Although it is an island, Madeira has few beaches of real sand. One of the most famous one is Prainha, at Caniçal, on the southernmost tip of the island. In Seixal you have two beaches, Praia de Laje, turning right just leaving the village on the way to Porto Moniz, and another one directly in the harbour. All of these are made of black basalt sand.
The typical beach on Madeira is made of round, black pebbles. It isn’t very comfortable to walk on, but it is genuine, shaped by Nature, which always loves variety.

If you want to go diving off a beautiful beach of yellow sand you may choose to take a day trip by boat to the island of Porto Santo. Here you will find nine kilometres of sand in a beautiful bay where the calm water invites you to take a carefree plunge.

As you can see, you will be spoilt for choice.