Coast Radar beach guide

New beach :: Portimao, Portimao, PT

2010-07-28

Portimao has 3 beaches connected by tunnels cut into the cliffs. the beaches are:

Praia da Rocha
Praia do Vau
Portimao

A great length of golden sands on one side your have the marina and on the other cliffs. The Fortress of Santa Catarina de Ribamar, which was part of Portimao's defences, built in the 17th and 18th centuries gives a wonderful view of the beach and the cliffs

Great for watersports.

New beach :: Torralta and Alvor, Alvor, PT

2010-07-28

Torralta and Alvor beaches (Torralta is really a continuation of Alvor beach) on the eastern half of Lagos Bay is hard to beat, just a few minutes away from the town. A long stretch of golden sand backed by sand dunes and cliffs. It is a wide beach, popular for watersports.

The nightlife of Praia da Rocha is also within easy reach or just winder through the narrow cobbled streets of Alvor's historic center.

New beach :: Praia de Sao Tiago, Funchal, PT

2010-07-24

Praia de Sao Tiago is a small pebble beach by the entrance to the fort. This beach has a concrete terrace and you will also share with a few fishing boats. Used by locals and can be busy.

New beach :: Praia do Gorgulho, Funchal, PT

2010-07-23

Praia do Gorgulho beach is in the hotel zone west Funchal. This is a municipal beach with large pebbles and a concrete area suitable for sun bathing. The swimming area is marked off with a floating platform out to sea. The large pebbles can be a little uncomfortable under foot but is worth a try.

The beach can get very busy as it is typically used by locals with tourists sticking to the hotel swimming pools. This does make a good place to swim in sea water which is typically about the same temperature as the hotel pools. Some good restaurants overlooking the beach.

New beach :: Faja dos Padres, Campanario, PT

2010-07-19

Faja dos Padres is a private pebble beach that can only be accessed by either boat or a panoramic elevator that climbs the 300m high cliff. This has to be visited just for the experience of the cliff face decent.

The surrounding area at the bottom of the cliff is full of crops like banana, mango and cherries.

Why not combine with a visit to nearby highest sea cliffs of Cabo Girao.

New beach :: Ribeira Brava, Ribeira Brava, PT

2010-07-09

Ribeira Brava beach is set at the end of a long river valley on the western side of the island, where the waves roll in from the Atlantic, and the next stop west is America. Ribeira Brava means 'wild river', and in winter, the river waters rush down to meet the sea with some force.

The original beach at Ribeira Brava is small and, somewhat inevitably, pebbly, and so the local government have invested in providing extra facilities including an artificial black sand beach area protected by breakwaters, a swimming pool for children, and a long promenade that snakes around the bay. Most tourists head for the sandy beach area with its straw sun parasols and sheltered swimming, including a floating pontoon and a solitary water spray. However, the pebble beach is much less crowded and frankly, just as good for sitting on. If you're feeling sporty, the facilities include two sandy areas for volleyball and football (flat land being at a premium in Madeira), and you can hire canoes for a gentle paddle around the bay. If you just want to soak up the sun and the views, you can sit on the promenade behind the beach, which has plenty of seating under shady palm trees, or sit on the raised borders filled to bursting with bright flowers.

The area behind the promenade boasts some swanky new cafes, shops, bars and restaurants, or you can walk through the rock tunnel to the more authentic fishing harbour area. The best views are from the top of the spiral staircase at the eastern end of town, but be warned, it's quite a climb.

New beach :: Porto Santo, Porto Santo, PT

2010-07-09

Porto Santo is the small island off the coast of Madeira, and is really just one enormous beach! Here you can forget the pebbles, rocks and swimming pools of Madeira; life in Porto Santo is all about the superb beaches that invite you to dig your toes into the sand and kick back from the stresses of life for a while. Indeed, it is said that the sands have healing properties, to cure rheumatism and mend broken bones. The main beach area is over 9kms long, divided into separate areas simply to make it easier to remember where you are! Whichever beach area you choose, you are never too far from snack bars and their sunshades, and most beaches have toilet facilities with showers.

Praia do Penado a Blue Flag beach at the far end of the island, so less commercialised. Lifeguards, first aid centre, restaurant, car parking

Praia do Cabeo, the beach nearest Porto Santo's main hotels, so one of the busiest during the height of the summer season. Lifeguards with lifeboat, first aid centre, kindergarten (play area near the dunes), bars and restaurants inside hotels, no public car parking

Praia da Calheta, perfect for families, as this Blue Flag beach has both sandy dunes and rock pools perfect for marine explorers of all ages. Lifeguards, first aid centre, changing rooms, lockers, car park, restaurant

Praia de Fontinha, another Blue Flag beach with fine golden sand, calm warm waters, and lots of visitors from Madeira enjoying the sunshine! Changing rooms with lockers, sun beds, sun umbrellas, first aid centre, car park, camp site nearby, restaurant.

Praia das Pedras Pretas, also known as Black Rocks Beach, this is a quiet beach more for locals than tourists. The waters are clean and warm, the views are great, and there's a bar too - what more could you ask for? Lifeguard, first aid centre, sun shades, shower (basic), bar.

Before the new airport was built, all planes departing from Madeira has to refuel here as they couldn't lift off with a full payload of fuel, but today the island is much quieter.

New beach :: Machico, Machico, PT

2010-07-09

Machicos Beach is a perfect place for a family day beside the sea, thanks to its imported golden sand and large swimming pools complex. The beach really is nice, a wide strip of golden sand curving into the bay as if it had always been there. The sands are usually spotlessly clean, with a few 'fixed' straw sun umbrellas located at the back of the beach area. There is a gentle ramp down to the sands, perfect for disabled access, and a paved walkway out onto the breakwater, perfect for a stroll with an ice-cream to admire the terraced fields on the cliff face, watered by the levadas. Parking is just over the road from the beach area , nose-in against the high wall that keeps the occasional cliff rock falls at bay! A promenade runs behind the sandy beach, fringed with waving palms, and leading to the original beach area. Here, it's familiar Madeira pebbles, with access to the sea via some fairly wobbly decking and boards - mid the splinters in bare feet. Machico Beach is all about fun, so there is plenty to do here, including pedolas for hire, jet skis for the sporty, and sun beds and sun umbrellas for those who prefer just to lie back and soak up the sun. Lifeguards are on duty around the pool areas, and when hunger strikes, the complex has its own bar and restaurant.

Machico Beach is close to Madeira airport, so you do get jets not so much overhead as almost straight in front of you, as they come in to land on the famous cliff-side runway.

New beach :: Calhau de Sao Jorge, Sao Jorge, PT

2010-07-09

Calhau de Sao Jorge beach lies at the end of the Sao Jorge river. Sao Jorge beach is on the north coast of Madeira, so most people visiting the beach area prefer to swim in one of the three swimming pools here, rather than brave the rough seas off the beach. The pools are attractively laid out over three different levels, and lifeguard keep watch from the balconies above.

The beach and shoreline is accessed via steps down from the rocks and via smooth paved areas, just in case you don't want to lie on the rough, gravel/stony beach itself. Chances are, you'll have much of this space to yourself, as you can watch the waves pound in on the shore. However, the best views are behind you, back up the river gorge into the hills of Madeira, criss-crossed by the levadas (water channels).

Sao Jorge really comes to life at night, when the bars and 'night clubs' of Calhau and Neptune fill with lively locals and tourists looking for a good time late into the Madeiran night. There is a restaurant for those who prefer good food to sound systems.

New beach :: Calhau da Lapa, Ribeira Brava, PT

2010-07-09

Calhau da Lapa (Limpet Stone Beach) must be one the hardest beaches to reach in Madeira (and that's saying something), but for tranquility and seclusion, it's hard to beat. However, it's not a beach for those who suffer from vertigo, or hate steps. The small beach lie at the bottom of what other guides call a slope, but most mortals would call a cliff! It's a genuine trek down, (30 minutes at least) and major hike back, and only half the track is made up of steps cut into the rock - the rest is loose dirt and stones. The track twists and turns, sometimes disappearing under rocks and overhangs, and some steps can be wet even on the warmest of days. So only carry what you need for the day, and wear serious walking shoes or trainers, not flip-flops or slippy sandals. (Put those in your backpack, along with plenty of water, sun cream, and snacks.) Once you reach the bottom, you'll discover a delightful little cove protected by a curve in the coastline, and crystal clear waters off a familiar dark stoney beach.

Two stone cottages, one of which is a bar open during the summer months, flank a shirt slipway into the sea for boats, that bisects the pebbly beach area. Behind are cave houses cut into the rock, that look rather like prehistoric beach huts! The rock-strewn shoreline reveals the force of the winter storms, but in summer all is calm and tranquil.