Piscinas Naturais do Seixal — Attraction in Porto Moniz

My partner researched and booked this hotel so it was a surprise when I arrived. Situated on the outskirts of Funchal amongst other large hotels, it over looks the sea. This hotel is made up of three blocks, A, B and C. A block is the first, with access from the main road. C block over looks the sea and has the restaurant and swimming pool in it. He had request C block and luckily that’s what we were given. Definitely the best block, our balcony over looked the pool and patio area of the restaurant although, on the nights with live music, it was noisy. Rooms are a good size with air conditioning. Food is good and drinks reasonably priced. Staff have been very friendly. A shopping mall is a few minutes walk away and so is car hire. You need to catch a bus (€2 per person) to get into town. Use the #1 or #2 bus. Lots of local restaurants and things to do in main Funchal. Don’t get off the bus until the very end, takes around 15/20 mins. This will bring you the main harbour with the old town and...

Sweet little swimming spot in Seixal. This spot is kinda similar to the piscinas naturais in other parts of the island but: its free and not that overrun. I was here at around 3 pm till 5-6 pm and we had plenty of space. To get here you have to go down a very steep street (33 %) either by car or walking. There are a few parking spaces halfway down. On the right side are a few spots where u can jump in the water from the top but ask where they are or check before jumping! Be careful on the edges of the "pool". There is a small "wall" which seperates the pool from the open sea but waves can be higher than the wall. So dont let them drag you out to the sea. The later it gets the higher the waves become. NO LIFEGUARDS! SWIM AT UR OWN RISK. Also there are several crabs on...

The one issue here is that you might struggle with parking - there is some parking very close to the pools, after turning right down a steep road, but you need to fully commit to get the car back up!

Other than that, this place is AMAZING. Seriously. Just be a bit careful when getting into either pool, as it can be a bit slippy, but when you're in it's just incredible. They really are natural, you'll notice crabs lining the outside, fish in the water, and if you happen to get some in your mouth you'll realise how salty it is! That does make it really easy to swim in, too, and there are also life guards on duty (at least when I was in there), so you're all safe.

If you have a waterproof camera, you can get some ridiculously lovely photos here too (see...