Porto Santo Ferry Adds Two Extra Sailings on 5 November
Porto Santo Line is adding two extra Lobo Marinho crossings on Thursday 5 November, which turns a day scheduled for a single round trip between Funchal and Porto Santo into four sailings.
Two Extra Crossings Join the 5 November Schedule
The Lobo Marinho leaves Funchal for Porto Santo at 08:00 and again at 16:00, and sails back from Porto Santo at 12:00 and at 20:00. The 16:00 out and the 12:00 back are the two the operator has added. The other pair was already on the schedule for that Thursday.
That makes two full round trips in a day on a route that was down for one. Porto Santo Line has not attached the extras to any event or holiday, describing them simply as alternatives for passengers heading to the island.
A Whole Day on Porto Santo, or an Afternoon in Funchal
Pair the 08:00 out of Funchal with the 20:00 back and you have the whole of Thursday on Porto Santo without booking a night there. That is the pairing most people travelling from Madeira will want. An 08:00 departure is a civilised morning if you are based in Funchal itself, and a long drive in the dark from the west coast.
The additions also open the route in the other direction. Leave Porto Santo on the new 12:00 and the new 16:00 from Funchal brings you home the same evening, so a few hours on Madeira no longer costs an overnight stay. Two sailings each way is insurance too: miss one and another follows.
How to Book and What to Check First
Seats and questions go through Porto Santo Line on 291 210 300, on WhatsApp on 962 025 500, or by email to infopsl@gruposousa.pt. The schedules and the booking portal sit on the operator's own site at portosantoline.pt. Its customer service desk runs from 09:00 to 19:00 on weekdays and, at weekends, from 10:00 to 15:00 and again from 15:30 to 18:00. It closes on public holidays.
Two things are worth knowing before you fix the date. The Lobo Marinho has only just come back from its annual technical maintenance, which kept it out of service from 14 to 22 October. And this is an open Atlantic crossing, so the company stands the ship down when conditions are not safe: on Saturday 3 January this year it cancelled for a second day running while Madeira sat under weather warnings. Check the sailing the evening before, not on the quay.
The Only Sandy Beach in the Archipelago
Porto Santo Line puts Porto Santo 71 km from Madeira, and its beach runs roughly 9 km along the island's south coast. It is the only sandy beach in the archipelago, and it is what people mean when they call Porto Santo the golden island. Several of the concessions along it fly the Blue Flag, Fontinha, Cabeço da Ponta and Ribeiro Salgado among them.
The crossing is not a bare shuttle either. The Lobo Marinho, in service since June 2003, carries cars as well as passengers and runs a sun deck on deck 8, a children's playroom, a bar in the Atlântico Lounge and an à la carte restaurant called Algas e Corais. The cinema starts its sessions ten minutes after the ship leaves.
If Porto Santo has been on the list all year, 5 November is the day the timetable stops being the excuse.
