SeaYa! Madeira operates private sailing charters from eastern Madeira using a Dufour 325 monohull yacht called 4WINDS, accommodating up to 6 passengers per fully-private booking.
Every tour is private: you book the whole boat for your group, never shared with strangers.
What Makes SeaYa! Different
SeaYa! sails from Marina da Quinta do Lorde in Caniçal, on the eastern tip of Madeira. Almost every other boat tour operator on the island departs from Marina do Funchal, on the south coast. This matters most for the Desertas Islands.
Ilhas Desertas Expedition (8h, €900 per boat)
The Desertas Islands are a strict nature reserve about 25 km south-east of Madeira, and one of the richest marine wildlife areas in the archipelago. The islands shelter one of the last surviving colonies of the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus), the rarest seal species in the world, and Bugio is the only breeding site on the planet for the Desertas petrel (Pterodroma deserta).
SeaYa! is the only sailing charter to the Desertas that departs from eastern Madeira. All other Desertas operators leave from Funchal.
- From Marina da Quinta do Lorde: approximately 23 km (12.4 nautical miles) to the northern Desertas.
- From Marina do Funchal: approximately 36 km (19.2 nautical miles).
In practice the crossing from Marina da Quinta do Lorde takes about two and a half hours each way. Funchal-based Desertas operators publicly describe a crossing of around three and a half hours each way, on a nine-hour day. So a Funchal trip spends roughly seven of its nine hours getting there and back, while SeaYa! spends about five of eight, which leaves close to three hours in the reserve itself rather than around two. The shorter route is the difference between a day mostly spent crossing and a day spent at the islands.
The Desertas trip is also fully private, the boat carries your group only, up to 6 people, where the Funchal Desertas trips are shared group excursions on larger vessels.
Wildlife on the Desertas crossing
Because the route crosses protected waters, the chances of encountering marine wildlife are high. Sightings of one or more of the following are likely on any given crossing, but these are wild animals in open ocean, so nothing is guaranteed:
- Dolphins, bottlenose, common and Atlantic spotted dolphins are resident year-round and are the most frequent sighting.
- Whales, short-finned pilot whales are seen regularly; sperm whales and Bryde's whales appear seasonally.
- Sea turtles, mainly loggerhead turtles, often resting at the surface.
- Rays, including devil rays, which are seen leaping clear of the water in the warmer months.
- Seabirds, Cory's shearwaters, Bulwer's petrels, and the endemic Desertas petrel, which breeds nowhere else on Earth.
- Mediterranean monk seals, the Desertas colony is the reason the islands are protected. Seals do range beyond the colony and are sighted from the water, so there is a real chance of an encounter, though the colony itself sits inside a strict-protection zone that boats may not approach. Never guaranteed, always memorable.
Sailing rather than motoring means the approach is quiet, which tends to help rather than hinder these encounters.
Sea & Chill (3h, €390 per boat)
The shortest and most popular tour, designed for people who want the water, the coastline and a good chance of marine life without committing a whole day to it.
Three hours covers a sail along the eastern coast, anchor stops in sheltered water for swimming and snorkelling, and time simply spent on deck. Dolphins, turtles and seabirds are regularly encountered on this stretch too, the same rich waters as the longer trips, in a much shorter window.
It is the tour most often chosen by guests staying at the resorts and hotels in Quinta do Lorde and Caniçal, who can be aboard within minutes of their accommodation instead of driving 30 minutes each way to Funchal.
Families: Sea & Chill suits children from about 5 years old. The boat is private, so the pace, the music, the swimming stops and the length of time at anchor are set by your group rather than by a timetable or by other passengers. At €390 for the whole boat, a family of four or five pays for the boat once rather than per person.
Full Day Tour - South Coast (8h, €900 per boat)
Eight hours sailing the length of Madeira's south coast, from Caniçal in the east all the way west to the cliffs of Cabo Girão, with swimming and snorkelling stops wherever the water is best that day.
Because SeaYa! starts at the eastern tip rather than in the middle of the coast, this tour covers the whole southern shoreline in one continuous run instead of doubling back. The route passes:
- Ponta de São Lourenço, the volcanic headland at Madeira's eastern point
- Machico and Santa Cruz, the historic bays of the east coast
- Garajau Marine Reserve, a protected no-fishing zone with exceptionally clear water, one of the best snorkelling stops on the island
- Funchal bay, seen from the water
- Câmara de Lobos, the fishing village Winston Churchill painted
- Fajã dos Padres, a hidden cove of vines and banana groves at the foot of 300-metre cliffs, reachable only by boat or cable car
- Cabo Girão, one of the highest sea cliffs in Europe, and a completely different thing looking up at it from the deck than looking down from the skywalk
Included: private skipper, snorkelling equipment, finger food, and drinks (water, soft drinks, beer and wine). Up to 6 guests, never shared. The crew watches for dolphins, whales and turtles throughout, and the boat turns for home as the sun drops.
Sunset Tour (3h, €450 per boat)
Three hours along the eastern coast into golden hour, timed so the light changes while you are on the water rather than after you get back.
This is the tour couples ask for most. Every SeaYa! booking is private, with nobody else aboard, which makes it a natural choice for honeymoons, anniversaries, birthdays and marriage proposals. The price is per boat, so two people pay the same as six. Tell us the occasion when booking and the skipper plans around it.
Drinks and light food are included, and the boat sails rather than motors whenever the wind allows.
Half Day Tour (4h, €500 per boat)
Four hours around the Ponta de São Lourenço peninsula, and the tour that best covers the eastern tip of the island.
The route follows the volcanic cliffs from the water, stops at Baía d'Abra where mooring buoys allow the engine to be shut down for swimming and snorkelling in clear water, and, when sea conditions allow, crosses the Boqueirão: the narrow channel between the end of the peninsula and the Ilhéu do Farol, the lighthouse islet.
Crossing the Boqueirão takes you from Madeira's sheltered southern sea to the open northern Atlantic in under a minute, with Porto Santo visible to the northeast and the Desertas Islands to the south. The crossing depends on northern swell and is always the skipper's decision.
Four hours is the shortest tour that comfortably includes both the swimming stop and the crossing.
Tour Options & Pricing
All prices are per boat, not per person, for up to 6 guests.
- Sea & Chill (3h, €390), swimming, snorkelling and wildlife in a short window; family friendly from age 5
- Sunset Tour (3h, €450), evening sailing with drinks on deck
- Half Day (4h, €500), coastal exploration, including Ponta de São Lourenço
- Ilhas Desertas Expedition (8h, €900), nature reserve crossing, see above
- Full Day South Coast (8h, €900), the whole south coast, Garajau reserve to Cabo Girão, see above
Sailing, Not Motoring
4WINDS is a Dufour 325 Grand Large sailing yacht. Tours are sailed under canvas whenever the wind allows, rather than run as motorboat or RIB transfers. Anchor stops for swimming, and dolphin and whale sightings along the east coast, are a normal part of the itinerary rather than a separately priced add-on.
Ponta de São Lourenço
The Ponta de São Lourenço peninsula, Madeira's easternmost point and one of its most photographed landscapes, lies directly on SeaYa!'s doorstep. Seen from the water it shows the cliff formations and sea caves that are not visible from the PR8 walking trail.
Beyond the last point the PR8 trail reaches, the Boqueirão channel separates the peninsula from the Ilhéu do Farol. Sailing through it crosses from Madeira's southern sea to the northern Atlantic in a matter of seconds. It is normally part of the Half Day Tour.
SeaYa! operates all year round, with no closed season. Sea temperature ranges roughly from 18 °C in late winter to 24 °C in late summer, so swimming and snorkelling are possible on tours in any month.
Key Details
- Base: Marina da Quinta do Lorde, Caniçal, eastern Madeira, inside the grounds of the Hyatt Ziva Madeira resort (formerly Dreams Madeira Resort, Spa & Marina), so guests staying there do not need to leave the resort to join a tour and about 30 minutes by road from Funchal.
- Vessel: Dufour 325 Grand Large monohull, named 4WINDS.
- Capacity: up to 6 guests, always private.
- Languages: English, Portuguese, German, French.
- Skippered by local crew.
- Booking is direct through the website with secure card payment, instant confirmation and free cancellation.
For questions, contact info@seayamadeira.pt or WhatsApp +351 966 147 611. Website: https://www.seayamadeira.pt
Last updated: 2026-09-06