Porto Santo is a small unspoilt island about 25 miles northeast of Madeira. Easily reached, Porto Santo is a 2 hour ferry ride or a 15 minute flight from Madeira. Because there are just a few hotels and apartments on the island, it remains uncrowded and tranquil.

Porto Santo

The island is quite barren with its main attraction being a beautiful 6 mile long sandy beach on the islands southern coastline which is divided into separate smaller beaches. The waters along this coastline are warmed by the Golf Stream and washup onto the soft golden sands which are said to have healing properties. These therapeutic qualities include the relief of the pain of rheumatism and broken bones.
There is a variety of watersports available from the beach including diving, fishing, sailing canoeing, windsurfing, jet-skiing, water-skiing and great swimming in the crystal clear sea.
The beach can be enjoyed at any time of the year as the weather here hardly varies from season to season.

Vila Baleira is the islands main town, with cobbled streets, whitewashed

Vila Baleira

 buildings, restaurants, cafes and a park. The traditional old shops here sell handmade souvenirs.

Porto Santo has so much natural beauty that visitors can spend hours just exploring the stunning grasslands, forests and mountains.

For golf enthusiasts there is an 18-hole golf course which was designed by Severiano ‘Seve’ Ballesteros, complete with

Porto Santo Golf

driving range, putting green, pitch and putt course and clubhouse.

A visit to the Casa de Columbus is a must when on the island. This is now a museum dedicated to Christopher Columbus who lived on the island and is home to some of the explorers paintings, maps, drawings and engravings.

Porto Santo really only has one season with temperatures averaging around 20C during the year and between 5 and 8 hours of sunshine a day. Temperatures can reach a low of 15C but can also reach a high of 28C with rain being very rare.

Because the islands natural beauty can be explored at any time of the year you can book one of the late deals on offer to Porto Santo whenever you have the need for some peace and tranquility.

Cheap package holidays to this beautiful, unspoilt island are always available at any time of the year.

Thinking of visiting Portugal for your summer holidays or might be considering visiting at a future date?

Personally, I love the Algarve in the south of Portugal and have just come across a really informative travel article for Portugal which may help you when planning your holidays.

The Algarve has everything, including beautiful beaches, great dining-out venues, 35 golf courses, watersports and outdoor activities, and lots of attractions for the whole family to enjoy.

With many tourist attractions, as well as the usual beaches, the Algarve offers a new world to explore if you book a holiday to this area, either for the renowned sports activities or just for a nice break away from home.

Trevor Butler set up his first ‘travel’ related business in 2004 and has written many other destination articles with tips and information. I have found these articles both interesting and helpful, hope you do too.

The following review was supplied to us by our reader Ellis Ward

“Having read several reviews on this hotel we should not have been suprised with what we got! We booked the hotel for our last minute holidays and got a really good, cheap deal so we shouldn’t off been expecting too much. Still all in all we did have a good time and got what we paid for. The hotel was clean but a bit old fashioned. Tavira is a quaint, quiet little town but it was about a 30 minute walk and a ferry ride to the beach!We only ate at the hotel once as there were quite a few different restaurants close by, the food at the hotel was ok but nothing special. Wouldn’t like to go to Tavira with children because of the long drag to the beach but for us we had a nice relaxing break, not too sure if we would go again, but never say never”

Porta Nova Hotel

Situated near the centre of Tavira, the Porta Nova is just a short walk from the town centre and Tavira Castle. The beach is about 2 kms from the hotel.

Accommodation

All 137 rooms have a bath or shower, wc, satellite tv, internet access, minibar, safety deposit box, balcony or terrace.

Facilities and Activities

Pool and terrace, children’s pool, billiards, sauna, room service (8am-10pm), laundry service, baby-sitting (subject to availability).

Food and Drink

Buffet-style restaurant, a la carte dining on the outdoor terrace, bar serving snacks.