Date of Trip: October 10th – 13th, 2023
Madeira Island (An autonomous region of Portugal) is a total gem for anyone who loves the outdoors. I had a family member go there on a cruise and while I had heard of it prior, it had never been on my wishlist until she convinced me I’d love it. With its stunning scenery and amazing viewpoints, it’s hard not to fall in love. I’ve put together a list of my favorite hikes and spots to take in the views, so you can make the most of your time on this beautiful island.
Itinerary:
Day 1: We arrived at 1am from our stopover in Lisbon. Due to late arrival we stayed in a basic hotel in the main city of Funchal. We used a car service for transport from the airport since we were arriving so late and rental car services are not open 24 hours. The cost was 22 euro. I’ve linked the company below.
https://www.madeira-airport-transfers.com/inv/fx113.html
We slept a few hours then got our car in time to catch sunrise on the coast. I highly recommend this local rental car company. They were very knowledgeable and helped us sort our itinerary. We reserved a manual transmission but they were worried because we’re American so they ended up giving us an automatic. The roads were fine, however, and if you know how to drive a stick shift, you’d be fine with a manual. The cost was 209 euros for three days including all VAT and full insurance.
https://www.autorentacar.net/en/index.html
Our first stop was the Funchal cable car right after sunrise. We bought a one-way ticket for 12.50 euros each.
We had planned to make our way down just wandering the pretty streets but we happened to see people riding wicker baskets down the hill and realized it was a really cool Madeira staple. We paid 35 euro for two people and it was certainly a unique experience. Two men dressed in traditional Madeira attire “drove” us down the hill in a traditional wicker toboggan using just their feet as brakes. Such a fun and memorable way to get down the mountain. I highly recommend it. Because we were so early, we did not wait at all but I’ve read where lines can be hours during cruise ship times. I’ve linked a blog that tells the history and some useful information.
https://portugalgetaways.com/en-us/destination/madeira/general-articles/amp/toboggan-ride
After the touristy fun, we headed toward the north west of the island to start our hikes. The rental car employees gave us a map and recommended doing some trails in central Madeira called Levada das 25 Fontes (50 minute drive time from Funchal). There is a collection on Alltrails and I’ve linked one we did. The trails in Madeira are very organized “PR” then numbered making finding trails easy. The “Lavada” trails follow the many aquaducts around Madeira. I’ve linked a very helpful Madeira tourism site about hikes around the island.
https://visitmadeira.com/en/what-to-do/nature-seekers/activities/hiking/
We did a hard portion of this hike but due to time limitations, we just did an out and back. We made it to the waterfall then turned around. Lots of stairs but beautiful for our first levada hike.
PR6 – Levada do Risco – 25 Fontes Falls – Vereda da Amelinha on AllTrails
From here, we navigated to Fanal pond which was only 15 minutes away. It’s a popular area as it looks like an enchanted fairy forest. We had beautiful weather but you really want to aim to visit in the morning to see it in the fog. I recommend trying to be as flexible as possible with your Madeira plans so you can adjust based on the weather. I’ve linked a great website that has live feeds of weather webcams around the island.
https://www.madeira-web.com/en/webcams.html
Our next stop was Miradouro de Eira da Achada, stunning cliffs near Ribeira de Janela. (15 minute drive from Fanal forest). You’ll notice smoke from nearby wildfires.
We then drove down the hill to a beautiful beach with interesting rock formations in Porto Moniz.
And from there drive to a nearby silky brown sand beach “Praia do Seixal,” about 20 minutes away. We spent some time walking the beach and admiring the surrounding cliffs.
For dinner we made our way to Sao Vincente (10 minute drive) and had our first traditional meal at Restaurante Quebra Mar watching the sunset from the terrace. The menu was in Portuguese so we just ordered based on recommendations, meat on a stick and fresh fish with Madeira wine of course.
Next we left for our airbnb in Ponta do Sol, 24 minutes away. We can thank the short commute to the 150 tunnels on Madeira island cutting through the island that significantly cut down drive times as compared to the prior mountain roads.
I’ve linked the airbnb as it is probably one of the nicest places I’ve ever experienced. Infinity pool overlooking the sea. All rooms including the bathroom have a panoramic view. Absolutely beautiful, relaxing and conveniently located.
https://www.airbnb.com/slink/Sk2K18Vm
Day 2: Our first stop was Miradouro do guindaste on the North West coast (50 minute drive from Ponta do Sol). There is easy parking and a glass observation deck for great views of the cliffs. You can walk some short paths for better views to the east.
Next we drove to see the traditional houses in Santana (7 minutes away). There are only a few and you’ll notice the main house I’ve pictured as you’ll likely see a tour bus stopped nearby. There is a little museum and some interesting shops and restaurants nearby but we did not explore too much in this area.
Next we headed to the Caldeirao Verde Levada hike (10 minutes from Santana). You’ll drive up a mountain to
Parque Florestal das Queimadas and although you’ll see cars parked along the road, there’s a nice paid parking lot at a traditional home with a small outdoor snack vendor. You have to pay inside within fifteen minutes of leaving.
The trail is called PR 9- Caldeirao Verde Levada hike and leaves from the pond in the front of the house. We abbreviated the hike, doing out and back in 1 hour 18 minutes (700ft ascent). I’d recommend completing this hike if you have time but we were able to see some pretty mountainous views.
We left in time to catch sunset on the Pico Ruivo hike (parking lot is 25 minutes from Parque Florestal das Queimadas). The hike in total took us 2 hours and 45 minutes with 1209 feet elevation gain. We stayed at the peak for sunset and therefore needed headlamps on the way down. Sometimes there are cloud inversions where the mountains peak above the clouds but we were not lucky enough to catch it this trip. Some people watch the webcams and plan ahead for cloud inversions at the peaks. It looks like today the trail is closed due to wildfires according to alltrails. Another reason to stay flexible in Madeira, there were wildfires when we were there as well.
PR1.2 – Vereda do Pico Ruivo [CLOSED] on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/portugal/madeira–2/pr1-2-vereda-do-pico-ruivo?sh=sxlnu6&u=i
Day 3:
On our final day we did the “Pico to Pico” hike where you watch sunrise at Pico Areeiro then cross the range to Pico Ruivo (the summit we did the night prior for sunset). We took advice from friends and used a guide service for transport from Funchal because parking fills up at Pico Areeiro well before sunrise. Plus, you’d have to hike Pico Areeiro to Pico Ruivo back to Pico Areeiro without an organized transfer.
I’ve linked the airbnb activity link and the official alltrails trail.
https://www.airbnb.com/slink/G0yy3U58
Pico do Areeiro – Pico Ruivo – Achada do Teixeira [CLOSED] on AllTrails
The trail is absolutely beautiful the entire hike. Alltrails ranks it as “hard” and I have to admit I struggled, but I’m going to blame that on inappropriate expectations and too little food. We were warned that there is really no privacy to go to bathroom and we indeed found that to be the case. It took us 5 hours to do the hike (but that also included the hour at the beginning when we were waiting at Pico Areeiro for the sun to come up. It was a 5 mile hike with 2200 feet elevation gain required. I think I would probably recommend not waiting with everyone at the peak for the sun to come up and just hitting the trail ahead of the crowd as the sunrise views along the trail are likely just as stunning.
At the end of the hike we ate at Achada do Teixeira and it was really very good. After eating most of our meals from gas stations, it felt good to have a hearty meal after the long hike.
Our guide met us in the parking lot of the restaurant and we made our way back to Funchal. We had massage appointments at TIL spa in Funchal. When we arrived, we had just enough time to shower at the spa before our appointments. The spa was nice and had a rooftop pool with great views.
After the spa, we decided to wander around Funchal and take in the sites. The streets were lovely, traditionally paved with black and white bricks. We walked through the squares and enjoyed Mexican food at Casa Mexico in Santa Maria Moior.
We grabbed a bottle of wine and mojito popsicles from Amanhecer, our neighborhood grocery, and headed back to our airbnb to enjoy our last sunset at the pool.
Day 4: Rental car return and flight to Barcelona. Airport was easy to navigate.
Day 4: Rental car return and flight to Barcelona. Airport was easy to navigate.
Logistics: Our international flights were Delta from Atlanta to Madrid then Barcelona to Atlanta. It was somewhat of a last minute decision to do Madeira rather than southern Spain. So we took a TAP flight from Madrid to Lisbon for a 24 hour stopover then to Madeira. On the way back we booked Madeira to Lisbon to Barcelona. The TAP flights were $600 each. If you could fly directly to Lisbon it would be much more convenient to get to Madeira.
I would recommend at least 5 days rather than our 3 so you can take your time and explore more of the island. I would have liked to complete a few of those trails and there were so many we did not get to. Our friends are doing Madeira soon (the reason I prioritized this blog post). They have 9 days and I’m excited to see what they were able to add to their itinerary.
Here are a few more links they found helpful in planning:
https://www.muchbetteradventures.com/magazine/madeira-hikes-5-of-the-best-hikes-in-madeira/
https://digitaltravelcouple.com/waterfalls-in-madeira/
https://www.journeyera.com/levada-do-plaino-velho-hike/
I highly recommend adding Madeira to your wishlist and I hope these recommendations inspire your adventure! Let me know if you have any questions, I’d love to help!
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