Extending around 7.5km from the ferry port to the island's southernmost point, Ponta da Calheta, Porto Santo's beach is nothing short of spectacular; in fact, it's regularly voted one of Europe's top ten stretches of sand (though it's not actually in Europe, but never mind). The large grains are tiny fragments of coral, the remains of reefs dating back 20 million years. Gently shelving into the cooling Atlantic and backed by Porto Santo's long-since-extinct volcano cones, this is a place to linger.
In summer the beach attracts Portuguese families escaping the heat of the mainland; in winter you can literally have the whole thing to yourself.
