Madeira Travel Tips: Everything You Need to Know Before You Go

Getting Your Bearings on Madeira

Madeira is one of the most beautiful islands in Europe. It sits in the Atlantic Ocean near the Canary Islands and Morocco, but it belongs to Portugal.

The Autonomous Region of Madeira includes not only the main island but also Porto Santo and the uninhabited Ilhas Desertas. This article, however, focuses solely on Madeira itself.

At just under 800 km², Madeira is roughly the same size as Hamburg. The island is made up mostly of steep cliffs, and many towns are perched on a mountaintop or hillside.

No matter where you’re headed — by car or on foot — you’ll almost always be going uphill or downhill on Madeira.

Madeira has around 250,000 inhabitants — nearly half of them live in the capital city of Funchal.

What Can You Do on Madeira?

Madeira is primarily a destination for outdoor enthusiasts and hikers. The island is known for its towering cliffs, spectacular hiking trails — including those along the Levadas on Madeira — and breathtaking viewpoints.

Also read our tips for the best hikes on Madeira

There are also some beautiful beaches and natural pools for swimming, plus great surf beaches. That said, Madeira isn’t really the place for a classic beach vacation — most beaches are rocky with strong waves.

What it does offer is plenty of charming towns to stroll through and fantastic restaurants where you can eat your fill.

Getting to Madeira

There are direct flights to Madeira from many airports across Europe. We always search for the best connections on Skyscanner — it’s great for comparing routes and prices.

Search flights to Madeira on Skyscanner

Flight time to Madeira from most Western European hubs is approximately four hours.

As an alternative, you can fly via Lisbon or Porto and combine your Madeira trip with a city break. That way you can sometimes find real deals and spread out your travel time nicely.

Finding the Right Accommodation on Madeira

Since Madeira isn’t that big, you can stay in any town — as long as you have a rental car. With one, you can easily reach anywhere on the island. If you don’t have one, your best bet is to base yourself in Funchal.

Almost all guided tours to the sights depart from Funchal, and the city has a solid bus network. It also has by far the largest selection of hotels in Funchal.

Be sure to also check out the best boutique hotels on the island — it’s really worth booking a place to stay on Madeira with stunning views and great design.

There aren’t many beachfront hotels, since there are only a few swimming beaches. In our article on beach hotels, we’ve picked out the best ones for you.

On the other hand, you’ll find a wide selection of luxury hotels on Madeira.

Exploring Madeira by Rental Car

We strongly recommend renting a car for Madeira. There’s no good bus network on the island, and a rental car gives you real flexibility.

A car is by far the most popular way to get around Madeira. Make sure to book your rental car well in advance — last-minute bookings get expensive fast.

Compare rental car deals for Madeira on Discovercars
Important: You’ll need a credit card to pick up your rental car on Madeira.

Madeira has an excellent expressway network that makes getting from town to town a breeze. These expressways are called VEs and consist mainly of tunnels — thanks to the tunnels, you can skip all the winding mountain roads.

There are no toll fees on Madeira, by the way.

To reach the sights and more remote spots, you’ll often need to take the winding roads through the mountains. Many roads are steep with tight curves — these are usually called ER roads.

If you’re nervous about tackling those routes yourself, you’re better off discovering Madeira with guided tours.

Book guided tours for Madeira

Visiting Madeira Without a Car

Visiting Madeira without a car — is that even possible? Yes, it is! You just need to plan very carefully, because the bus system on Madeira is genuinely complicated.

Or you can see all the highlights with guided tours. That’s a solid option too.

Book guided tours for Madeira

Otherwise, you can also get around by public bus and hitchhiking (which is quite common on Madeira).

Our Guide to Taking the Bus on Madeira

All towns on Madeira are connected by buses. However, there are often only a few departures per day. Many attractions, such as Fanal or Pico Arieiro, have no bus service at all.

Also read our article on the Pico Arieiro hike

Madeira has several bus companies. All of them operate from Funchal to the various towns on Madeira. That makes Funchal the best base for taking buses on day trips around Madeira.

Bus companies on Madeira and the areas they serve

• SAM (Funchal, Caniço, Santa Cruz, Machico, Caniçal, Ponta de São Lourenço, Porto da Cruz, Faial, Airport)
• Rodoeste (Camara de Lobos, Ribeira Brava, São Vicente, Arco São Jorge, Ponta Delgada, Seixal, Porto Moniz, Calheta, Paul do Mar, Ponta de Pargo)
• Horarios de Funchal (Funchal and surroundings, Poiso, Santana, São Jorge, Arco São Jorge)
• EACL (Funchal, Caniço)

The most reliable information on departure times can be found at the bus stops themselves. We always took photos of the posted schedules.

Connections from EACL and Horarios de Funchal will show up on Google Maps (though they’re not always 100% accurate).

You can also find bus schedules from all operators online as PDFs. Your best bet is to Google “pdf bus departure point destination” — for example: “pdf bus Funchal Santana”.

Note: The PDFs from SAM are a bit unreliable. We found it more useful to rely on photos of the timetables posted at the bus stops.

The Weather on Madeira

Temperatures on Madeira are consistent year-round. It’s always warm at around 23°C (73°F) — December through February are the coolest months, while the summer months can get genuinely hot.

The winter months from October to April are quite unpredictable. It can pour with rain one moment, be sunny the next, or the wind can suddenly blow in from all directions. In summer — for example on a trip in August — the weather is more stable.

Another important factor is the cloud cover on Madeira. The island’s high mountains are often shrouded in clouds — even when it’s completely sunny down at the sights in Funchal, for example.

We recommend checking the weather on Madeira regularly — conditions can change fast.

One more tip: If it’s raining in the south, head north — and if it’s raining in the north, head south. The weather on the other side of the island is often completely different.

What to Pack for Madeira?

Of course, you’ll pack everything you’d bring on any vacation — clothes, toiletries, and so on.

We’ve also put together a list of items that are especially important for Madeira and easy to forget:

• Hiking gear
• Rain gear
• Sunscreen
• Sun protection (hat, sunglasses, etc.)
• Refillable water bottle
• A good book
• Mosquito repellent

What Language Is Spoken on Madeira?

The official language on Madeira is Portuguese. However, most people — especially in tourist areas — speak English. So you’ll get along just fine.

At some hotels, staff may also speak German. But don’t count on it.

Food and Drink on Madeira

You can eat really well on Madeira. The seafood in particular is absolutely delicious. Here’s a rundown of the specialties you shouldn’t leave without trying.

Typical food on Madeira

• Espada com banana (black scabbardfish with fried banana)
• Espetada (grilled meat skewer)
• Bolo de Caco (traditional bread)
• Maracujá (passion fruit, used mainly in lemonade and desserts)
• Lapas (limpets)
• Milho Frito (fried cornmeal cubes)

Typical drinks on Madeira

• Poncha (a type of sugarcane spirit)
• Madeira wine (fortified wine)

Is Madeira Expensive?

It depends. We found hotels and accommodations to be on the pricier side, but everything else is pretty reasonable.

In tourist areas, things are generally more expensive than in small villages.

At a simple restaurant, a lunch set with a drink and coffee often costs just 12 euros. A main course at a touristy restaurant runs around 15–20 euros.

Espresso is particularly affordable — it usually costs just 80 cents.

Are There Dangerous Animals on Madeira?

Not really. You genuinely don’t need to worry about that. There are no snakes, no venomous spiders, nothing like that. For a long time, mosquitoes weren’t even an issue.

However, dengue fever cases have since been reported on Madeira.

We didn’t see many mosquitoes on Madeira — but they do exist, so you should definitely pack mosquito repellent just in case.