The ferry service connecting Portimão with Funchal in Madeira will commence on July 2nd with tickets on sale as from Tuesday, June 12th.
The one-way fares start at €29.10 for Madeira residents, who for unexplained reasons are being subsidised, to €85 for non-residents.
Passengers can opt for a double or quadruple cabin and their car will cost an extra €125 in each direction. The ferry can carry 1,000 passengers and 300 cars.
Around 10:30 am this morning, two hours after the opening of the sales counter, the office of the Porto Santo Line, in Funchal, was full as locals queued to buy tickets.
Online bookings can be made at www.madeira-ferry.pt
The Volcan de Tijarafe, chartered to Naviera Armas by the Madeirense Navigation Company, will make the trip between Funchal and Portimão in just under 24 hours.
The ferry will leave Funchal at 10:30am on July 2nd and will arrive in Portimão at 10:30am on the 3rd, returning to Madeira at 12:30 pm the same day.
Although the first voyage between Funchal and Portimão is scheduled for July 2nd, the Volcan de Tirajafe will have departed the previous day at 8pm, from Santa Cruz de Tenerife, heading to Madeira. The return journey for those starting in the Canaries will end on July 5th when the ferry docks in Las Palmas.
The ferry will operate weekly until the 20th of September.