Before you go
Getting there and around
Accommodation and travel
When to go
Page 2
Ponta de São Lourenço and the PR8 trail: the €4.50 ticket booked in SIMplifica, upgrade works with detours from 30 September 2026, getting there by car or on bus 702, nature, what’s nearby and practical tips. Checked in October 2026.
Funchal Botanical Garden: 2026 tickets (€10), opening hours, getting there on buses 031, 029 and 131 or by cable car from Monte, the combined ticket and how it compares with Monte Palace. Checked in October 2026.
Porto da Cruz in Madeira: the Engenhos do Norte rum distillery, Penha d’Águia, a surf beach, seawater pools and walking trails. Getting there by car and bus, checked in October 2026.
Do you need a car in Madeira? Hire prices, airport pick-up, deposit and insurance, mountain roads and parking in Funchal and on Pico do Arieiro – checked in October 2026.
Funchal, Caniço, the west coast or the north? The best areas to stay in Madeira compared: travel times, weather, whether you need a car, the tourist tax and hotels worth checking.
The lava pools in Porto Moniz: 2026 prices and opening hours, getting there by car and SIGA bus, the area from Seixal to the Fanal forest, and an idea for a day in Madeira’s north-west.
Porto Santo from Madeira: the Lobo Marinho ferry or a Binter flight, 2026 timetables and prices, 9 km of golden beach, what to see in a day and how to take your dog to the island.
They don’t look like much: a narrow concrete channel with water in it and a flat path alongside. Then you learn that someone carved it into a basalt cliff by hand, often hanging on a rope over a thousand-metre drop, and that the network runs to over 3100 km.
Levada do Rei (PR18) is a 5.3 km walk along a royal irrigation channel in São Jorge, through ever denser laurel forest to the Ribeiro Bonito gorge, one of the wildest corners of northern Madeira.
The cable car from Funchal up to Monte started running again at the beginning of April after a technical break. Visitors who came to Madeira earlier had to go without. But the operator came back with a surprise: five new cabins with glass floors, the only ones of their kind in Portugal.
I discovered prego far too late – and I still regret it. This simple steak sandwich in bolo do caco is on almost every local café menu, quickly becomes comfort food and is easy to recreate at home.
Madeira with a dog – is it even possible? Yes, if you know what to expect. I spent a month in Funchal with Tesla and tested it all: flying with a dog in the cabin, pet-friendly places to stay, dog-friendly parks and trails, rules in restaurants and on buses, and where to find an emergency vet.
