Town · Madeira, Portugal · 32.68°N 17.10°W
Ponta do Sol, Portugal
Ponta do Sol is a town of 4,235 people in Madeira, with a hospital 15.2 km from the centre and Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport (FNC) 30 km away.
Weather now
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0)
Normal for November, 1991-2020
20°high · low 17°C · 14 rain days
Who Ponta do Sol suits
Generated from the data below by published rulesGood fit for
- Beach loversA beach 0.4 km from the centre
Weaker fit for
Nothing stands out as a weaker fit.
What makes Ponta do Sol stand out
- Ponta do Sol has the most restaurants within a 15-minute walk in Madeira among towns of 3,000 to 10,000 people (16).
A fact appears when a town ranks first for a measure in Portugal, in its region, or among towns of similar size there.
Car-free living
52/ 100
Top 47% in Portugal
Based on: Grocery stores within a 15-minute walk, Pharmacies within a 15-minute walk, Cafés within a 15-minute walk, Distance to the nearest train station, Distance to the nearest bus station
Built on 75% of its inputs; the rest are not published for this town.
Access to services
37/ 100
Rank 536 of 800 in Portugal
Based on: Distance to the nearest hospital, Nearest airport with scheduled flights, Grocery stores within a 15-minute walk, Doctors and clinics within a 15-minute walk, Schools within a 15-minute walk
How precise is each number?Town-levelmeasured or computed for this townModelledestimated from a grid or a modelRegionalonly available for the wider area
Ponta do Sol compared with Porto
Pick another town in Portugal to see the differences in plain terms.
- Average January highShown for reference: at least one value is not precise enough to call a difference.Ponta do Sol Regional18°CPorto 13°C
- Average July highShown for reference: at least one value is not precise enough to call a difference.Ponta do Sol Regional26°CPorto 26°C
- Days with rain per yearShown for reference: at least one value is not precise enough to call a difference.Ponta do Sol Regional115Porto 119
- Days above 35°C per yearShown for reference: at least one value is not precise enough to call a difference.Ponta do Sol Regional0Porto 1.0
- 48 min more daylight in DecemberDaylight on 21 DecemberPonta do Sol 10 h 00 minPorto 9 h 12 min
Housing & costs
Official · INE Portugal, EurostatAt these medians, a 70 m² home costs about €124,000 to buy.
Rents, prices and crime are published for each municipality as a whole, not for single towns. Municipalities with too few new leases get no rent figure.
Climate today
Regional · ERA5-Land reanalysis 1991-2020Month by month
Regional · ERA5-Land reanalysis 1991-2020August is the warmest month (27°C average high) and February the coolest (18°C). December is the wettest (92 mm) and July the driest (8 mm).
Best time to visit
- Sea at 20°C or warmer ModelledJuly to NovemberOpen sea nearby, monthly average
- JanuaryAir 18° · Sea 18°11 rain daysCrowds: Medium
- FebruaryAir 18° · Sea 17°10 rain daysCrowds: Medium
- MarchAir 18° · Sea 17°11 rain daysCrowds: Medium
- AprilAir 19° · Sea 17°10 rain daysCrowds: High
- MayAir 21° · Sea 18°9 rain daysCrowds: High
- JuneAir 24° · Sea 20°5 rain daysCrowds: High
- JulyAir 26° · Sea 21°2 rain daysCrowds: Peak
- AugustAir 27° · Sea 22°4 rain daysCrowds: Peak
- SeptemberAir 25° · Sea 23°10 rain daysCrowds: High
- OctoberAir 23° · Sea 22°15 rain daysCrowds: High
- NovemberAir 20° · Sea 20°14 rain daysCrowds: Medium
- DecemberAir 19° · Sea 19°13 rain daysCrowds: Medium
Crowd levels are for Madeira as a whole: nights booked through online platforms in 2025, against the region's busiest month (Eurostat).
Is it getting hotter?
Regional · ERA5-Land reanalysisDays above 35°C per year
Both measured periods come from the same reanalysis as the climate section. The bars run to 10 days.
Healthcare & getting around
Town-level · straight-line distancesWithin 1.2 km of the centre
- Grocery stores4
- Pharmacies1
- Doctors & clinics0
30 min by car
- Hospitals2
- Sea beaches20
- People178,843
60 min by car
- Towns over 10,0005
- Hospitals5
- Sea beaches33
- People263,973
- Nearest train stationNone within 60 km
- Nearest bus stationRibiera Brava3.4 km
- Nearest hospitalHospital CUF Madeira15 km · 25 min by car
- Nearest airport with scheduled flightsCristiano Ronaldo International Airport (FNC)31 km · 42 min by car
Distances are straight lines from the town centre. Drive times are by road in free-flowing traffic (OSRM on OpenStreetMap roads); people counts add up the towns reached.
Daily life
Town-level · Overture Maps places, 2026-10-21.0Within 1.2 km of the centre
- 4Grocery stores & supermarketsPortugal median: 3
- 1PharmaciesPortugal median: 1
- 1CafésPortugal median: 4
- 16RestaurantsPortugal median: 9
- 0BakeriesPortugal median: 2
- 0Gyms & fitness studiosPortugal median: 1
- 3SchoolsPortugal median: 2
- 0Doctors & clinicsPortugal median: 1
Nature & surroundings
Town-level · WorldCover, Copernicus DEM, Natura 2000, OpenStreetMapPeople & community
Modelled · EU Census 2021 gridUnder 1515 to 6465 and over
International residents
| Share of residents | Ponta do Sol | Median town in Portugal |
|---|---|---|
| Born in another EU country | 1.6% | 1.6% |
| Born outside the EU | 12.3% | 5.5% |
| Moved here from abroad in the past year | 1.7% | 1.1% |
13.9% of residents were born abroad, against 7.1% in the median town in Portugal (2021 census). From the 1 km census grid cells within 1.5 km of the centre (2,561 residents counted).
Environment & natural hazards
- Earthquakes1 since 1900Magnitude 5 or larger within 100 km. Largest: M5.3.Town-level · USGS earthquake catalog
- Wildfire7 of 10 yearsYears with a fire of 30 ha or more within 10 km of the centre, 2016-2025; 11,527 ha burnt by those fires.Town-level · EFFIS
Common questions about Ponta do Sol
What is the weather like in Ponta do Sol through the year?
January averages a high of 18°C and a low of 15°C; July averages 26°C and 21°C. There are about 115 days with rain a year. These are averages for 1991-2020. These are regional figures for the wider area, not for the town itself.
How many very hot days does Ponta do Sol get?
Ponta do Sol had no days above 35°C in 2016-2025, nor in 1991-2000. These are regional figures for the wider area, not for the town itself.
Does it freeze in Ponta do Sol?
Ponta do Sol averaged no frost days a year in 2016-2025. These are regional figures for the wider area, not for the town itself.
What is within walking distance of the centre of Ponta do Sol?
Within 1.2 km of the centre there are 4 grocery stores, 1 pharmacy, no doctors and clinics and 1 café. In a straight line, the nearest bus station is 3.4 km away, the nearest hospital is 15 km away, the nearest beach is 0.4 km away and the nearest coastline is 0.1 km away.
What is the nearest airport to Ponta do Sol?
Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport (FNC), 31 km from the centre in a straight line.
How much daylight does Ponta do Sol get in winter?
10 h 00 min on 21 December, against 14 h 18 min on 21 June.
Who is Ponta do Sol a good fit for?
By the published rules: beach lovers (A beach 0.4 km from the centre).
Sources & methodology
Every value comes from one of the open datasets below and is computed the same way for every town. Each section names how precise its values are: town-level, modelled or regional. Distances are straight lines from the town centre, and amenities are counted within 1.2 km of it. Read the full methodology.
"Who Ponta do Sol suits" lines come from fixed rules applied to every town in the same way. A rule only uses values that are modelled or better, and each line shows the numbers that triggered it. How the rules work.
| Dataset | Used for | Version | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (30 m elevation) | Elevation | glo30_s120 | Copernicus DEM licence (free for any use, with attribution) |
| Burnt areas (European Forest Fire Information System, EFFIS) | Wildfires | 2016-2025 | CC BY 4.0 |
| ERA5 monthly sea surface temperature (Copernicus Climate Data Store) | Sea temperature | monthly_1991-2020 | CC BY 4.0 |
| ERA5-Land reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Data Store) | Climate | points_1991-2025 | CC BY 4.0 |
| ESA WorldCover 2021 (10 m land cover) | Land cover | v200_2021 | CC BY 4.0 |
| EU Census 2021 population grid (Eurostat) | Census grid | V3 | Free reuse with acknowledgement (European Commission reuse policy) |
| Nights spent in short-stay accommodation booked through online platforms (Eurostat tour_ce_omn12) | Crowds | 2026-11-01 | CC BY 4.0 |
| Price level indices (Eurostat prc_ppp_ind) | Price level | 2026-11-01 | CC BY 4.0 |
| GeoNames | Place names and populations | 2026-10-31 | CC BY 4.0 |
| INE Portugal (local statistics on rents, house prices, crime and population) | Rents, house prices, crime and population | 2026-11-01 | CC BY 4.0 |
| Natura 2000 protected sites (EEA, end 2024) | Protected areas | end2024 | CC BY 4.0 |
| OpenStreetMap (Geofabrik extracts) | Stations, hospitals, beaches, coastline | 2026-10-31 | ODbL 1.0 |
| OurAirports | Airports | 2026-10-31 | Public domain |
| Overture Maps places | Amenities | 2026-10-21.0 | CDLA-Permissive-2.0 |
| TEMIS UV index climatology (KNMI / ESA) | UV index | v2.0_clim_2004-2020 | Free use with credit; TEMIS asks to be told how the data is used |
| USGS earthquake catalog (ComCat) | Earthquakes | 2026-10-31 | Public domain |