Formosa Beach

The ocean is the reason to come. Swell rolls in from the open Atlantic and the roar of it carries the length of the beach. The shore is a mix of pebbles and black sand, coarse under a towel and easier with a mat, and it lies close to Funchal on the south coast of Madeira. Restaurants, shops and bars sit behind the sand, so a meal or a cold beer is part of the afternoon rather than something carried in. Late in the day the sunset over the water takes over, and the beach fills up along the water's edge for it.

• Pebbles, not soft sand. The stones make lying straight on the shore uncomfortable — bring a mat or something to sit on.
• The surf comes in hard. On big-swell days the waves break heavily and the beach is better for watching than for swimming.
• Public toilets are 307 m from the beach and free to use; the nearest drinking water point is 274 m away.
• Food and drink are on the doorstep. Restaurants, shops and bars back the beach, and the surrounding district has nightclubs.

There is no walk-in to speak of. The road runs behind the shore, and both the car parks and the nearest bus stop sit within a couple of hundred metres of the water, so the last stretch is on foot down to the sand. The beach is on the western side of Funchal, in the São Martinho district, and is reached from the city by road along the coast.

Better: late afternoon, staying on for the sunset.

Avoid: days when the swell is up, if the plan is swimming rather than watching.

The sunset is what pulls people down to the water here — the beach faces the open ocean and the light runs right to the end of it. When the Atlantic is working, the waves come in hard and the noise carries across the whole beach.