Like the Balearics, The Canary Islands have been popular with visitors from Britain for many years now, with some even moving out there to live permanently. Several islands make up the islands in the group. The island of Madeira lies a little further north and west, making flight times slightly shorter from the UK, but it benefits from the same mild and pleasant weather while offering differences in culture, geography, architecture and tradition.
Madeira and its neighbourPorto Santo first began to realise their holiday resort potential many years ago and they are probably some of the oldest holiday destinations in Europe. Tourism contributes to around a fifth of the island's commercial activity, peaking during March and April when the islands come into their own as winter sun destinations. During those months the average daytime temperatures reach a pleasant 20 degrees Celsius.
The main feature of Porto Santo as far as tourists are concerned is the wonderful main beach that runs from Porto Santo town down the east coast of the island. In fact the island is all about this one beach. This must surely rank as one of the best beaches in the world, not only for its size, but also for the quality of the sand and the amount of space available for everyone to enjoy. There are some facilities along the beach, with a few shops, cafes and beach bars, but they don't amount to much or interfere with the peacefulness. This beach really is a place to relax; just lie in the sun, listen to the waves arriving from the crystal clear waters and do nothing. With the small number of hotels on the island, the beach is never busy and makes a great location for family holiday with safe bathing on offer, especially in the areas that are monitored by life guards.
Another feature of the Porto Santo beach is its claimed benefits for health. There is little to prove these properties, but many claim that the sands can help those with rheumatism and other ailments. Don't be surprised to see people burying themselves up to their heads to get maximum coverage! Until a thorough scientific test has been done to prove the effects, it may just remain an interesting traditional claim whose real effect belongs to the relaxing days that people are able to enjoy there.
Porto Santo is slowly adding other features to bolster its tourism offering. The airport has recently been expanded and modernised, with most of the inbound flights coming from Madeira or Lisbon. There are also a growing number of small luxury hotels being opened and the new international-class golf course is sure to attract many {winter golfers to the island. The course, which was originally made up of two circuits of nine holes, is now a full 18 hole course. It was designed by the famous Severiano Ballesteros and almost stretches right across the width of the island at a point where it is just less than 2 miles wide. There are water features and spectacular modern clubhouse.
Back on Madeira there are an additional two golf courses. The Palheiro golf course is set in rolling hills and woodland close to Funchal and offers some spectacular scenery. This course is over fifteen years old now and blends well into the Madeiran landscape. The older Santo da Serra Golf Club was first built in 1937 although the course received a major rework and improvement during 1991. Again spectacular views and challenging holes are bound to attract golfers of all abilities and the 27 hole course plays host to the PGA European Tour Madeira Open, which took place in March this year.
The hills and inland regions of Madeira are another of the attractions that bring tourists from far and wide to these holiday islands and provide alternatives to the busier lifestyle in the capital of Funchal. This is great walking countryside and many organised walks are available for those who prefer to walk with an experienced local. Marked routes are set out across the island and take walkers to popular locations including the peaks at Pico Ruivo, Paradise Valley or the wonderful waterfalls that are a feature of Madeira. Many of these walks use the hundreds of kilometers of aqueducts or levedas that have been built to move water around the island. In total these aqueducts make up over 1300 miles of channels.
Other unusual features of Madeira are the many tunnels that the footpaths and aqueducts use to traverse across the island. Some are quite short while others stretch for many hundreds of metres. One of the longest is the 2.4 kilometre Pico Ruivo tunnel that passes underneath the island's highest mountain.
So whether you are a golfer, a walker or just someone looking to spend quiet relaxing days on the beach, Madeira and Porto Santo could have the perfect mix of holiday facilities and mild climate all year round.
source
Whole Oil Paintings - Whole Oil Paintings
No comments:
Post a Comment