🤿 Adventure3 days

Three days, every element

Trail · wind · dive · boat · north coast · karting

At a glance

Afternoon wind, calm morning sea and trails at dawn: PS PR2 and the Facho, then windsurf or wing foil; the bay's wrecks, then dolphins by boat; finally the north coast — Pico Branco, Salemas, Fonte da Areia — and karting once the sun has stopped burning.

Difficulty: Hard · sporty programme · one sea outing a day
Best season: Bathing season 1 May – 31 October; water around 18 °C in March, 24–25 °C in high summer.

🎒 Packing list

Trail shoes
Closed shoes for the coves
Mask, snorkel, rash vest
Dive log if you dive
Water 1.5 L and snacks
SIMplifica trail booking

Day by day

Day 1 · Summits at dawn, wind in the afternoon7

📍 Moledo → Facho → great beach · ⏰ 06:30 · 🚗 ~25 min

07:00 → 09:00Visitby car · 10 min
PS PR2 — Vereda do Pico do Castelo
The island's forest trail, graded easy, from Moledo: 3.2 km round the north of Pico do Facho (1:30) or 4.6 km round the south (2:15), under Aleppo pines and dragon trees, up to the 16th-century fort and its cannons. Early, before the heat, on a booked slot.
💡 Insider tip — The forest gives shade, but carry water.
09:00 → 10:15Photoon foot · 50 min
Pico do Facho, the roof of the island
No road reaches the highest point: you climb on foot along the unmarked vereda that starts at Pico do Castelo. Here burned the "fachos" that warned of pirate ships; the whole island, the beach and the islets lie below.
📍 Pico do Facho
💡 Insider tip — A windy summit: windbreaker even in fine weather.
12:00 → 12:30Mealby car · 20 min
Bolo do caco & fruit — Ribeiro Cochino stalls
In summer the stalls in the Ribeiro Cochino car parks sell bolo do caco, grapes, watermelon and figs: the beach snack before the cycle path that starts here.
📍 Praia do Porto Santo
12:45 → 13:45Mealon foot · 10 min
Break at the Porto Santo Beach Club
Parasols, loungers and a bar facing the Atlantic on the great beach; kayak and paddleboard hire next door — the place to eat quickly and get back on the water.
💡 Insider tip — Open April to October according to its listing.
15:00 → 17:30Visiton foot · 5 min
Windsurf, kite or wing foil
Calm sea and low swell: a windsurf spot sought after all year, where kitesurfing is possible and wing foil is taking off along the long sandy beach — in the afternoon, when the wind picks up.
📍 Praia do Porto Santo
18:00 → 18:45Breakon foot · 10 min
A drink at Bar do Henrique
A local bar with a terrace at Campo de Baixo, by the access to Ribeiro Cochino beach: the late-afternoon break between two swims.
19:30Mealon foot · 10 min
Polvo à lagareira — Vila Alencastre
A Campo de Baixo terrace favoured by residents: octopus with olive oil and garlic, local catch — the evening table closest to the western beaches.

🌧️ Rainy-day alternative — The IFCN asks you to give up the trails in heavy rain or strong wind: Casa Colombo, church and Centro Cultural, or a car loop of the island by the viewpoints.

🎒 What to bring — Walking shoes, 1.5 L of water per person, snacks, hat, sunscreen, windbreaker — the peaks are windy even in fine weather.

PS PR trails: since 1 January 2026 you book a 30-minute slot on SIMplifica — €4.50, free for residents and children up to 12. Yellow-and-red waymarks.
Water: at least 1.5 L per person — there are no fountains on the trails, and the IFCN asks you to carry spare water and food.
Swimming: lifeguards are guaranteed only at Fontinha, Ribeiro Salgado and Cabeço da Ponta in season; elsewhere follow the flags, and never go into the water to rescue someone — call 112.

🔗 Book a trail slot (SIMplifica)

Day 2 · Under the sea, then on it6

📍 Bay → islets → Portela · ⏰ 07:30

08:30 → 11:30Visiton foot · 10 min
Wreck dive
Porto Santo ranks among Europe's best dive spots: the ferry Madeirense (sunk in 2000) and the corvette General Pereira d'Eça (2016) lie at about 30 m, visibility up to 40 m, groupers and amberjacks around them; Cabeço do Poio off Ilhéu de Cima at 15–28 m.
📍 Ilhéu de Cima
💡 Insider tip — Dive centres: Activities tab.
12:30 → 14:00Mealon foot · 15 min
Lunch with your feet in the sand — Pé na Água
A terrace on the beach facing the Atlantic: grilled fish of the day, garlic-butter lapas and homemade bolo do caco — the hour to leave the sand, as the Maritime Authority advises.
💡 Insider tip — Booking recommended in July–August.
15:00 → 18:00Visiton foot · 15 min
Dolphins and seabirds by boat
Dolphins, whales, turtles and seabirds can be seen all year on quiet trips that call at near-untouched spots such as Ilhéu da Cal or Ilhéu de Ferro; Ilhéu de Cima carries the lighthouse lit in 1901.
📍 Ilhéu de Cima
18:30 → 19:00Photoby car · 10 min
Miradouro da Portela
The island's classic, accessible lookout at the eastern tip: Vila Baleira in the middle of the south coast, the beach and turquoise sea, the harbour and marina, Pico de Baixo and Ilhéu de Cima — the windmills and the Graça chapel staircase are minutes away.
📍 Miradouro da Portela
19:00 → 19:20Photoon foot · 5 min
The three Portela windmills
Emblems of the island, restored and inaugurated on 14 October 2023 on their original site; Porto Santo's first windmill is said to date from 1794. With the basalt-paved lanes, fountains, wells and waterwheels, they tell of an island that made the most of the wind and of every drop of water.
📍 Moinhos de Vento da Portela
19:45Mealby car · 10 min
Wood-fire espetada — Teodorico
An institution of the island's interior: marinated beef skewers grilled over bay branches, generous portions — the dinner that rewards a day on the peaks.

🌧️ Rainy-day alternative — Casa Colombo (museum), Nossa Senhora da Piedade church, then cinema or an exhibition at the Centro Cultural e de Congressos.

🎒 What to bring — Closed shoes for the coastal paths, water, hat, sunscreen, mask and snorkel, a picnic.

Boat trips: the water is calm almost all year; in a swell the operator's programme prevails.
Islets: no-entry zones (Natura 2000, marine reserve) — no landing without IFCN authorisation; admire them from the sea or the shore.
Lapas (limpets): closed season 1 December – 31 March; minimum size 40 mm; no gathering by diving inside the marine reserve.

🔗 IFCN — trail status & rules

Day 3 · North coast and karting9

📍 ER 120 → Pico Branco → Fonte da Areia → Salemas → kart track · ⏰ 06:30 · 🚗 ~40 min

07:00 → 08:30Visitby car · 15 min
PS PR1 — Pico Branco and Terra Chã
An old 2.7 km mule path (1:30 one way, back the same way, 184 to 450 m): cut into the Rocha Quebrada, it squeezes through the Cabeço do Caranguejo fissure and enters the cypresses planted in the early 20th century. At the fork, Terra Chã right, Pico Branco left.
💡 Insider tip — Start on the regional road ER 111.
08:30 → 09:00Photo
Terra Chã, the native flora
End of the PR1, a Natura 2000 site: the spot on the island with the most well-preserved native flora, a stone house used as a base for reintroductions, "urzela" lichens on the rocks and, all around, Vila Baleira, Ilhéu de Cima and Pico Branco (450 m).
📍 Miradouro Terra Chã
10:00 → 10:30Visitby car · 15 min
Serra de Dentro, the green clays
In the north-east, a landscape of gullies in shades of green: "salão", clays formed by the alteration of undersea volcanic rocks and crossed by dark basaltic dykes — unique in Portugal, they once roofed the casas de salão. Geosite beside the road.
📍 Serra de Dentro — argiles « salão »
10:45 → 11:15Visitby car · 10 min
Fonte da Areia, the spring and the sandstones
The island's historic spring (18th-century fountain) among pale sandstone cliffs carved by the wind: dune sandstones about 31,000 years old, four units separated by palaeosols, root casts and fossil snails. 25 m from the road; view over Ilhéu da Fonte da Areia and the north coast.
📍 Fonte da Areia
11:15 → 13:00Visiton foot · 20 min
Natural pools of Porto das Salemas
At low tide the sea pulls back to reveal a multitude of turquoise pools, some sandy-bottomed, in a cove on the north coast. Access on foot only from Fonte da Areia: a track, then a steep path with loose stones.
📍 Porto das Salemas
13:00 → 13:45Meal
Picnic at Porto das Salemas
Straw shelters, tables and fireplaces above the natural pools of the north coast — lunch happens here; there is nothing else on site.
📍 Porto das Salemas
16:00 → 16:30Breakby car · 20 min
Lambecas ice cream
More than fifty years of history and the archipelago's most iconic ice cream: passion fruit, banana, mango — the afternoon ritual, in the shade, at the hours when you avoid the sun.
📍 Lambecas
17:30 → 19:30Visitby car · 10 min
Karting and cocktails at the kart track
The island's kart track reopened before Easter 2023; Dune adds cocktails and evening events — the sporty end of the day once the sun has stopped burning.
💡 Insider tip — Hours and rentals: ask the operator.
20:15Mealby car · 10 min
Dinner with feet in the sand — Pé na Água
A beach restaurant whose terrace sits on the sand, facing the Atlantic: grilled fish of the day, limpets with garlic, caldeirada and homemade bolo do caco. Booking recommended in July and August.

🌧️ Rainy-day alternative — The IFCN asks you to give up the trails in heavy rain or strong wind: Casa Colombo, church and Centro Cultural, or a car loop of the island by the viewpoints.

🎒 What to bring — Closed shoes for the coastal paths, water, hat, sunscreen, mask and snorkel, a picnic.

PS PR trails: since 1 January 2026 you book a 30-minute slot on SIMplifica — €4.50, free for residents and children up to 12. Yellow-and-red waymarks.
Porto das Salemas: the natural pools only show at low tide — check the tide time before you go (link below). No lifeguards; keep away from the foot of the cliffs.
Closed shoes are a must for Zimbralinho and Porto das Salemas: steep paths with loose stones and no services on site.
Swimming: lifeguards are guaranteed only at Fontinha, Ribeiro Salgado and Cabeço da Ponta in season; elsewhere follow the flags, and never go into the water to rescue someone — call 112.

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