Part of our complete guide: Activities and tours on Madeira
The activity offer is modest, but it has one clear star.
What is bookable
4×4 island tour with hotel transfer, from about €50, seven hours. The island’s top product: 4.9 stars across nearly 470 reviews. It works the viewpoint hills — Pico do Facho, Pico Castelo, Portela, the Fonte da Areia cliffs — and turns a flat island into a surprisingly varied one.
Guided snorkelling in protected water, from about €49, three hours. Clearer and shallower than Madeira, over pale sand.
Horse riding, from about €53, 1–3 hours. On the beach — barely available on Madeira itself, and it works here.
Buggy, 90 minutes, from about €90 per vehicle. For the tracks inland.
Pirate expedition island tour, from about €44, three hours. The family format.
Getting there
**Ferry (Lobo Marinho)** from Funchal, generally daily, crossing two hours twenty. Day returns are possible but leave only about five hours on the island — enough for the beach, tight for the 4×4 tour. Details in our piece on the ferry to Porto Santo.
Flights on the regional connection, 15 minutes, several times a day.
If you want the 4×4 tour, stay a night. Otherwise the day becomes a scramble between two ferry times.
What to watch for
- No shade. The beach is nine kilometres long and effectively treeless. Rent a parasol or bring one.
- Wind is the normal state on Porto Santo, not the exception.
- Low season: far less is open in winter than on Madeira. Check ferry times and opening hours in advance.
- The famous sand is held to be therapeutic; there are guided sand-therapy treatments (areoterapia) on the beach.
Book it or do it yourself?
Beach: yourself, it costs nothing. The 4×4 tour: book it — without a vehicle you will see the beach and not much else, and hiring a car for one night rarely pays.
Common questions
How do you get from Madeira to Porto Santo?
By the Lobo Marinho ferry from Funchal, generally daily, a crossing of two hours twenty. Or by air on the regional connection, 15 minutes, several times a day. Porto Santo lies about 40 km to the north-east and has nine kilometres of unbroken sand — the thing Madeira does not have.
Is a day trip to Porto Santo worth it?
Only up to a point. A day return leaves about five hours on the island — enough for the beach, tight for the 4×4 tour. If you want the island tour, stay a night; otherwise the day becomes a scramble between two ferry times.
What can you book on Porto Santo?
The 4×4 island tour with hotel transfer, from around €50 for seven hours, is the star: 4.9 stars across nearly 470 reviews, working Pico do Facho, Pico Castelo, Portela and the Fonte da Areia cliffs. Plus guided snorkelling from €49, horse riding on the beach from €53, a buggy from €90 per vehicle, and a pirate expedition from €44.
What should you watch out for on Porto Santo?
There is no shade — the beach is nine kilometres long and effectively treeless, so rent a parasol or bring one. Wind is the normal state on Porto Santo, not the exception. In low season far less is open than on Madeira; check ferry times and opening hours in advance.
👉 See all Porto Santo activities (Affiliate link)
Next: The ferry to Porto Santo · Porto Santo · Snorkelling and kayaking
