A guide to Madeira

Magical Madeira is an autonomous region of Portugal yet lies in the Atlantic Ocean closer to the coast of Africa than to the Algarve. Both tropical fruit and grapes for legendary wine grow on this rugged and subtropical island, where remote mountain villages sit in the interior and fabulous seaside resorts along the coast. The misty forests give way to rocky beaches. It’s the kind of place that makes your head spin in the best possible way.

Active travelers will find opportunities for swimming, diving, surfing and hiking, with options that are accessible for all levels of fitness and expertise. And a unique and delicious food and drink scene awaits between pursuits.

This guide to Madeira has all you need to know to start planning your trip.

When should I go to Madeira?

Madeira is blessed with a subtropical climate, and the island experiences an average annual temperature of 21°C (70°F).

January sees the most rainfall, while the waters surrounding the island are at their warmest in September. If you're seeking peace and quiet, you may want to avoid the crush of visitors in August. Otherwise, Madeira is a great vacation option virtually any other time of the year.

How much time should I spend in Madeira?

Because Madeira’s top things to do are distributed all over the island, plan to stay at least 4 days. Consider a night in Funchal to get oriented, then make stops in one or two more destinations elsewhere on the island. Dedicate a day to active pursuits, ideally followed by a day to recover on the beach. Tack on at least another 2 nights if you plan to hit Porto Santo, the other inhabited island that forms part of the Madeiran archipelago.

Is it easy to get in and around Madeira?

Madeira is linked to the world via Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport (yes, the star forward is a native of the island). Plenty of flights connect through mainland Portugal, but there are direct routes from major cities in Europe and the New York City area.

Getting around the island is a bit more complicated. There is an extensive bus network: Horários do Funchal serves the capital and its suburbs, while SIGA serves the entire island. But if you want to hit more remote corners for hiking routes or beaches, you’ll almost certainly need a car.

Several rental companies have offices at the airport, but rates are steep, and take note whether you are reserving a vehicle with an automatic or manual transmission. The island is incredibly hilly, and its roads can be intimidatingly winding. If you aren’t confident driving in these circumstances, an automatic transmission is worth its premium cost.

Top things to do in Madeira

Hike a levada or vereda

Nearly all of Madeira’s rain falls on the island’s north shore. To facilitate agriculture on the island’s south, early settlers created a series of aqueducts known as levadas – some 804km of them, a feat of engineering recognized by UNESCO. Today, the levadas, as well as the island’s veredas (a general word for a path), double as hiking routes, which often traverse spectacular scenery and landscapes that include waterfalls, cliffs, lush forests and incredible viewpoints.

Levadas exist in varying degrees of difficulty and repair; check WalkMe, a regularly updated guide, to see if the levada you have in mind is open and safe.

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A popular walk is the Levada do Caldeirão Verde, on the island’s west end. The 11.8km round-trip hike passes through diverse scenery that includes a lagoon and waterfall. Another entry-level walk with an entirely different feel is the Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço, a 7.2km round-trip that tackles the island’s dry, rocky easternmost point and includes an opportunity for a refreshing dip in the ocean.

For more of a challenge, consider the trails that summit Pico do Areeiro or Pico Ruivo, the island’s highest point, reached by a route that occasionally goes above the cloud line.

Swim in a natural pool

The waters that surround Madeira have an otherworldly azure hue and are swimmable year-round. But rugged geography and stone beaches don't always make accessing that water very easy, so at a few spots across the island, locals have taken advantage of lava outcroppings to sculpt oceanside swimming pools.

The most famous natural pool is in Porto Moniz, on the island’s northwestern corner – although with its extensive handrails, bathrooms and changing rooms, it doesn’t feel so natural these days. An even more dramatically positioned pool is at Doca do Cavacas, on the island’s south shore. For something much more natural, consider the pools in Seixal or Cachalote, both of which are free.

Ride a cable car

Madeira’s coast features numerous fajãs. These areas backed by cliffs were only accessible by boat until a series of cable cars were built. Originally used to shift goods and crops, Madeira’s cable cars now transport tourists.

On the island’s northwest corner, the Teleférico das Achadas da Cruz is 600m long and one of the steepest cable cars in Europe. A ride lasts 5 minutes. The destination is a vast, crowd-free and rocky beach.

Also impressive is the cable car that descends to Fajã dos Padres, a rocky beach with a farm and banana estate, a cafe and a dock for swimming.

Taste fortified wine

Madeira’s eponymous wine was created when barrels of the stuff spent months on ships baking in the hot sun. This happy accident caused the wine to oxidize, giving it an entirely new and desirable set of flavors and aromas. Seven houses on Madeira make fortified wines in this style, nearly all of which do tours and tastings. HM Borges, in Funchal, was founded over a century ago and is one of the more traditional houses on the island; you can arrange a visit and tasting with advance notice. Barbeito is more progressive; it has daily tastings.

Madeira was once the most important center of sugar production in the world, and six sugarcane mill-distilleries remain in operation. The island is now the only location in Europe that produces agricultural rum, distilled from sugarcane juice rather than sugar or molasses. Engenhos do Norte, on the island’s north shore, is one of the few remaining steam-powered factories in Europe; contact the distillery to arrange a visit and tasting. In the island’s south and dating to 1901, Engenho da Calheta offers tastings and is a good place to buy bolo de mel, Madeira’s signature sweet, which combines molasses, citrus juice, lard, Madeira wine and spices.

Much of the local rum makes its way into poncha. To make the drink, white rum, orange or lemon juice, and honey or sugar are whipped up into a frothy consistency with a wooden tool. Among the most popular places to imbibe is Taberna da Poncha, located in a mountain town in the island’s interior.

Visit a beach

Specifically, a rocky beach. Madeira’s geography and location mean that the island’s beaches consist exclusively of round stones. Buy a pair of water shoes to traverse this relatively challenging terrain, and take note of the haunting roar of tens of thousands of rocks spinning and shifting with each wave.

If you want sand, head to the artificial beaches at Calheta or Machico, or take the ferry to Porto Santo, which has a 7.5km fine-sand beach that’s considered one of Europe’s best.

Eat an espetada

Madeira’s signature dish is espetada. Chunks of beef are marinated in garlic and bay leaves, skewered on a laurel branch or metal skewer, then grilled. The skewers are served from a unique contraption. Diners pair the meat with bolo do caco (a bread made in part with sweet potato that’s toasted and slathered with garlic butter), milho frito (cubes of deep-fried polenta) and a green salad. It’s a delicious combination of flavors and ingredients – not to mention the perfect post-levada meal.

Espetada venues in Madeira range from butcher shops (where you choose your cut and grill your own skewer) to old-school restaurants.

My favorite thing to do in Madeira

I love digging into regional food, and the Sunday market in Santo António da Serra, a mountaintop village in the island’s east, is Madeira’s culinary scene in miniature. In the early morning, farmers assemble a huge variety of tropical fruits: bananas, of course, but also passionfruit, guava, papaya, custard apple, pitanga and tamarillo. There are also beautiful vegetables, baked goods, dried herbs and local honey.

A handful of stalls sell simple prepared foods, and a butcher provides a grill and tables for a DIY espetada. The market has a particular emphasis on drinks, and vendors sell pitchers of poncha, local cider and even boozy coffee drinks, all of which are paired with dentinhos, snacks that can range from deep-fried pork rinds to a tiny salad of favas.

How much money do I need for Madeira?

Madeira isn’t exactly a budget destination. Accommodations are fairly expensive, and there are relatively few hostels and budget hotels. A rental car is needed to get to the more remote corners of the island.

That said, food and drinks are a pretty good value.

• Night in a hostel dorm: from €60

• Night in a basic hotel room for two: from €190

• Night in a self-catering apartment like Airbnb: from €200

• Municipal public transportation ticket: €2.05

• Coffee: €0.80

• Sandwich: €1.50

• Dinner for two: €40

• Glass of poncha: €2.50

Does it rain a lot on Madeira?

The north half of Madeira can be relatively wet, but the south, including Funchal, receives only 600–1000mm of rain per year. Especially outside of the relatively wet period between November and February, getting rained out is merely an occasional concern in Madeira.

Austin Bush is the author of Lonely Planet’s Pocket Madeira .