Praia de Machico

• Outdoors
• Any age
• Children free
• Just turn up

A sheltered east-facing town bay where the sand shelves gently enough for children to walk a long way out, with showers and changing rooms at the town end.

With Calheta it is one of only two beaches on the main island where small children get shallow sand rather than shelving pebbles, and the bay is protected enough to hold up on days the swell shuts the north coast. There is no children's pool and no shallow enclosure - it is open sea, just a gentle one. The airport is a quarter of an hour up the coast, which means aircraft noise as well as convenience.

Worth knowing: Lifeguards and the beach concession run the bathing season, roughly June to September, and neither the dates nor the hours are published by the municipality - so out of season nobody is watching, however busy the promenade looks.

Opening hours

The operator publishes no opening hours. Phone before you drive.

Prices

Free. Sunbeds and parasols are a paid concession during the season.

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.