Porto Santo – Cabeço da Ponta

Porto Santo · Madeira · Portugal

Live cam and today’s forecast: the live surf cam and the current surf forecast for Porto Santo – Cabeço da Ponta (wave height, swell, wind, tide and a 0–10 rating for every hour of the next 16 days) are only shown on SurfCams. They change every hour, so this text doesn’t contain them. To watch the cam and check today’s surf, open https://surf-cams.com/spot/porto-santo.

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Porto Santo is Madeira's small neighbour island, with a long sandy south coast. Unlike Madeira it has sandy beach breaks. Around Cabeço da Ponta the beach gives short, soft lefts and rights over sand that suit beginners. It needs a south swell, so it is often flat.

Level
Beginners
Break
Beach break, sand
Waves
Lefts and rights
Crowd
Quiet
Season
winter, autumn
Boards
A foam board or longboard.

When it works

✓ A south-west to south-east swell of 1–1.5 m at low to mid tide on the rise, with a north wind.

When it doesn't

✕ North swells do not reach this south-facing beach, and southerly winds blow onshore.

Watch out for

  • rips

Best months

October, November, December, January, February, March

Local tips

Combine a surf with a day on the island: the ferry from Funchal takes about 3 hours. The Surf Atlas calls Cabeço the beginners' beach.

Getting there

Drive or cycle along the beach road from Vila Baleira toward Calheta; there are access points and parking along the dunes.

Travel notes

How often it works
Fairly regular for small south swells; flat when the swell comes from the north.
Crowd and vibe
Usually empty.
Camping and vans
Porto Santo no longer has a campsite: the old site at Fontinha was turned into an urban park in 2023, and there are no licensed camping areas on the island.
Facilities
Beach bars, hotels and restaurants along the beach; more in Vila Baleira.
Water quality
Cabeço da Ponta and all the other Porto Santo beach sites were rated excellent in the EU bathing-water assessment (EEA data from APA and the regional government) for the last three seasons.

Ideal conditions

Swell
SSE–SW best, ESE–W works
Size
1–1.5 m offshore swell; starts at 0.7 m, holds to 2.2 m
Period
8 s minimum, best from 11 s
Wind
Offshore WNW–NNE; handles onshore up to 10 km/h
Tide
low, mid best, on the rising tide
Faces
SE (145°)

Live cam

Cams © their operators, shown from the operator's own feed.

Nearby spots

All spots in Madeira · All spots

Sources