Seixal Beach, Madeira

The Sand And The Setting

The beach lies right next to the Porto de Abrigo, the small shelter harbour, and the Clube Naval do Seixal clubhouse. Visit Madeira describes the setting as a green amphitheatre of escarpments and mountains around the black sand. The council lists the beach as free access with no hours published, and Visit Madeira's GPS fix for the beach is 32.822298, -17.103057.

Water Sports

Both official sources agree on what people do here. The council says the beach is popular all year for bodyboard, stand up paddle and kayak. Visit Madeira adds canoeing to that list and mentions kayak rental on site.

Kayaks are available at or near the beach, and the Clube Naval next door also hires kayaks and diving equipment, though the council publishes no hire price.

Facilities The Council Lists

The council's beach page lists a bar, showers and kayaks at Porto do Seixal. That is the whole official list. No changing rooms, no parasols and no lounger hire are named for this beach, unlike the Clube Naval pools next door.

Plan around it: come changed, or use the Clube Naval facilities.

No Lifeguard Listed

The council lists no lifeguards at Porto do Seixal, at the Clube Naval pools or at Poças das Lesmas. This matters. At Porto Moniz the municipal pools state lifeguards on constant duty.

At Seixal you swim at your own judgement, so check the sea state before you go in and keep children close. For general safety planning see Madeira safety and health.

Use this table to choose between the pools and the beach before you pack the car. The council's pages are the source for every cell.

Piscinas Do Clube Naval Do Seixal

This natural pool sits inside the grounds of the Clube Naval do Seixal, the same club you see from the beach. The council lists a solarium with loungers, a bar, a shower and toilets, plus kayak and diving-equipment hire. Access is free from 10:00 to 19:00.

For families this is the most comfortable Seixal option: you get a pool, loungers and toilets without paying anything. The hire prices are not published on any official page we read, so ask at the club.

Poças Das Lesmas

Poças das Lesmas sits near Praia da Laje. The council lists a bar and toilets with shower, and entry is free.

The Warning About The Sea At Poças Das Lesmas

The council's Portuguese page carries a clear warning about this spot: sea conditions here often surprise bathers, and you should stay alert even when the swell looks harmless. The council's English page instead calls the spot calm and sheltered. We follow the warning, because it costs nothing to take it seriously.

If the swell is up when you arrive, the Clube Naval pool is the safer choice that day.

Every figure below comes from the Porto Moniz council's beaches pages. Prices are converted at the rate used across this site.

Our Pick

Swim at Seixal if you want sand and free entry, and at Porto Moniz if you travel with children or weak swimmers and value the lifeguards the council confirms there. The Porto Moniz municipal pools charge $3.44 (€3) per entry all year, with reduced rates for municipal card holders, students and Cartão 65 holders. See our full Porto Moniz page for details, or our wider guide to beaches in Madeira.

What The Council Lists To See

The council's parish page names these points of interest in Seixal:

• Parish Church of Santo Antão, the parish's main church
• Chão da Ribeira, a Laurissilva valley the council says is 5 minutes from the beach
• The Fanal picnic area, high on the plateau above the parish
• The natural swimming pools at the Clube Naval
• The Seixal fishing pier
• The Véu da Noiva waterfall and its viewpoint
• The road between Seixal and São Vicente

Véu Da Noiva And The Coast Road

The Véu da Noiva, or Bride's Veil, is a waterfall that falls down the cliff, with a viewpoint of the same name. The council lists both the waterfall and the viewpoint as parish points of interest. The Seixal to São Vicente road itself is on the council's list, which tells you something: the drive is the attraction.

Chão Da Ribeira And Fanal

Chão da Ribeira is a floor of old Laurissilva forest in a valley, and the council puts it 5 minutes from Porto do Seixal beach. Fanal sits higher, in the same parish, with its famous centuries-old Til trees and a picnic area. The Laurissilva here has been UNESCO World Natural Heritage since 1999.

Read our Fanal Forest guide before driving up, and note that classified trails from Fanal such as PR13 and PR14 now need an IFCN booking.

Festivities

The parish celebrates Santo Antão on 17 January and the Santíssimo Sacramento on the penultimate Sunday of August.

By Car

A car is the practical choice. The beach sits next to the shelter harbour. The council publishes no drive time from Funchal to Seixal and no dedicated Seixal car-park tariff, so we state neither.

Compare rental options in our car hire in Madeira guide. Note that parking in Porto Moniz village itself is a separate matter: about 70% of spaces there are free and 144 are paid at $0.92 (€0.80) per hour.

By Bus

The council names Rodoeste buses 80 and 139 for Porto Moniz, and Rodoeste covers the western municipalities including São Vicente and Porto Moniz. However, no official page we read names a bus line or stop for Seixal itself, so check rodoeste.com.pt for your date before relying on the bus. Fares are zone-based: Rodoeste single tickets on non-Funchal routes run from $2.24 (€1.95) for 2 zones up to $6.72 (€5.85) for up to 8 zones.

More on the network in getting around Madeira.

On A Tour

Three tours on this site stop at Seixal: the Skywalk, Porto Moniz, Seixal and Fanal 4WD tour at $79.00, the Full-Day Jeep Tour: Porto Moniz, Seixal and Volcanic Pools at $80.00, and the Natural Pools, Seixal and Fanal jeep tour at $79.00. All include Funchal hotel pickup and 8 hours as listed by each operator. Compare the full range in our tours hub.

Each line ends with the page it comes from.

• The black sand beach formed naturally a few years ago next to the Porto de Abrigo and the Clube Naval (Visit Madeira).
• The parish name comes from seixo, a small willow whose wood was once used to make wine casks, and viticulture is still listed among the parish's economic activities (Porto Moniz council, Seixal parish page).
• The council's Portuguese page warns that the sea at Poças das Lesmas often surprises bathers even when the swell looks harmless. Its English page calls the same spot calm (Porto Moniz council, Praias and Beaches pages).
• The council lists no lifeguards at any Seixal bathing spot, while the paid municipal pools at Porto Moniz state lifeguards on constant duty (Porto Moniz council, Beaches and Praias pages).
• Chão da Ribeira, a Laurissilva valley floor, is only 5 minutes from the beach, as the council puts it (Porto Moniz council, Praias page).

Three common routings, and what we would allow for each. The estimates are ours, not the council's.

If You Only Have An Hour

Park by the harbour, walk the sand, look up at the escarpments and drive on east along the Seixal to São Vicente road with a stop at the Véu da Noiva viewpoint. Even that short version shows you why the council lists the road itself as a point of interest.

Most visitors reach Seixal as part of a north-west loop. One way to order it: stop at the beach, the Véu da Noiva viewpoint and Poças das Lesmas before continuing west to Porto Moniz for the paid pools with their lifeguards. That order works well, because Seixal is free and Porto Moniz has the toilets, changing rooms and first-aid post of a full-service complex. In the afternoon, Fanal puts you among the Til trees, where the Porto Moniz council warns fog is very frequent.

If you are on a tour, the choice is made for you. The Natural Pools, Seixal and Fanal jeep tour and the other listings on this page run 8-hour loops that cover Seixal and Porto Moniz with hotel pickup in Funchal. If you would rather build the day yourself, our day trips from Funchal page has more routings, and the longer plan is in Madeira 7 day itinerary.