Porto Moniz Natural Pools, Madeira

Porto Moniz Natural Pools Prices

The council's full fare list is short. Bring your card or certificate if you qualify for a reduced rate, the discount card must be shown at the ticket office. Children 3 and under and holders of a disability card at 60% or more swim free.

The pools phone is 291 850 190.

Hours And Facilities

The complex opens all year. Winter hours are 09:00-17:00 and summer hours are 09:00-19:00, with no closure days published. The council does not define which dates count as winter and which count as summer.

Our reading is that it follows the clock change, but that is not stated anywhere official, so check the council beaches page before you travel.

• Lifeguards on constant duty, per the council
• Changing rooms and a first-aid post
• A bar for drinks and snacks
• A playground and a children's pool, per Visit Madeira
• Sun loungers and parasols for hire, hire price not published
• Car park and access for people with disability, per Visit Madeira

Are The Porto Moniz Pools Warm?

The council gives an average annual water temperature of 20 to 21°C. That is an annual figure, no monthly breakdown is published, so in any given week it can be warmer or cooler than that. The water is seawater, about 7600 m³ of it, renewed constantly by the Atlantic. It is the open Atlantic let in through the rock, not a heated pool.

The Aquário And Cachalote Pools

The Piscinas Naturais do Aquário, also called the Cachalote pools, are volcanic pools near the village entrance, next to the Cachalote restaurant and close to the Madeira Aquarium and the Ciência Viva centre. Access is free. The council lists no lifeguard, bar, changing room or any other facility for them.

That is what the council lists, it is not a claim that nothing exists there, so go prepared with your own water and shoes for the rock.

Foz Da Ribeira Da Janela

At the mouth of the Ribeira da Janela river there is a pebble bathing area near a small freshwater lagoon and the campsite. Beach access is permanent. The solarium and the toilets with showers open 09:00-19:00.

It is a different feel from the lava pools, open to the river and the sea.

Seixal, Along The North Coast

If you have a car, Seixal adds a black-sand beach and another set of free natural pools. The Piscinas do Clube Naval do Seixal are free and open 10:00-19:00, with a solarium with loungers, a bar, shower, toilets and kayak and diving-equipment hire. Near Praia da Laje, the council's Portuguese page warns that the sea at Poças das Lesmas often surprises bathers, even when the swell looks harmless.

By Car And Where To Park

Driving yourself is the flexible option, see car hire in Madeira for the practicals. About 70% of the municipality's parking spaces are free. The village has 144 paid spaces marked with blue lines, and the council's rules for them are in the table below.

By Bus

Public transport to Porto Moniz is operated by Rodoeste: bus 80 to Porto Moniz and bus 139 to Santa, via São Vicente. The council puts Porto Moniz in fare Zone H and says fares depend on the zone where you board. Rodoeste's single fares on its Funchal routes run from $1.49 (€1.30) for one zone up to $6.89 (€6) for up to 8 zones.

The exact fare to Zone H is not printed on the pages we read. Check the timetable on the operator's own site before relying on it, and read getting around Madeira for how the bus network fits together. No journey time is published.

On A Day Tour

If you are based in Funchal without a car, the 4WD day tours in the comparison table above pick you up at your hotel and reach the pools with Seixal and Fanal in the same day. Durations are the tour listings' own.

The Madeira Aquarium

The Madeira Aquarium sits in a replica of the São João Baptista fort, whose original was built in 1730 against pirate attacks. The municipality bought the ruins in 1998 and the aquarium opened on 4 September 2005. It holds more than 90 native species in 12 exhibition tanks and opens every day 10:00-18:00.

The price list on the council page is ambiguous, with two different adult figures printed, so we do not quote a price here. Ask at the door.

Viewpoints The Council Lists

The council lists several viewpoints in the municipality. Santinha sits on the way up to Santa and looks over the village, Ilhéu Mole and the pools. The Ribeira da Janela viewpoint at Eira da Achada looks over the river valley.

The Véu da Noiva viewpoint stands by the waterfall of the same name. The Cable Car viewpoint is next to the Achadas da Cruz cable car and looks over the cliffs and the farmed shore below. See our page on the Achadas da Cruz cable car.

The council also lists the Parque de Merendas viewpoint over the Laurissilva coast, the Pico viewpoint at the end of Caminho do Pico, the Redondo viewpoint and the Porto de Abrigo viewpoint. Inland, the laurel forest of Fanal Forest is part of the same municipality.

Most guides list the price and move on. These five points come straight from the Porto Moniz council, the regional government or the tour listings.

• The pool complex holds about 7600 m³ of seawater that is renewed constantly, so it is the Atlantic filtered through rock, not a stagnant bath (Porto Moniz council, Praias page).
• The swimming area is about 2 m deep over 3800 m², and the council lists lifeguards on constant duty (Porto Moniz council, Praias page).
• About 70% of parking in the municipality is free, but the 144 paid blue-line spaces cost $0.92 (€0.80) an hour with a hard 2-hour maximum and coins only, no change given (Porto Moniz council, Parking page).
• The Madeira Aquarium is inside a replica of a fort first built in 1730 against pirate attacks, and its price list on the council page is printed ambiguously with two different adult figures (Porto Moniz council, Aquarium page).
• None of the 4WD day tours to the pools bundles a pool ticket, the $3.44 (€3) entry is always paid separately at the gate (tour listings for the tours on this page).

Pick the row that matches how you are travelling. All three assume the pools are open and the weather allows swimming.

Our Pick

Yes. Our pick is the paid municipal complex, and the reason is the price against what you get. For $3.44 (€3) you get a 3800 m² swimming area with lifeguards on constant duty, changing rooms, a first-aid post, a bar and a playground.

Families with children and anyone who wants a supervised swim should pay the gate without hesitation. Confident swimmers who travel light can use the free Aquário and Cachalote pools instead, accepting that the council lists no facilities for them.

Who Should Skip It

Anyone who wants to lie on sand. None of the Porto Moniz bathing spots the council lists is a sand beach: the pools are lava rock and Ribeira da Janela is pebble. For sand, go to Seixal and its black-sand beach, or compare options on our beaches page.

Also reconsider if the sea is running high. The council publishes no rough-sea closure rule for the pools, so there is no official threshold we can quote. Watch the conditions on the day and trust the lifeguards.

Porto Moniz is the far corner of the island, so it rarely shares a day with anything from the south or east coast. The natural pairing is the north-west: swim in the pools in the morning, then work back through Seixal with its black-sand beach and up to Fanal Forest before the road home. That loop is a full day at an easy pace.

Without a car, the 8-hour 4WD tours from Funchal do the same triangle for you, with the pools, Seixal and Fanal in one itinerary and hotel pickup included. Durations are the tour listings' own. For a longer plan, see Madeira in 5 days.