👨‍👩‍👧 Family1 day

A family day

Supervised beach · Casa Colombo · Lambecas · parrots · windmills

At a glance

The town beach early, while it is supervised and the sun still gentle; the museum and an ice cream in the hot hours; the Quinta das Palmeiras parrots in the shade, then the Portela windmills to end the day gently.

Difficulty: Very easy · from age 3 · on foot and by car
Best season: Bathing season 1 May – 31 October; water around 18 °C in March, 24–25 °C in high summer.

🎒 Packing list

Hats and sunscreen for everyone
Armbands and beach toys
Closed shoes for the rocks
Water bottles
Picnic for Pico do Castelo

Day by day

Day 1 · Beach, museum, ice cream and windmills8

📍 Fontinha → Vila Baleira → Linhares → Portela · ⏰ 08:30 · 🚗 ~30 min

09:00 → 11:00Break
First swim at Fontinha
The town beach, Blue Flag since 1989 with lifeguards guaranteed from 15 May to 31 October: 720 m of turquoise water from the Cais Velho — go early, before the 11 am sun.
📍 Praia da Fontinha
11:15 → 12:15Visiton foot · 5 min
Casa Colombo — museum
The house where, by oral tradition, Columbus lived after marrying Filipa Moniz: early-16th-century Gothic windows, a museum opened in 1989 and redesigned in 2004, treasure from the Slot ter Hooge wrecked in 1724. Open weekday mornings and afternoons, closed Mondays.
📍 Casa Museu Cristóvão Colombo
12:30 → 14:00Mealon foot · 5 min
Bolo do caco & espetada — O Forno
The town-centre bolo do caco specialist: Porto Santo's version, taller and wider and without sweet potato, baked on basalt stone and served with an espetada.
14:00 → 14:30Breakon foot · 3 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
15:30 → 16:45Visitby car · 10 min
Quinta das Palmeiras, parrots and palms
An unexpected oasis west of the airport at Linhares: on more than 5,000 m², a mini-zoo and botanical garden where palms, roses, candelabra aloes and hibiscus shelter parrots, macaws, ducks and swans — the children's shady afternoon.
📍 Quinta das Palmeiras
💡 Insider tip — Hours and admission on site.
17:30 → 18:00Photoby car · 15 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
18:00 → 18:30Photoon 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
19:00Mealby 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 — Quinta das Palmeiras (parrots under the trees), Casa Colombo, then cinema at the Centro Cultural.

🎒 What to bring — Hats and sunscreen for everyone, water, armbands, beach toys, closed shoes for the children on the rocks.

With children: supervised beaches (Fontinha 15 May–31 Oct, Ribeiro Salgado 1 May–31 Oct), hats and sunscreen from the morning, shade break between 11 am and 4 pm.
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.
Casa Colombo: open weekdays 10–12.30 and 2–5.30 pm, Sunday 10 am–1 pm, closed Mondays and holidays — check before you go.

🔗 Maritime Authority — bathing advice

📱 Plan my day

Want this plan in your pocket, with the map, the weather and your favourites? The app is on its way.

Get the app