Santa Maria de Colombo

• Outdoors
• From 4
• Children from 22.5 €
• Booking advised

Three hours west along the coast towards Cabo Girão on a full-size wooden replica of Columbus's flagship, with a swim stop when the sea allows.

Twenty-two metres, three masts, built in mahogany at Câmara de Lobos, crew in period costume - a small child reads it as a pirate ship rather than a boat trip, and the big flat deck is far easier to manage than a RIB. It motors more than it sails, and the swim stop depends entirely on that morning's sea. Up to about a hundred passengers, so the rail is crowded in high season, and three hours is a long time for an under-five once the coastline stops being new.

Worth knowing: Take the morning sailing, which usually gets the calmer sea, and allow time at Cais 8 - several operators sell from kiosks along the same quay and finding the right one takes a minute.

Opening hours

Mon

10:30-13:30, 15:00-18:00

Tue

10:30-13:30, 15:00-18:00

Wed

10:30-13:30, 15:00-18:00

Thu

10:30-13:30, 15:00-18:00

Fri

10:30-13:30, 15:00-18:00

Sat

10:30-13:30, 15:00-18:00

Sun

10:30-13:30, 15:00-18:00

Prices

Adult 45 €, child 22.50 €, including a tasting of Madeira wine and honey cake. The operator publishes no age bracket for the child fare, so ask at the kiosk how old a child may be.

Season

Year round, but the ship comes out of the water for an annual refit: the operator's own notice put that at about four weeks from 21 November. Check before booking a winter trip.

Getting there

Prices and opening times change without notice, and on this island they change often. Everything here carries the date it was checked in our research notes; if a place has moved or closed, tell us and we will fix it.