Skip to main content
Island at a glanceAirport wind: Not confirmed
Weather signalsOutlookChecking current sources…Not confirmedAirport windCurrent observationNot confirmedChecking current sources…PeaksForecastCheck current forecastCloud and rain at six elevationsTrailsDated referenceAt last check: 9 not fully openTrail register read Jul 26, 2026. Check the latest closuresPorto Santo ferryOperator sourceCheck today’s sailingCurrent timetable and published 2026 faresIsland viewsDirectory28 locationsCheck each camera for current availability

Beach guide

Porto do Seixal beach

Dark sand that nobody imported, on the north coast, free to enter, with lifeguard service listed for the season. It is the answer to “where is the real black-sand beach?”.

Checked against the portaria and the municipality’s own pages on July 26, 2026.

Wet black sand reflecting a grey sky at Seixal, small waves running up the beach, a stone breakwater with a striped beacon to the left and a steep green cliff dropping into the sea on the right.
Praia do Porto do Seixal, on the north coast: dark sand nobody imported, and free.Photo by Luis Coutinho (opens in a new tab) · Pexels License (opens in a new tab)

What it actually is

Surface
Natural dark sand
Municipality
Porto Moniz

The sand arrived by itself. On an island this young and this volcanic, that is the rare case.

A short bay under green cliffs, with waterfalls coming off them after rain. The sand is volcanic and it got here by itself, which on this island is rarer than the golden sand everybody photographs.

No Blue Flag for 2026. A flag is an application as much as an award, so a beach without one has not necessarily failed anything.

What the state says about it

Annex IV of Portaria n.º 204-A/2026/1 lists it as a designated bathing water, with a 2026 season running June 1, 2026 to September 30, 2026.

It appears in the “praia de banhos” column: lifeguard service is listed in the published documentation, not confirmed live.

Even where the documentation lists lifeguard service, this does not confirm a lifeguard is present when you visit. Always check on arrival.

Portaria n.º 204-A/2026/1 · Diário da República, 1.ª série, n.º 84, Suplemento · Anexo IV

What it costs

Free. There is no entry charge.

All fourteen beaches, compared

Getting there

It sits in the concelho of Porto Moniz, which is how the portaria files it.

We print no bus route for this one. Route numbers are published here only for the four destinations checked against the operator’s own guides, and this is not among them.

Getting around without a car

Live, right now

A camera pointed at this place. It starts on its own as you reach it.

The north coast, where the swell arrives first and hardest.

Camera operated by Portal Netmadeira

The cameras are hosted on YouTube, so opening this page contacts Google. Optional analytics is separate and loads only if you allow it.

Complete your plan

Madeira with children, planned around the day you actually have

Choose by age, weather and how much moving between places your family can manage. These options say what is there and what to check, without guessing which activity suits a particular child.

Affordable Madeira days with the optional costs made clear

Build a day from places with free entry, then decide separately what to spend on transport, food or an indoor attraction. Free admission does not mean the whole outing costs nothing.