Porto Moniz natural poolstickets, hours, the free pools and a north-west day trip

Prices and timetables checked on 9 October 2026. The pool price comes from the council’s tariff regulation and its own page; selected bus times rechecked on 12 October from the regional SIGA timetables of April 2026. Check before you go.

The Porto Moniz natural pools cost €3 for anyone over 3, are free for children 3 and under, and are open every day of the year [1][2]. They are seawater pools built into the black lava rock at the north-west tip of Madeira, with lifeguards present at all times, a children’s pool and a playground [1][3]. Next door, the Cachalote pools are free [1][4]. From Funchal it is about an hour by car on a routing model, or roughly 2 h 45 to 3 h 30 on the selected outward bus journeys below [9][10][12].

Sea data, checked 11 October 2026: we calculated monthly averages from NOAA OISST v2.1 for 2001–2020 at 32.625° N, 16.875° W, offshore from Funchal [14]. We averaged each year’s daily values within each month, then averaged those 20 monthly means. The 0.25° grid combines satellite and in-water observations; it represents offshore surface water, not a reading at a beach or pool. These are historical averages, not a forecast. Dataset method: [13].

Tickets and prices

Ticket	Price	Source
Entry, anyone over 3	€3.00	Council tariff 2021 [2], council page Oct 2026 [1]
Children 3 and under	Free	[1][2]
Student card or over-65 card	€1.50	[1][2]
Disability card (60% or more)	Free	[2]
Sunbed or parasol	€5.00 each	[2]
Sunbed and parasol	€8.00	[2]
Locker per day	€5.00 (plus €5 deposit)	[2]

Where the €3 comes from. The council’s pools page gives €3 but carries no date [1]. The same price is set in the municipality’s tariff regulation as amended in May 2021 (Regulamento n.º 446/2021) [2]. We found no later amendment among the council’s published regulations, so €3 is the price we can document for 2026. We could not check regional news for a change, so treat it as “check on arrival”.

The entrance is paid all year [1]. We found no online booking for the pools.

Hours, season and facilities

• Hours: 9:00–17:00 in winter, 9:00–19:00 in summer, open all year [1].
• Season: the official 2026 bathing season at Porto Moniz ran from 15 April to 15 October, the longest on Madeira island [6]. Outside it the pools stay open with lifeguards, according to the council [1]. The pools held a Blue Flag in 2026 [5].
• The pools: a swimming area of about 3,800 m², about 2 m deep, so non-swimmers and small children belong in the children’s pool [1][3].
• On site: bar, changing rooms, playground, first-aid post, sunbed and parasol hire [1]; Visit Madeira adds a car park and access for people with disabilities [3].
• Water temperature: for seasonal context, NOAA OISST v2.1 offshore from Funchal averages 18.0 °C in March and 23.8 °C in September (2001–2020) [14]. This south-coast grid point is not a measurement of the Porto Moniz pools.

The free alternatives

• Cachalote pools, right next to the paid complex: free, with an outdoor shower, no toilets or changing rooms, supervised during the bathing season [1][4]. With small children, the paid complex has the facilities.
• Seixal, a few kilometres east along the coast: a black-sand beach by the harbour, free, with showers, a bar and kayak hire, plus the Clube Naval pools, free 10:00–19:00 [1][11].
• Ribeira da Janela, a pebble beach by the river mouth with toilets and showers open 9:00–19:00 [1].

Planning the day from Funchal

By bus. These are two selected direct Rodoeste options for a day trip, not a complete list of departures. The April 2026 SIGA PDFs give approximate passage times; we checked their day categories for 12–18 October 2026 on 12 October [9][10]. Confirm the current service before travel.

Line	From Funchal	Arrives Porto Moniz	Back from Porto Moniz	Arrives Funchal
139 (340/341) via São Vicente	09:00 daily	12:30	17:00 Mon–Fri except holidays; 17:30 weekends and holidays	19:15 / 19:40
80 (380/381) via Calheta	10:00 daily	13:05 Mon–Fri except holidays; 12:45 weekends and holidays	16:00 daily	19:40 Mon–Fri except holidays; 18:40 weekends and holidays

Coming back on the same line gives 4 h 30 on line 139 and 2 h 55 on line 80 from Monday to Friday except holidays; at weekends and on public holidays, the stays are 5 h and 3 h 15 respectively. Page 2 of the line 139 PDF also shows a Monday–Friday departure from Funchal at 18:20, reaching Porto Moniz at about 20:45, and a direct weekday return at 12:10 reaching Funchal at about 14:05, alongside other journeys that require a change [10]. These additional services are not part of the day-trip table. Check holiday operation separately for those page-2 services. Taking one line out and the other back makes the trip a loop of the west and north coasts. Neither line runs on 25 December [9][10]. The table does not establish the current frequency of the whole network.

By car. About 50 km and an hour from Funchal on a free-flow routing model; real driving times are longer [12]. A car lets you add Seixal, the viewpoints and, inland, Fanal. See Madeira car hire.

On a rainy hour. The Aquário da Madeira (daily 10:00–18:00, €7, ages 5–14 €4) [7] and the laurel-forest exhibition at the former Centro Ciência Viva (daily 10:00–18:00 except 25 December, €3.50, ages 5–14 €2.50, under 5 free) [8] are both in the village. The aquarium page also lists a “Bilhete Único” at €8 without explaining what it includes [7].

More on the area: Porto Moniz. For the island with children: Madeira with kids.

Sources

Numbered references match the source list on this page. Read on 9 October 2026 unless stated; NOAA sea data checked on 11 October 2026.

1. Câmara Municipal do Porto Moniz: Praias
2. Regulamento n.º 446/2021, Porto Moniz tariffs (PDF on the council site)
3. Visit Madeira: Natural pools of Porto Moniz
4. Visit Madeira: Cachalote natural swimming pools
5. ABAE: Bandeira Azul 2026
6. JORAM: Portaria n.º 206/2026 (PDF)
7. Câmara Municipal do Porto Moniz: Aquário
8. Câmara Municipal do Porto Moniz: Centro Ciência Viva
9. SIGA: line 80 timetable (April 2026 PDF, checked 12 October 2026)
10. SIGA: line 139 timetable (April 2026 PDF, both pages checked 12 October 2026)
11. Visit Madeira: Seixal Beach
12. OSRM demo router: Funchal to Porto Moniz
13. NOAA OISST v2.1: dataset description, accessed 11 October 2026.
14. NOAA OISST v2.1: daily SST off Funchal (32.625 N, 16.875 W), 2001–2020; monthly means calculated from 20 annual monthly means, accessed 11 October 2026.