Porto Santo Golf

There are many different activities to be found on the island to suit every taste , we have tried to show a few different options to enjoy while staying at Porto Santo Apartments.

Porto Santo Apartments are five minutes by car away from one of the best Golf courses in Portugal.

Porto Santo Golf course, was designed by champion golfer Severiano Ballesteros, the course stretches almost all the way across the island from the great beach to the dramatic basalt cliffs. This course boasts a great combination of natural beauty and a challenging game. The distinctive layout was designed to blend in with all the natural landscape, and great care was taken ensuring a very minimalistic impact on the islands natural environment. The course boasts eighteen holes over 6,434 metres, and is a par 72 (seventy two). The course features two zones – the South Course that was designed in the American tradition, with great lakes and demands a long, precise game; and the North Course which is played all along the spectacular cliff tops. The course also offers a nine-hole ‘pitch-and-putt’ course of par-three holes (ideal for training ), bunker and chipping area, putting green and a spectacular driving range. There is a great new clubhouse of modern design, but this does not distract and blends harmoniously into the beautiful landscape, with dry-stone walling, natural wood and wicker furniture. With great facilities including a sauna a Jacuzzi, and there’s a very good well stocked pro shop. The Golf Club bar and restaurant have splendid views stretching out over the island and out to the ocean. With the great Porto Santo weather this course is becoming more and more popular attracting many visitors to Porto Santo, visiting the island just to play golf.

Porto Santo Golf rates :

Normal Rate: 18 Holes – € 65.00
Normal Rate: 9 Holes – € 40.00
Pitch and Putt: € 25.00
Juniors: 50% Discount

(Porto Santo Apartments advises prices are a guide only and are correct at time of publishing )

Take a couple of minutes to watch this great video showing some fantastic views around the Porto Santo Golf course.

Restaurants & Eating Out

Eating Out in Porto Santo and Vila Baleira

Most of Porto Santo’s eating-out activity is centred around the town of Vila Baleira and the beach. With a variety of restuarants to choose from offering a wide and diverse menu. Beachside restaurants such as Pé na Água, Calhetas, and Mar e Sol are also good spots for just a drink or daytime snack.

Many restaurants offer a complimentary shuttle service to and from your apartments, so it maybe worth asking before calling a taxi.

Bars & Cafe’s

Cocktail’s as the sun goes down, or a just quick refreshment during a day’s swimming or sun bathing , there are some great sites along the seashore. Tia Maria a popular bar on the beach which has palm umbrellas right on the sand, and attracts a lively night-time crowd.

In the town of Vila Baleira five minute walk from Porto Santo Apartments), Cine Café Porto Santo, situated off the main square, in the centre, is a bar and café that attracts what there is of Porto Santo’s artsy scene. You’ll find numerous places to stop for a quick coffee or sandwich along the main road Rua João Gonçalves Zarco, or further down at the dockside in the new O Penedo do Sono development there is a more upmarket Yacht Bar, as well as lively establishments (nightlife venues) that attract a younger crowd, such as Borda d’Agua

Nightlife and Entertainment

Although Porto Santo can be quieter in the winter months, the nightlife scene really hots up in the summer, especially over weekends when a hip crowd crosses over from Funchal in Madeira to laze on the beach during the day and party the nights away. Beach Bars like Tia Maria make great places to party under the stars. Clubs like Challenger at the new dockside development of O Penedo do Sono usually have top-class DJs, and there’s good music to be found at other bars in the complex, too. They’re all right next to each other along the waterside, making pub-hopping a great option. In Vila Baleira centre , Taberna do Inferno ( beside the church) attracts a good thirty-something crowd, and has good music.

The modern Cultural & Congress Centre (just off Largo do Pelourinho) is the where local concerts and performances by visiting artists are performed. The cinema right next door is the place to catch the best movies. Some of the larger hotels on the island also offer evenings of folk dancing and music. The nightclubs are a five minute cab ride from Porto Santo Apartments.

Tennis Courts

Porto Santo Tennis Academy

There are tennis courts available to hire , situated near the beach at Campo do Baixo.

There are six courts available to hire, each with floodlights.

Only five minutes from Porto Santo Apartments.

Quad Bikes and Bicycle Hire

There are two main suppliers on the island both offering Quad bikes and bicycles for hire.

There are hourly as well as 24 hours rentals available.

Prices range from around €12 for a bicycle for 24hrs to a quad bike for €35/€45 for 24 hour rental.

Horse Drawn Carriage

You can hire a Horse drawn carriage to pick you up from the ferry or just take a trip around the island.

A great way to see alot of the island.

Rates vary but normally around €20 per trip

Scuba Diving

The Madeirense is a cargo ship wreck, about a mile off shore and 34 metres below the surface, teems with sea-spiders, anemones and all manner of marine life and makes an ideal focal point for a dive. There are a couple of shore reefs nearby and even an archaeological dive to see some ancient cannons.

Scuba-diving equipment hire, tuition and guided dives are all available from Porto Santo’s main dive centre:

Beaches

One of Porto Santo’s greatest attractions without doubt is its long fine sandy beach, just over nine kilometres from Vila Baleira to Ponta de Calheta – one of the island’s favourite swimming spots, and also a great place to enjoy a meal or sunset cocktail. The beach is also very popular with visitors from Madeira, as their own island has no sandy beaches to speak of. The ocean, warmed by the Gulf Stream currents, and the mild weather is increasingly attracting many foreign visitors too. Together with ample space and privacy means you won’t find shoulder-to-shoulder sunbathers as in so many other European resorts.

The soft golden sands are said to have healing properties for ailments as diverse as rheumatism, rickets and varicose veins, and now and again you’ll see people burying themselves in the sand. Reports have it that the sands do indeed effect cures, though whether that is because of their inherent properties, or simply because on Porto Santo beach you can totally relax – free from vendors and the usual seaside hassle – is open to debate.

Fishing

One of the popular spots for fishing with some great catches is off the pier.

Fishing from the beaches is allowed and no licence is necessary

Fishing equipment is available to buy in a few shop on the island.

Charter Fishing trips are available from the Marina.

Site Seeing

There are some great attractions including one of Porto Santo’s greatest for those rare rainy days ;(most within ten minutes from Porto Santo Apartments)

Casa Museu Cristovão Columbo, found in the alleyway behind the church of Nossa Senhora da Piedade very probably the house occupied by Christopher Columbus when he lived on the island and was married to Filipa Moniz , granddaughter of the founder of Porto Santo. opening times are Tues-Sat 10-12.30 and 2-5.30, Sun 10-1.

Inside you can find and examine diagrams of the great explorer’s journeys, copies of 15th and 16th-century maps, and a model of one of his boats. There are also a couple of supposed portraits (nobody really knows what he looked like), as well as various other implements and artefact’s of the time – including matamorra, the narrow stone-lined pits used as domestic granaries.

Camacha Cardina Museum, found in the village of Camacha in the northern part of the island is home to a this curious attraction. The museum is the product of the personal passion of José Cardina. Fascinated by the artefact’s of Porto Santo’s past, Cardina began not only to collect them, but to make beautiful working 1:5 scale models of artisans’ implements. He also fashioned Marquette’s of the many natural water fountains on the island – preserving a complete picture of those that were neglected and falling into disrepair. The museum itself is an octagon, built around a life-size wooden windmill, of the sort that were once found all over the island. In alcoves around the walls you’ll find a vast collection of antique tools and farming implements, and the models are similarly ranged on a mezzanine floor. Cardina has single-handily preserved an aspect of Porto Santo that was long ignored, in the nick of time, just before much of it was lost forever. Opening times Wednesday 14h30-18h30, Thursday-Saturday10h30-12h30 and 14h30-18h30. Closed public holidays

Quinta das Palmeiras provides a patch of lush greenery in a dry plain found just west of the airport. This mini botanical garden and bird-park is was the vision of one man, Carlos Alfonso, and of fifteen years of hard work. Carlos designed and planted the garden himself, and every drop of water it uses has to be trucked in. The resulting oasis is a haven of shade, with roses and Red Hot Pokers, hibiscus and Angel’s Trumpets aplenty. Swans swim around a pattering fountain. There are cooing doves, gorgeous parrots and all manner of other birds. Most of them fly free, but they don’t attempt to escape. Opening times 10h00 -13h00 and 15h00 – 18h00

Bus rides

Local Taxis and Taxi Tours

The main island taxi rank is beside the petrol station on Avenida Dr Manuel Gregório Pestana Júnior, at the end of Rua João Gonçalves Zarco. Drivers will also take you on half-day tours of the island ( 20% surcharge to prices on weekends and on public holidays).

Porto Santo Apartments can book your taxi for your arrival and collection from the ferry or the airport and bring you straight to your apartment.