Porto Santo Travel Guide

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By Emma Healey

Porto Santo is a small unspoilt island about 25 miles northeast of Madeira. Easily reached, Porto Santo is a 2 hour ferry ride or a 15 minute flight from Madeira. Because there are just a few hotels and apartments on the island, it remains uncrowded and tranquil.

The island is quite barren with its main attraction being a beautiful 6 mile long sandy beach on the islands southern coastline which is divided into separate smaller beaches. The waters along this coastline are warmed by the Golf Stream and washup onto the soft golden sands which are said to have healing properties. These therapeutic qualities include the relief of the pain of rheumatism and broken bones.
There is a variety of watersports available from the beach including diving, fishing, sailing canoeing, windsurfing, jet-skiing, water-skiing and great swimming in the crystal clear sea.
The beach can be enjoyed at any time of the year as the weather here hardly varies from season to season.

Vila Baleira is the islands main town, with cobbled streets, whitewashed buildings, restaurants, cafes and a park. The traditional old shops here sell handmade souvenirs.

Porto Santo has so much natural beauty that visitors can spend hours just exploring the stunning grasslands, forests and mountains.

For golf enthusiasts there is an 18-hole golf course which was designed by Severiano 'Seve' Ballesteros, complete with driving range, putting green, pitch and putt course and clubhouse.

A visit to the Casa de Columbus is a must when on the island. This is now a museum dedicated to Christopher Columbus who lived on the island and is home to some of the explorers paintings, maps, drawings and engravings.

Porto Santo really only has one season with temperatures averaging around 20C during the year and between 5 and 8 hours of sunshine a day. Temperatures can reach a low of 15C but can also reach a high of 28C with rain being very rare.

Because the islands natural beauty can be explored at any time of the year you can book one of the late deals on offer to Porto Santo whenever you have the need for some peace and tranquility.

Cheap package holidays to this beautiful, unspoilt island are always available at any time of the year.

Emma Healey is the co-founder and owner of holidayholiday.co.uk, specialists in holiday packages and last minute holidays to worldwide destination. Thanks for taking the time to read my article and be sure to watch out for more of my articles as I'm writing many travel blogs and have some great topics coming soon.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Emma_Healey

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