Miradouro do Guindaste, also known as Crane viewpoint, is a beautiful coastal sunrise viewpoint in Madeira. Located on the North eastern side of the island in the district of Santana, Crane viewpoint offers some of the most spectacular views on the rugged cliffs of Madeira Island.

A small headland sticks out above the ocean where the waves crash against. When you have a good sunrise here, you can make some of the most amazing sunrise pictures. Professional photographers as well amateur photographers flock to this spot with their tripods in the hope of a nice shot. In this blog post you’ll find everything you need to know about Miradouro do Guindaste. 

How to get to Miradouro do Guindaste

Miradouro do Guindaste is located in the municipality of Santana on the North eastern part of Madeira Island. From Funchal it is about a half an hour drive and there are plenty of parking spots right in front of the viewpoint. Miradouro do Guindaste is lacoated next to Praia do Faial, so on a sunny day you can eventually relax on the beach after visiting the viewpoint. After parking the car, you only have to walk for 2 minutes until you get on the headland. You can walk all the way to the tip of the headland for the best view. 

Best time to go to Miradouro do Guindaste

As said in the introduction, the best time to go to Miradouro do Guindaste is with sunrise. From this point you can see the magical golden light in the morning, lighting up the cliffs and water. Make sure to arrive about 20 – 30 minutes before sunrise so you can eventually see the pre colours of sunrise. The morning we went to this sunrise viewpoint in Madeira, we were blessed with first a red coloured sky that later turned into the most magical golden light when the sun rose above the horizon. 

If you’re not a morning person you can also visit  Miradouro do Guindaste later during the day. But with the ever changing weather on Madeira Island, you won’t be guaranteed to have clear views. 

What to expect at Miradouro do Guindaste

Being one of the best coastal sunrise viewpoints in Madeira, Miradouro do Guindaste is often visited by tour guides and photographers in the morning. But with enough parking spots, you won’t have any trouble finding a place to park your car. There are no facilities around, so make sure to have visited the toilet before and bring enough water and snacks. You can eventually bring a rug to have a picnic at this beautiful viewpoint! Needless to say, leave nothing but footprints!

Miradouro do Guidaste provides beautiful views over the Atlantic Ocean that marks the north coast of Madeira island, from Faial to Ponta de São Lourenço. On your right side you will see Penha D’Aguia, the landmark of Porto da Cruz. On clear days it is even possible to see the island of Porto Santo from this viewpoint.

Once the sun rises above the horizon, it will light up the cliffs and ocean providing you beautiful scenes for photography or just to enjoy the start of a new day.

More Madeira travel inspiration

I hope you enjoyed this blog post about the beautiful sunrise viewpoint Miradouro do Guindaste, also known as Crane viewpoint.

For more information about Madeira, head over to our other travel blogs. 

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