Beach
Ribeira do Natal beach (Caniçal)
Small Blue Flag cove on the Caniçal promenade in Machico municipality, with loungers, a bar and lifeguards 16 June to 27 September 2026.
Researchedlast checked
Beach in Machico
Machico bay beaches (pebbles and Banda d'Além sand)
Machico's bay has a pebble beach and an imported yellow-sand beach; Banda d'Além is the Blue Flag 2026 bathing water, lifeguarded mid-June to late September.
- Address
- Baía de Machico, Machico
Great with kids
Sand is rare on Madeira; lifeguards 16 Jun–27 Sep 2026 at Banda d'Além (Visit Madeira; JORAM).
The notes
What the sources say (research)
- The bay ‘includes a pebble beach and another one of imported yellow sand, plus a pier and a charming marina’. [visitmadeira.com, 9 Oct 2026]
- Banda d’Além: ‘soft imported sand beach’; Blue Flag 2026; lifeguarded 16 June–27 September 2026. [visitmadeira.com; ABAE; JORAM]
- OSM has Praia de Machico and Praia da Banda d’Além as two features about 300 m apart; the official bathing-water list names only Banda d’Além. [OSM Nominatim; JORAM]
How it compares with Calheta, Prainha and the lidos: best beaches in Madeira.
Open questions
From Machico bay beaches (pebbles and Banda d'Além sand): Ribeira do Natal beach (Caniçal) (3 km), Prainha (Caniçal) (5 km). Straight-line distances from the centre point, not driving times.
Beach
Prainha (Caniçal)
Small natural beach of dark, coppery volcanic sand near the São Lourenço peninsula; Blue Flag 2026, lifeguarded from 30 June to 27 September.
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