Guides · Madeira

Drive Madeira like a local

Roads, routes and practical tips for your rental car on the island.

A small white car on a mountain road with hairpin bends above the clouds and the Atlantic at sunset

Driving in Madeira: what to expect

Madeira is one of Europe's best road-trip islands: a fast expressway along the coast, tunnels through the mountains and roads that climb above the clouds. Here is what driving here is really like, and how to make it easy.

A coastal expressway curving along the cliffs towards Funchal, with the city spread over the hills and the Atlantic below

Madeira Airport to Funchal by car

Madeira Airport sits on the coast about 20 minutes east of Funchal. With a rental car waiting at arrivals, you skip the taxi and the bus and start the trip on your own schedule. Here is how the pickup and the drive work.

A couple at a cliff-top viewpoint beside a small white car, looking over green mountains and the Atlantic at sunset

Do you need a car in Madeira?

You can see Funchal without one. To see Madeira itself, the mountains above the clouds, the pools on the north coast and the levada walks, a car is the easiest way and often the cheapest. Here is how to decide.

The driver's view from an automatic car, a hand on the gear selector, on a coastal road above the cliffs and the Atlantic

Manual or automatic in Madeira?

Madeira's hills are hard on a clutch, and a burnt one is usually yours to pay for, insurance or not. Here is why it happens, what it costs and why most visitors are better off in an automatic.

Sunrise over a sea of clouds from a mountain car park, with a small white car, people in jackets at a stone wall and volcanic ridges glowing orange

Pico do Arieiro by car

At 1,818 metres, Pico do Arieiro is Madeira's third-highest peak and the easiest one to reach: a paved road runs right to the top. Drive up before dawn and you watch the sun rise over a sea of clouds. Here is how to do it.

A small white car on a coastal road cut into a green cliff beside a waterfall, with the Atlantic and black volcanic rocks below

Madeira road trip: 1 to 3 days by car

Madeira is small enough to drive across in an hour and wild enough to fill a week. With a car you can see the whole island in three day trips from Funchal: the west coast and the cloud forest, the green north-east, and the mountains above the clouds. Here is the route.

A rental car key handed from one person to another over the roof of a white car, with palm trees and an airport terminal behind

Car rental deposit and excess in Madeira

Most rental cars in Madeira come with a hold of €1,400 to €2,500 on your credit card and an excess of about the same size. Here is what both mean, what no cover pays for, and how to rent with no deposit at all.

A small white car on a seafront road at dusk, under strings of Christmas lights, with the lit hillside of a city and the sea behind

Madeira in winter by car

Winter in Madeira is spring weather in Funchal, clouds and sometimes snow on the peaks, the Christmas lights in December and the cheapest car rental of the year. A car lets you follow the sun around the island. Here is how to plan it.

Natural swimming pools in black lava rock filled with turquoise seawater, waves breaking on the rocks beyond and a small white car on the coastal road above

Porto Moniz by car

Porto Moniz, on Madeira's north-west tip, is famous for its natural pools: lava rock basins filled by the Atlantic. It is about an hour from Funchal by car, and the drive there is half the reason to go. Here are the two routes, where to park and what to stop for.

A small white hatchback on a coastal road beside an airport runway raised on tall pillars above the sea

Car hire in Madeira: big brand, broker or local company?

There are three ways to book a car in Madeira, and the same week can cost three times as much depending on which you pick. Here is what each one charges, what its cover really does at the counter, and what to check before you pay.