Machico, Madeira: Where the Island Began, and Its Bay

The 1419 landing and the Machim legend

João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira came ashore at Machico in July 1419, according to Visit Madeira. The town's name carries a stranger story. The Anne of Arfet legend says an English couple, Robert Machim and Anne d'Arfet, fled Bristol by ship, were blown off course and died here, and the bay took Machim's name, later softened to Machico.

The legend is repeated by the official tourism board as the source of the name, with no claim that it is proven history.

Churches and chapels in the historic centre

Visit Machico lists three religious buildings in the historic centre: the Igreja Matriz de Machico, dedicated to Nossa Senhora da Conceição, the Capela dos Milagres and the Capela de São Roque. No opening hours, prices or address detail are published for any of them on the official pages read, so treat a visit as an exterior stop unless you find the doors open. The municipality also names the Miradouro do Pico do Facho viewpoint, an open, unstaffed spot above the bay with no published fee or hours.

• Igreja Matriz de Machico, Nossa Senhora da Conceição, hours not published
• Capela dos Milagres, hours not published
• Capela de São Roque, hours not published
• Miradouro do Pico do Facho viewpoint, no fee or hours published

Mercado Quinhentista, the June festival

The Mercado Quinhentista is Machico's big annual event, a free street festival that recreates the era of the first settlers. The 2026 edition, its 19th, ran on 5-7 June at Largo da Praça and Alameda Dr. José António de Almada, and the re-enacted landing of the Santa Maria ship in the bay took place at 16:30 on the Saturday. Admission is free.

If your trip does not match the festival dates, Madeira events lists what else runs across the island.

The three beaches side by side

Banda d'Além is the headline. It sits on the right bank of the Ribeira de Machico mouth, runs about 70 m long, and its golden sand was imported from Morocco, which makes it one of few beaches of its kind on Madeira. São Roque is the free-access rolled-pebble beach between the Capela de São Roque and the river mouth.

Prainha is the small natural sand beach near Ponta de São Lourenço, reached by a short walk of about 100 m. All three carry Blue Flag status for 2026, along with the Machico recreational port, per the official ABAE regional list.

Water temperature and swimming

Visit Machico states that the sea averages 22°C in summer and 18°C in winter, with air between about 25°C in summer and 17°C in winter. That is the municipality's own tourism figure. The bay is also used for surfing and stand up paddle, according to Visit Madeira.

For other swimming options, see our beaches guide.

Solar do Ribeirinho, the town museum

The Solar do Ribeirinho, also called the Núcleo Museológico de Machico, is the municipal museum, housed in a 17th-century building. It opens Monday to Friday, 09:00-17:00, and closes Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. Admission is $1.72 (€1.50), with seniors 65 and over, students and youth-card holders paying $1.15 (€1).

Children under 12, school groups and accompanying teachers enter free. Contact is +351 291 964 118 or solardoribeirinho@cm-machico.pt.

The Whale Museum in Caniçal

The Museu da Baleia in Caniçal, at Rua Garcia Moniz 1, tells the story of the whaling industry that once ran from this coast. It opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00-18:00, and closes Monday, per its own site. Here is the honest part: the museum's tariff page exists, but its price table did not load in the content we read, so no adult, child or family figure could be confirmed.

No official page we read publishes the entry price. Call +351 291 961 858 or 9 before you go if the ticket cost matters to your budget.

The five parishes

The municipality covers around 20,000 people across 68 km² and five parishes: Água de Pena, Caniçal, Machico, Porto da Cruz and part of Santo António da Serra. That last parish is the only one on Madeira split between two municipalities, Machico and Santa Cruz. Santo António da Serra has a golf course and the Quinta da Junta park, per Visit Machico, which publishes no hours or prices for either.

PR8 and the Ponta de São Lourenço fee

The PR8 Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço runs from Baía d'Abra to Casa do Sardinha along the dry, treeless eastern peninsula, a partial natural reserve. The trailhead register gives 4 km each way. The IFCN trailhead board gives 3 km and a duration of 2h30, without saying whether that is one way or a return.

Non-resident visitors pay $5.17 (€4.50) for one classified trail, booked on SIMplifica, and bookings can be made for the same day or later. Residents and children 12 and under go free but must still book. Full rules sit in our Madeira trail fees guide and our Ponta de São Lourenço page.

Getting to the trail and onto the water

If you have no car, the Caniçal Transfer for the PR8 Ponta de São Lourenço Hike picks up in Machico, as well as Funchal, Caniço and Santa Cruz, and includes the required trail permit. For a different view of the same cliffs, the Ponta de São Lourenço Snorkeling Boat Trip departs from Quinta do Lorde marina with wetsuit and gear included. Inland in the parish of Porto da Cruz, the Eastern Madeira Full-Day Tour with Rum Tasting includes a tasting at Porto Cruz.

On the Porto da Cruz sugar mill visit and the natural pool entry, no official page we read states a price or hours, so we print none.

The airport question, answered plainly

The airport terminal is administratively in Santa Cruz municipality, not Machico. Machico is the next municipality east and adjoins the airport area. No official page we read states a distance between the terminal and Machico town, so we give none.

For arrivals and transfers, see Madeira airport.

Bus, car and getting around

Several SIGA lines run between Funchal and Machico. Line numbers did not verify against a fetched timetable, so check siga.madeira.gov.pt for current schedules. For context on fares elsewhere, Rodoeste on-board singles on Funchal routes run from $1.49 (€1.30) for one zone to $6.89 (€6) for up to eight zones, with children under 6 free and ages 6 to 12 at half fare.

By car, Machico sits on the fast east-coast road from Funchal. More options are in getting around Madeira and car hire in Madeira.

The Machico tourist tax

Machico has its own municipal tourist tax, in effect since 1 November 2024 and managed through the tmt.cm-machico.pt portal. Guests aged 13 and over pay per guest per night, capped at 7 nights, and children under 13 do not pay. Exemptions cover medical treatment, disaster relocation, free accommodation offered by the establishment itself and accommodation contracted by the municipality.

The per-night rate is not shown on the portal we read, so we do not print one. Ask your accommodation. For beds in town and elsewhere, see where to stay.

Five details worth knowing

• The sand at Banda d'Além is not native. It was imported from Morocco, making it one of few golden sand beaches of its kind on the island. Source: Visit Madeira.
• The town name may come from a shipwrecked Englishman. The Anne of Arfet legend says the bay was named after Robert Machim. Source: Visit Madeira.
• Santo António da Serra is the only Madeira parish split between two municipalities, Machico and Santa Cruz. Source: Visit Machico.
• The Machico tourist tax has applied since 1 November 2024, but the rate is not displayed on the official portal. Source: tmt.cm-machico.pt.
• The IFCN register counts the PR8 walk as 4 km each way, while the older trailhead board says 3 km. The register is the current figure. Source: IFCN.

Three ways to split the day

The museum keeps weekday hours only and the whale museum closes Mondays, so your day shape depends on which day of the week you arrive. The table compares three routings.

Machico works best as either a half-day beach stop on an east-coast drive or as the base for the PR8 hike. On a weekday, a workable shape is a morning swim at Banda d'Além, the Solar do Ribeirinho between 09:00 and 17:00, lunch in town and an afternoon drive out to Baía d'Abra. On a Tuesday to Friday you can swap the beach hour for the Whale Museum in Caniçal, which opens at 10:00.

On a Monday, the museum options shrink to one, so lean on the water instead. The snorkel boat from Quinta do Lorde marina runs its two hour trip along the eastern cliffs, and the bay itself is free all day. If the sun is out and you only have a couple of hours between the airport and your next stop, Machico is the closest proper town beach to the airport side of the island, and the golden sand makes the detour easy to justify.