Madeira volcanic coastline at São Vicente

Some links on this page are affiliate links: if you book through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. How this works

Travellers who plan a day around the São Vicente caves should know one thing first: the caves are closed. The lava tubes on the Madeira volcanic coastline of the north, formed by an eruption about 890,000 years ago, shut together with their Volcanism Centre over a risk of collapse, and no reopening date has been set.

São Vicente is still worth the stop. It is a municipality of about 3,100 people and 78.84 km² on the north coast, 32.0 km from Funchal, about 36 minutes by road, with a surf beach, a bathing complex at Ponta Delgada, a 17th-century church and a chapel on a hilltop.

The caves, and what to do instead

The common mistake is to trust an old guidebook that still shows the caves open. Check before you go.

The São Vicente caves opened to the public in 1996, though local people had known them since 1885. Visitors walked a 700 m underground trail through lava tubes five to six metres high, left by the Madeira volcano, and the Volcanism Centre explained the island's formation. Both are closed: a study found the interior infrastructure precarious and dangerous, and the regional government has said the caves will reopen only when they are fully safe.

That leaves the São Vicente Madeira things to do above ground. The Praia de São Vicente is a beach popular with surfers, with facilities for water sports. Along the coast, the Complexo Balnear da Ponta Delgada has saltwater pools, a solarium, a terrace, changing rooms, parking and a sheltered beach. And the Laurisilva, the laurel forest, covers much of the municipality inland.

The volcanic island and the town

Visitors often read Madeira's cliffs as something old and finished. The island is volcanic, and not long ago.

Is Madeira volcanic? Yes. The island is the part above the sea of a huge volcanic shield, built from more than 7 million years ago on the ocean floor. The last eruption was about 6,850 years ago, and gas release and springs still occur. The Porto Moniz sea pools, further west, are basins of the same cooled lava.

The São Vicente Madeira town itself is small. The Igreja Matriz was built at the end of the 17th century, its interior decorated on every surface in the style known as horror vacui. The Capelinha de Nossa Senhora de Fátima stands with its tower on a hilltop; the Núcleo Museológico Rota da Cal shows how lime was quarried and used; and the Solar do Aposento is the house of a wealthy Madeiran family from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Rodoeste bus 139 runs from Funchal to the north coast through São Vicente. Visit Madeira carries the caves' current status, and the Porto Moniz guide covers the pools.

The Igreja Matriz in São Vicente was built at the end of the 17th century and features decoration covering every surface.

Common questions

Are the São Vicente caves open?

No. The caves and the Volcanism Centre are closed over a risk of collapse, with no reopening date as of 22 September 2026.

How old are the São Vicente caves?

They were formed by an eruption about 890,000 years ago.

When did Madeira last erupt?

About 6,850 years ago.

What else is there to do in São Vicente?

The surf beach, the saltwater pools at Ponta Delgada, the 17th-century parish church and the chapel on the hilltop.