AZORES
EXPRESS - BOSTON TO PORTO SANTO
Porto Santo and Europe’s Best Beach
Is Europe’s best beach really in Europe? Azores Express invites you
to find out. The Portuguese were once the world’s great sea power,
plying the trade routes from Africa to the Americas and back to Lisbon
in creosote coated wooden sailing vessels. In the process, the island stops
along the route came in the possession of Portugal and remain today. Just
a few hundred miles off the coast or North Africa lies the warm and sandy
beach island of Porto Santo, possibly one of the best beaches in Europe,
though only because it belongs to European nation, 750 miles south of Lisbon.
If you’re sick of the cold bite of winter snow blizzards Azores
Express/SATA airlines is introducing Americans to this enchanting island
some with new flights from Boston and air and hotel packages. Round trip
air fare from Boston including six nights at the 4-star beach side Torre
Praia Hotel starts at a modest $1,059 per person, plus tax. Flights depart
and return on Tuesday and Fridays. All packages include breakfast. Kids
under 6 stay free, and pay only a child’s airfare. Boston passengers
can upgrade from coach to SATA Plus Business-Class for just a few hundred
dollars each way.
Porto Santo about 30 miles from the larger sister island of Madiera
is a dry crescent with a full six-mile long beach on its central bay.
The light yellow sand is rich in magnetic rock and claimed to have
a mysterious healing power. The clear and clean bay waters are always
warm and devoid of undertow currents. Tiny islands cap either end of
the long beach and the rest is backed by dunes with beach grass and
cactus flowers and a section of curious basalt cliffs. An occasional
café is located just off of the beach, but for the most part,
the broad sands turn into fields where grapes are grown for the local
wine.
Downtown
Porto Santo offers historic charm, with a 17th century museum dedicated
to Christopher
Columbus who lived on the island, where parts of his
house still stand, and a central square from the Renaissance, flanked
by four main restaurants and boutiques. But, even in mid-summer, there
is a sleepy, relaxed feel to Porto Santo. The best way to explore the
uninhabited interior of the island is on foot, as the hills rise and
fall along easy-to-hike trials. The north coast is all rocky cliff, with
the small park at Fonte de Areia notable as a picnic spot and a place
to admire its windblown sandy cliffs. All four of the island’s
high peaks are an easy hike.
The island is also an ideal destination for water sport aficionados,
such as sailing, surfing, kite surfing, canoeing, sport fishing, snorkeling
and diving. For golfers, the Porto Santo Golf Course was designed by
the Spanish golf champion Sevy Ballesteros. When a second course opens
it will be the largest course in the Azores archipelago. With a year
round balmy temperature between 65-74 degrees (19º -
23ºC), the sea around Porto Santo is inviting year-round. The
dry and stable climate and the warm sea make this island an ideal beach
location 12 months a year.
So for a beach without high-rises, a laid-back feel, healing sands,
and even bits of china washing up on shore from shipwrecks, check out
Porto Santo. Yes, it has golf, tennis, new hotels and carting, but
once you see the beach… you won’t want to go anywhere else.
Azores Express has connected New England with Portugal for more than 20 years. Today it offers direct flights on wide body A310 aircraft to São Miguel, the main island in the Azores archipelago. Connecting flights from São Miguel to Lisbon, Porto Santo and the islands of Madeira are available. For information and reservations, contact Azores Express at 800-762-9995 or SATA website. © Bargain Travel Europe
Read
Review Torre
Praia Suite Hotel on TripAdvisor
Book
a deal Torre
Praia Hotel
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Web Info
Madiera
Islands Tourism
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and the sole property of Bargain Travel Europe and WLPV, LLC. and
may not be copied or reprinted without permission.
SEE
ALSO:
RUN WITH THE BULLS OF TERCEIRA AZORES
AFFORDABLE AZORES GETAWAY DEALS
REDISCOVER MADIERA ISLAND PACKAGES
