Porto Santo, nine kilometres of sand

You reach Porto Santo by ferry from Funchal or by a fifteen-minute flight. The Porto Santo Line ferry sails most days, takes about two hours fifteen minutes, and lands you in the middle of the island — book ahead in July and August, when cars and cabins sell out. Or fly: Binter operates the fifteen-minute hop from Madeira airport several times daily, often for less than the ferry once luggage is counted. The classic move is ferry out, plane back, which gives you both the sea approach and a two-minute boarding.

If a real sandy beach matters to you, yes without hesitation — the nine-kilometre beach is among the best in Portugal and the water is calm, shallow and a degree or two warmer than Madeira’s. The sand itself is the local cure: its carbonate composition drives a small thalassotherapy industry, and burying your legs in it is a prescribed treatment, not a joke. If your trip is about levadas, cliffs and gardens, a day trip satisfies the curiosity.

Two to four days is the right length for Porto Santo. One day covers the island’s sights — the Columbus house museum, the Pico do Castelo viewpoint, the wild north coast — and every additional day is beach, golf or spa, which is the actual point. A day trip on the ferry is possible but rushed: you get roughly six hours ashore. If you come at all, sleep at least one night; the beach at 7pm, after the day boats leave, is the island’s best argument.

June and September: beach weather, warm sea, and the island to yourself outside Portuguese school holidays. July and August bring the crowds and the highest rates — book months ahead. Winter is mild (16–20°C) and the beach is gloriously empty, but a good share of restaurants and beach operations close from November to March, and the sea takes commitment. The golf course, incidentally, is at its green best in winter.

Because we have not yet slept anywhere on Porto Santo we would vouch for without hedging. The island’s inventory leans to large resort operations, and our bar — would we book it again tomorrow, and is there a genuine insider tip to give — is not yet met by what we have tried. The curation is in progress; when a place clears the bar it appears here, and the WhatsApp list hears about it first.