Madeira in 6 days

If you want to do tours there is a 1 day west of the island tour, a 1 day east tour, a half-day Nun's valley tour, maybe a day in and around Funchal (Monte, toboggans, Botanic gardens, all the usual stuff) so 4 days would do that.

There are lots of nice walks you can do: Punta de Sao Lourenço, levadas (for example 25 fontes, get some other ideas: http://www.madeira-levada-walks.com/walks.html), area near Porto Moniz, area Prazeres / Paul do Mar, area Curral das Freiras, Santana,...

Thank you for your help. Do you have any idea how chilly it can be in the mountains in November?

or the opposite... nice down, bad up...

yer true.. so at least its never boring and green everywhere :-)

Just get a good hiking map (we bought an Austrian one by Kompass Verlag, it was OK) and look for interesting hikes - there are loads of them. It shouldn't be really chilly - we were there in February and the temperature was in the 10-15 range, even high in the mountains.

The best walking guide is Sunflower publications 'Landscapes of Madeira' http://www.sunflowerbooks.co.uk/madeira.htm A must have I think and has good maps. One thing about Madeira levada walks is most are linear so sometimes its actually better to use the bus, from Funchal most of the island can be accessed. However, you do need a car though to get to the high areas up on the Paul da Serra and Rabacal to the west and Arieiro in the east.

If you read German, there are several good German language guides, including hiking guides. E.g. google 'Wanderfuehrer Madeira' + 'Goldstadtverlag'