Madeira Holidays - Compare Prices & Departure Dates

Madeira is an island in the north Atlantic Ocean and, with Porto Santo, is the only inhabited island in this group of islands belonging to Portugal. Tourists have been visiting Madeira for hundreds of years, attracted by the mild climate, impressive volcanic landscapes, rock formations and amazing flora and fauna.

In fact, the species of plants and birds are so numerous Madeira is known as the ‘Garden Island’ (Ilha Jardim in Portugese) or the ‘Floating Island’. The island does enjoy a relaxed atmosphere, with its certain flavour of old colonial charm, but it’s not just an island for the older traveller, there’s plenty to keep couples and families entertained too.

The currency on Madeira is the euro and the official language is Portugese, but many in the tourist areas particularly around the capital (Funchal) speak English too. You do not need a visa to visit Madeira if you are a UK national.

Madeira International Airport, formerly known as Santa Catarina airport, with IATA code FNC is the only airport on the island, receiving flights from a wealth of international destinations including the UK, with scheduled, low cost and charter planes all landing there. Flight times from the UK are around four hours.

The neighbouring island of Porto Santo also has an airport (IATA code PXO) and flights from Madeira take about 15minutes. Porto Santo is the only other inhabited island in the archipelago. You can also reach Porto Santo by ferry or car ferry from Madeira.

Many visitors arrive in Madeira as part of traditional package holidays or part of specialist tours. In these cases, onward travel to your accommodation will usually be provided. If travelling independently, a hire car can be useful on Madeira as it means you are free to explore when and where you like.

If you are relying on public transport, buses are plentiful with three companies operating routes to various corners of Madeira. You can also find taxis all over the island pretty readily.

A favourite port of call for cruise ships which dock at Funchal, the marina and port area can make for a very pleasant stroll taking in all the goings on and if you’re onboard the boat, you will enjoy the onshore excursions to get a taste of life in Madeira.

Madeira’s main towns include Funchal (the capital), Santa Cruz (where the airport is), Machico, Santana, Camara do Lobos, Ribeira Brava and Ponto Santo. Most of the holidaymakers tend to migrate towards the Funchal area, where the climate is most temperate and accommodation plentiful.

One thing to note in Madeira is that the island is volcanic, which means the beaches often have black sand – Prainha beach on the north eastern tip of Madeira is a particularly impressive example. You will also find there are steep cliff drops into the sea. Whilst they make for great sightseeing (especially the Cabo Girao at 590m above sea level), the coastline is not all about long, sandy beaches. Having said that, there are lots of pebbly coves to explore and sunbathe in and there are manmade beaches at places like Rebeira Brava and Calheta.

As well as manmade beaches, Madeira has lots of lidos offering swimming and sunbathing. The lido at Funchal also has good breaks creating decent waves which attract surfers.

One of the best ways to explore Madeira is on foot with the ‘levados’, which are irrigation channels built to bring water down from the mountains to the crop fields, making up a network of trails to discover.

Heading into the mountains and exploring the coastal cliff areas affords spectacular views of the Atlantic and the island – well worth seeing. In Portugese ‘miradouro’ means viewpoint and there are plenty of them on Madeira, including Pico dos Barcelos and Curral des Freiras. You should also visit the Ponta de Sao Lourenco, a volcanic area which is a protected nature reserve.

There are also beautifully manicured gardens to visit, including the hillside botanical gardens, the Monte Palace gardens and the orchid gardens, all offering a plethora of unusual plants and bright floral displays in the spring and summer.

If you head into Funchal main town, take a wander around the smart streets, marvel at the posh boutiques and take a look at the churches built in jet black basalt rock before retiring to a streetside cafe to sip a drink and watch the world go by.

For a fun day trip take the ferry across to Porto Santo and if you feel like a splurge make a reservation for dinner at the oldest hotel on the island, the luxury Reid’s Palace. You can also pop in for the very popular afternoon tea.

More active types might want to play a round of golf, hire bikes for a ride, go on a bird watching tour or even try surfing or canyoning.

Madeira boasts some very fine hotels including the famous Reid’s Palace which has been welcoming guests since the 1800s. There are also plenty of new developments offering modern spa resort type hotels too.

If you’re looking for mid-range accommodation there are lots of two and three star hotels and apartment residences in and around the Funchal area.

Shopping is a pleasant way to while away the early evenings in Madeira. We say that because the shops tend to be open from 10:00 to 22:00, so there’s even time for a post-dinner wander.

Funchal has all the best boutiques and designer stores, as well as handicraft type shops and an excellent market. Madeira Shopping is the big out of town shopping centre boasting over 80 shops, 20 or more restaurants, cinema and bowling.

Madeiran food is traditional quite rustic, but the island also has a reputation for gourmet food and even hosts a gourmet food festival every year. Being an island on the Atlantic coast, fresh fish is excellent quality and plentiful, so expect to see lots of tuna and swordfish dishes on the menus, as well as clams, mussels and oysters.

Apart from seafood the diet is very much meat-based and the islanders don’t really go in for starters much aside from things like tomato and onion soup or a seafood starter. Meat main dishes you’ll come across a lot include ‘espetada’ which are a sort of beef kebab, ‘piccado’ a pan fried beef and red pepper dish and ‘carne de vinho e alhos’ which is pork marinated in wine vinegar and garlic.

Of course, with all the international visitors around, you can eat in restaurants offering all types of cuisine from pizza and pasta to Chinese. The island even has its own version of fast food, a snack called ‘prego’ which is a thin steak meat in a bun.

Desserts are somewhat of a speciality in Madeira too, with the delicious spongy Madeira cake and ‘queijadas’ which are cottage cheese cakes. You must also try ‘bolo de mel’ which is a honey and molasses cake which is quite heavy but very tasty!

As for drinks, you should try the fortified Madeira wine or Atlantis Rose. For a refreshing non-alcoholic drink try ‘brisa maracuja’ which is a passion fruit nectar drink.

If you’re on the prowl for the nightlife, it’s pretty low-key on the island especially during the week. Things liven up a little at the weekends with the Pestana Park Resort providing much of the entertainment with a casino and nightclub.

The climate on Madeira is very pleasant, but does vary from the north to the south of the island. The average temperature on the coast is 20 degrees and the mild humidity means the island enjoys an oceanic, subtropical climate especially in the south.

The seas benefits from the warm Gulf Stream, so the water reaches around 26 degrees in summer and 17 at its lowest in winter.

Although not scorching hot, Madeira is still a fairly popular all year round destination for those wanting to enjoy the flora and fauna outside the main holiday times.

• Those looking for pleasant walking, sightseeing and relaxation
• Flora and fauna fans

• Those wanting big, long sandy beaches
• Party animals

Discover Portugal – the official tourist office for Portugal including Madeira
Madeira Island – webcams, news and events for Madeira

Madeira makes for a great choice of holiday destination for those looking for warm climes, spectacular vistas, bright and colourful flora and fauna all with a friendly welcome.