

🎒 What to bring — Swimsuit, towel, mask and snorkel, water shoes for the pebbles and volcanic rocks, hat and sunscreen, 1.5 L of water, windbreaker for the boat.

North coast: lively sea, swell, and water access often limited by sea conditions — the natural pools (Porto Moniz, Seixal) are the safe option.
Swimming: lifeguards only during the bathing season set by a regional order of 2026; follow the flags — red = no swimming — and never go into the water to rescue someone: call 112.
Sun: the National Maritime Authority advises avoiding the sun between 11 am and 4 pm and drinking regularly — hence beach time early and late in the day.
Narrow, winding mountain roads, tunnels and fog: journey minutes are estimates without traffic or photo stops — allow extra time.
On Paul da Serra and in the Maciço Montanhoso, fog, wind and cold are possible in any season; the peaks often rise above a sea of clouds: dress warmly and start early.

Day 4 · Dawn at Areeiro, the three peaks, the Santana coast8

📍 Pico do Areeiro → Pico Ruivo → Achada do Teixeira → Santana · ⏰ 05:15 · 🚗 ~1 h 45

06:15 → 07:15Photoby car · 30 min · ~30 min
Pico do Areeiro at sunrise
At 1,818 m, the summit you can drive to: the sunrise show, weather permitting, draws photographers and early risers — the best hour, provided you wrap up. Parking €4 per hour, viewpoint free.
📍 Miradouro do Pico do Areeiro
💡 Insider tip — Horários do Funchal shuttle (times on their site) if you would rather not drive in the dark.
07:30 → 10:45Visiton foot · 2 min · ~2 min
PR 1: Areeiro → Pico Ruivo, the three peaks
6.1 km and about 3 hours from Pico do Areeiro (1,818 m) to Pico Ruivo (1,862 m) through the Pico das Torres tunnels, one-way from Pedra Rija; fully reopened on 1 May 2026. Full ticket €10.50 on SIMplifica, morning slot to walk before the clouds.
💡 Insider tip — No return transport: descend by PR 1.2 to Achada do Teixeira (2.8 km) and arrange a vehicle or taxi.
10:45 → 11:30Photoon foot
Pico Ruivo, 1,862 m
The archipelago's highest point, Portugal's third summit, reachable on foot only: Curral das Freiras, Santana, Ponta de São Lourenço, Paul da Serra and, in good visibility, Porto Santo and the Desertas. Free viewpoint; snack at the top.
📍 Miradouro do Pico Ruivo
11:30 → 12:30Visiton foot
PR 1.2: Achada do Teixeira → Pico Ruivo
The shortest way to the archipelago's roof: 2.8 km (and back) from the Achada do Teixeira car park and its "Homem em Pé", 1.5 hours return, a well-built path with shelters. SIMplifica booking €4.50; early, for the sea of clouds.
13:15 → 14:30Mealby taxi · 20 min · ~20 min
Lunch in Santana, Biosphere Reserve
The north-coast town, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 2011: lunch of sopa de trigo or espetada before the coastal viewpoints (Quinta do Furão, Rocha do Navio, Cabo Aéreo).
📍 Santana
15:00 → 15:30Photoby car · 5 min · ~5 min
Rocha do Navio viewpoint
Above the marine reserve created in 1997 at the wish of Santana's people: cliffs, the Ilhéu da Viúva (94 m, a botanical refuge) and an often rough sea; you go down by a steep path or the cable car, water access remaining very limited by sea conditions.
📍 Miradouro da Rocha do Navio
15:45 → 16:15Photoby car · 10 min · ~10 min
Guindaste viewpoint
One of the fullest panoramas of the north coast: the pebble beach at the mouth of the Ribeira do Faial, a columnar lava jointing, Penha d'Águia and the coast to Ponta de São Lourenço.
📍 Miradouro do Guindaste
19:30Mealby car · 40 min · ~40 min
Dinner in the Zona Velha: espetada or espada
In the evening Rua de Santa Maria becomes the liveliest quarter in town: tables outside, bay-laurel beef espetada, black-scabbard fillet with banana, bolo do caco, and a poncha to finish.
📍 Zona Velha (Rua de Santa Maria)

💡 One-way from Pedra Rija and no return transport: descend by PR 1.2 and take a taxi from Achada do Teixeira. Full ticket €10.50.

PR trails: since 1 January 2026 you book a 30-minute slot on SIMplifica — €4.50 per trail (full PR 1 €10.50), free for residents and children up to 12, registration compulsory even when exempt.
Closures are decided officially (weather, safety, works); a weather warning does not close a trail automatically. Check the official status the day before and on the morning itself.
Safety advice: never walk alone, tell someone your route, finish before dark, carry spare water and food, give up in heavy rain, wind or hail. Emergencies 112.
On Paul da Serra and in the Maciço Montanhoso, fog, wind and cold are possible in any season; the peaks often rise above a sea of clouds: dress warmly and start early.
Pico do Areeiro: paid parking, €4 per hour; a shuttle is run by Horários do Funchal (times on their site). PR 1 is one-way from Pedra Rija: no return transport is provided, plan your own logistics.
Water: at least 1.5 L per person — no fountains on most trails, and the official advice is to carry spare water and food.

Day 5 · A day at sea to the Desertas3

📍 Funchal marina → Desertas → Praça do Povo · ⏰ 07:00

08:30 → 17:30Visiton foot · 5 min · ~5 min
Boat day to the Desertas
The three uninhabited islands 22 miles from Funchal, a 12,586 ha nature reserve protected since 1990 for its monk seals: visited by boat only, with a maritime-tourism operator and under regional forestry institute authorisation; landing at the Doca on Deserta Grande.
📍 Ilhas Desertas (Reserva Natural)
💡 Insider tip — A full day at sea: seasickness possible, sun protection, no shade.
18:00 → 19:00Breakon foot · 3 min · ~3 min
Praça do Povo at sunset
The big seafront esplanade, free, between the marina and the Zona Velha: time to sit facing the bay before dinner, five minutes' walk from Rua de Santa Maria.
📍 Praça do Povo
19:30Mealon foot · 1 min · ~1 min
Dinner in the Zona Velha: espetada or espada
In the evening Rua de Santa Maria becomes the liveliest quarter in town: tables outside, bay-laurel beef espetada, black-scabbard fillet with banana, bolo do caco, and a poncha to finish.
📍 Zona Velha (Rua de Santa Maria)

💡 Monk-seal nature reserve: only with an regional forestry institute-authorised operator, landing at the Doca on Deserta Grande; the trip depends on the sea — keep this day last so you can move it.

🌧️ Rainy-day alternative — Rough sea or red flag: Whale Museum (Tue–Sun 10–6), Madeira Story Centre, seawater pools of the bathing complexes, Aquário da Madeira in Porto Moniz.

🎒 What to bring — Swimsuit, towel, mask and snorkel, water shoes for the pebbles and volcanic rocks, hat and sunscreen, 1.5 L of water, windbreaker for the boat.

Cetaceans: trips all year from Funchal, Calheta or Machico; watching is subject to the Region's marine-vertebrate regulation — choose an operator that follows it.
Sun: the National Maritime Authority advises avoiding the sun between 11 am and 4 pm and drinking regularly — hence beach time early and late in the day.

🔗 Official weather forecast

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