Introduction

For a recent trip, I wanted to explore a different part of Portugal and had always wanted to visit Madeira. I decided to take the leap and it was everything I was hoping for! I knew the islands surrounding the Azores were always pretty but Madeira as a whole was stunning. I only wish I had more time to hike!

When I traveled to the island by myself, I mostly relied on public transportation with the occasional Bolt. However, if I were to do this again, I would want to rent a car so it’s easier to get to other parts of the island. Public transportation is a little finicky where the bus schedules aren’t publicized, there’s no dedicated app, and information online is pretty sparse. 

To and from the airport, you can take the Aerobus (€6.50) or a regular SIGA bus (€2.60) and pay in cash. The Aerobus stop is right outside the terminal, and the regular SIGA bus stop is a little to the right of the Aerobus stop. The bus timetable can be found at the bus stop itself, but you could look up the schedule online.

To take public transportation within Funchal, Google Maps works perfectly fine although just make sure to have change with you. You could get a GIRO card (Funchal’s public transportation card) but it was hard to find. However, taking the regional buses (like to the hiking spots) is a little more challenging. Most of the buses leave from Av. Do Mar, which is in the downtown area. It’s easier to look up the public transportation instructions through a blog post and then look for the bus schedule. Sometimes, the schedules are a little sparse so you don’t want to get stuck waiting hours for the next bus!

However, for the PR hikes (they just use PR to denote that it’s a hike), you will have to pay for a small fee via a reservation on this website before you go. The website will ask for your estimated time of arrival, but you don’t necessarily have to worry about that. You can just pay when you get there online, and then someone will check your QR code. It’s definitely possible to do it there, but if you know the service is going to be spotty, then I would make sure to book it ahead of time and predict your arrival time the best that you can. 

Overall, I would definitely come to Madeira again!

​​*** bolded = highly recommended

 

Nature

• Jardim Municipal do Funchal
  
• Parque de Santa Catarina
  
• Jardim Monte Palace Madeira - If you only had one thing to do in Funchal proper and it’s a nice day, I would definitely recommend coming to the garden. There’s so much to see and the greenery is beautiful. I probably spent lat least half the day here just walking around.

 

food

• Bela 5 Snack Bar - very bare bones, simple ish restaurant that had great meat selections on top of fries.
  
• Choux Patisserie
  
• Mercado dos Lavradores - the market itself isn’t that big, but I would assume that most stalls are open early in the morning!
  

 

Attractions

• Funchal Cathedral - the cathedral (especially the inside) is beautiful, it’s definitely worth the stroll!
• Zona Histórica do Funchal
• Pico dos Barcelos viewpoint - I came here at night and was able to see all the lights throughout the city, so it wasn’t as nice. However, it would be amazing during sunset!
• Forte de São Tiago - great views of the ocean but kind of a trek from the city center.
• Praça do Povo
• Praça do Município

​Other notable attractions

• I did this Airbnb Experience to hit most of the other notable sights on the island without worrying about transportation, since they pick you up and drop you off at every spot. Our tour guide (Gio) was incredibly chatty and shared some great insights about certain places throughout the tour. I would highly recommend this!
  • Cabo Girao Skywalk, Praia de São Vicente, Veu da Noiva, Seixal Beach, Miradouro da Eira da Achada, Porto Moniz, Fanal Forest, Ponta do Sol

 

Hikes

Vereda dos Balcões (PR11)

• This hike is one of the easier ones, where it’s just out and back. You could take a rideshare or take the bus, but the bus comes at much lower frequencies. The end of the hike is Miradouro dos Balcões, which gives an amazing view of the surrounding cliffs. Highly recommend if you want something nice and easy since it’s mostly flat.
  

Ponta de São Lourenço (PR8)

• To get to the starting point, take bus 113 and look at the timetable beforehand so you know when you should get back to the starting point. I would budget at least 3-4 hours (4.7 miles) for the hike, but it’s not terribly strenuous. 
  
• The bus leaves from CAM Funchal and takes about 1.5 hours. It terminates at Baia D’Abra. The bus also stops at Station Cafe in Funchal, if that’s closer for you. When you return to Funchal, you might have to switch to a different bus so get to the front as fast as you can or you might not get a seat.
  
• The hike mostly ends at a cafe (Casa do Sardinha), where you can get some snacks/drinks if you’d like. However, behind the cafe is a very steep climb to the Pico do Furado viewpoint, which gives some great views of the ocean and the adjacent island. I think it’s worth the small trek if you have time!
  

Contents

Introduction
Nature
Food
Attractions
Hikes
Related Posts

 

RELATED POSTS​

Valencia

palma mallorca

Follow Me @_neverendingcycle