Porto Santo Attractions
Some 23 nautical miles northeast of Madeira (by boat, several times weekly, 3 hours; by air, several times daily, 20minutes) is the table shaped island of Porto Santo (pop. 3,000; highest point Pico do Facho, 517m/1,696ft), surrounded by five small rocky islets. Porto Santo, 12km/7.5mi long by 6km/4miles wide, covering 42sq.km/16sq.mi, is very different in character from the main island of Madeira. Its sandy uplands and aridity make farming very difficult for its inhabitants. Tourists seem little interested in the barren island, and there are only a few holiday bungalows and flats.
Beach
Porto Santo has the only long beach of fine sand in the whole of the Madeira archipelago. It extends right along the south coast, but the tourist facilities are still limited.
Porto Santo, Portugal
(Near Porto Santo)
In the little port of Porto Santo, or Vila Baleira, on the southeast coast, the chief settlement on the island, is the house where Columbus, whose father in law was the first governor, lived in about 1479.
