Porto da Cruz

Porto da Cruz is a village on the northeast corner of the Portuguese island of Madeira. It is popular with surfers, sunbathers, and hikers. Porto da Cruz has a nice waterfront and small sandy pocket beach. It is also well connected to levadas and mountain hikes.

Understand


The heart of Porto da Cruz (/ˈpoɾ.tu dɐ ˈkɾuʃ/, POHR-too duh KROOSH) sits on the Atlantic Ocean, with houses stretching into the mountainous terrain that surrounds the area. A striking escarpment, Penha da Águia (Eagle Rock) looms over Porto da Cruz.

From 1858, an aguardente factory (sugarcane mill and rum distillery), one of many on the island, formed part of Porto da Cruz's industry. The town got its name because the founder of the town marked the harbor with an iron cross.

The houses in and around the village are surrounded by trellised gardens and farms on the steep hills, irrigated by levadas and growing a variety of fruit and vegetables, including sugarcane still today.

Porto da Cruz is a civil parish in Machico municipality.

By bus
Porto da Cruz is reachable from Funchal or the airport on S.A.M. bus routes 53, 78, or 208. These routes have a number of "variations", so check the schedule carefully. The Expresso variations can be twice as fast from Funchal than a normal line, but less scenic.

Beware: many of these variations skip the airport. If you are coming from the airport, it's often faster to catch any bus to Machico and transfer to the 53, 78, or 208 to Porto da Cruz.

By car
From Funchal or the airport, take the highway (VR-1) heading towards Santana, then follow signs for "Porto da Cruz". Parking in the village is easy and free.

By foot
Backpackers will enjoy hiking along from Machico to Porto da Cruz. Vereda do Larano is a good route along the coast: see details under.

Get around
The town is just a few hundred metres across, so walking is definitely an option. In addition there are many hiking trails leading out from Porto da Cruz to different attractions further out (see the Do section below), though those are also accessible by car.

Do




Hikes
Three hikes serve Porto da Cruz, making use of the island's famous irrigation channels (levadas).

Eat
The food served is typically Madeiran; see Madeira for details of what to expect. Some places are known to charge tourists more than the advertised price: you are under no obligation to pay more than what was agreed, and if you stand your ground, you will help to stamp out this discriminatory practice.





Some hotels also have places to eat and drink, see the Sleep section below.

Drink


However all restaurants in town will serve similar drinks.

Connect
Mobile operators MEO, NOS and Vodafone have 3G and 4G coverage in Porto da Cruz town. Further out coverage may be spotty.

Go next

 * Machico — second biggest city on Madeira
 * Santana — famous for thatched cottages and cliffs