Our second stop is at Seixal’s black sand beach. Here, you’ll feel like you’ve traveled back to the Jurassic era. The sand originates from a freshwater spring that spouts out of the volcanic mountains. Nestled in a bay and guarded by tall green cliffs that reflect their color onto the ocean below, it invites both locals and tourists to dive into its waters.

Still in the village of Seixal we will stop at the famous Bride’s Vail viewpoint, from which you’ll admire a spectacular waterfall that drops into the sea from a height of over ninety meters.

Poca das Lesmas and Mata Setes natural pools are at our next stop. This volcanic lava formations sculpted two of the wildest places to swim in Madeira Island and add to those instagrammable moments.

The highlight of our tour is next: the Porto Moniz natural pools. Shaped by volcanic activity and human inventiveness, these pools are bathed by the sea which natural waves add to the fun. These pools are one of the most photographed natural pools in the world. There are changing rooms and a first aid post. For your comfort there are also parasols and loungers to hire. Covering three square kilometers, they offer pure joy for both young and old. The stop will be of approximately one and a half hours to allow you and your family, plenty of time to have lunch and enjoy the pools.

We will make a little stop at Ribeira da Janela’s estuary. Close to the pebble beach stand two massive rocks one of which gives name to the village due to a singularity on its shape. At fourty meters high there is a hole, window or Janela in Portuguese, hence the name.

From here we will climb up the mountains to the next and last stop on the way. Fanal, an ancient forest of trees of more than six hundred years old, with twisted trunks dressed in moss that give shape to beautiful but, at times, haunting figures that seem to come alive among the fog. At a plateau over one thousand five hundred high this forest is part of Madeir’s Laurissilva forest, a Unesco world natural heritage site.