Five days in Madeira from Funchal

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Travellers with five days usually want to see the whole island without moving hotels every night. From a base in Funchal, they can: most of Madeira is within an hour's drive, so five days make one city day and a day in each direction.

Day one is Funchal. Day two climbs to the peaks. Day three goes west, to Porto Moniz, the Fanal forest and the Rabaçal waterfalls. Day four goes east, to the Ponta de São Lourenço and Machico. Day five stays on the south coast and the sea, the easiest day to keep for the end of the trip. The hotel stays the same all five nights, and every day starts and ends in Funchal.

Day one: Funchal

The common mistake is to go straight to the mountains on arrival. Spend the first day finding your feet in the city.

Start at the Mercado dos Lavradores, from 07:00 on weekdays, then walk into the old town and along Rua de Santa Maria, with its painted doors. Take the cable car from the old town to Monte, €16 one way or €22 return, visit the church and the Monte Palace Tropical Garden, €18, and take the toboggan down to Livramento, from €30 for one.

In the afternoon, see the Sé and the centre, and in the evening eat in the old town.

If the first day is a Sunday, the market is closed and the cathedral closed to visits; swap it with the coast day and come back to the city later in the week.

Day two: the peaks

Visitors often lose the mountain day to cloud by fixing it too early. Keep it flexible.

Walk PR1, the Vereda do Areeiro, from Pico do Areeiro, at 1,818 m, to Pico Ruivo, at 1,862 m, the highest point of the archipelago: 6.1 km in about 3 hours, rated moderate, one way beyond the Pedra Rija viewpoint. It ends at Achada do Teixeira, down PR1.2, or at Ilha, down PR1.1, so a transfer at both ends is the practical choice. The full ticket costs €10.50 on the SIMplifica portal; PR1 has been open every day since 26 June 2026.

For a shorter version, walk from Pico do Areeiro to the Pedra Rija viewpoint and back, 1.2 km each way, on a €4.50 ticket; the famous stepped ridge, known as the Stairway to Heaven, is on that stretch.

Put this day on the clearest forecast of the week.

Day three: the west

The mistake is to try to see all of the west in a few hours. Pick a line and follow it.

Head west to Rabaçal, on the Paul da Serra plateau, about 44 minutes from Funchal, and walk PR6.1 to the Risco waterfall, 1.5 km each way, about 2 hours, easy, or PR6 to the 25 Fontes, 4.3 km each way, about 3 hours. No regular bus goes to Rabaçal, so a car, a tour or a taxi it is.

Continue to Porto Moniz, on the north-west coast, about 56 minutes from Funchal, whose volcanic sea pools are the town's emblem, and come back through the Fanal forest, in the Laurisilva, where fog is frequent because of the altitude. On a clear day, the 360° viewpoint near Fanal looks over Paul da Serra and Rabaçal.

It is the longest day of the five; start early.

Day four: the east

People often skip the east because it is closer. It is the island's open, shadeless side, and unlike the forest walks.

Walk PR8 on the Ponta de São Lourenço, the bare peninsula at the island's eastern tip, from Baía d'Abra to Casa do Sardinha: about 4 km each way, about 2 hours 30 minutes, rated moderate, with views of the north and south coasts at once. It has no shade and is exposed to the wind, so go in the morning or late afternoon. Bus 113 runs from Funchal to Baía d'Abra, and by road it is about 34 minutes.

Afterwards, stop in Machico, about 23 minutes from Funchal, where Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira landed in 1419 and which was the island's first capital. Three of its beaches carry a Blue Flag in 2026: Banda d'Além, Prainha and Ribeira do Natal.

The peninsula is on the dry end of the island, which makes it a good choice for a day when the mountains are in cloud.

The walk from Baía d'Abra to Casa do Sardinha is approximately 4 km each way and offers simultaneous views of the north and south coasts.

Day five: the coast and the sea

The mistake is to end the trip with a long drive to the airport after a long day. End it close to Funchal.

Câmara de Lobos, the fishing town, is about 14 minutes by road, and Cabo Girão, with its glass skywalk at 580 m above the sea, €5 for visitors over 12, about 17. In the afternoon, go to sea: a boat trip from Funchal to look for dolphins and whales takes about three hours, and kayak and snorkel trips go to the Garajau marine reserve, Portugal's first exclusively marine reserve, east of the city.

From June to September, the Lido's bathing season adds a swim, €6 an entry; the sea is above 20 °C from June to October.

The airport is 18.6 km from Funchal, about 20 minutes, so a late flight after a coast day is easy.

Boat trips from Funchal lasting about three hours allow visitors to look for dolphins and whales, adding a sea day to their itinerary.

Swapping for the weather

The mistake is to fix the order of the days before the trip. The mountains decide it.

The peaks and the north side are the wet and cloudy part of the island: the Queimadas station, on the north side, averaged 2,314.6 mm of rain a year over 1941-1970, and Fanal is often in fog. The south coast and the east are far drier: Machico averages about 710 mm a year.

So keep day one in the city, and move the rest. Put the peaks on the clearest morning, the west on the next good day, and keep the east and the coast for the cloudy ones, since both work in most weather. Check the IPMA forecast each evening.

Book the classified trails on SIMplifica once the day is set: the fee is refunded only if a trail is officially closed.

Cars, costs and where to stay

The mistake is to rent a car for five days and use it for two. Rent it for the days that need it.

A car earns its keep on day three, the west, where Rabaçal and Fanal have no bus; the other days work with transfers, tours and buses. Fuel in Madeira has a weekly regional maximum, €1.984 a litre for 95 petrol in the week of 21 to 27 September 2026, and parking in central Funchal costs €0.54 to €1.83 an hour.

The trail fees add up across the week: €10.50 for PR1 in full and €4.50 for each other classified trail, and a combined rate of €22.50 for two or more trails in three days, not including PR1.

Stay in the centre, around the Sé or in São Pedro, so every day starts close to the tours' pickups and the buses. Accommodation adds the municipal tourist tax of €2 per guest per night for visitors over 12, for at most 7 nights. For more days, see seven days; the IFCN's trail list and the IPMA help pick the days.

Common questions

Is five days enough for Madeira?

Enough for Funchal and a day in each direction from a single base: the peaks, the west and the east, plus a coast day.

Do I need to change hotels?

No. Most of the island is within about an hour of Funchal by road.

Which day needs a car?

The west: Rabaçal and Fanal have no regular bus. The other days work with tours, transfers and buses.

What order should the days be in?

The city first, then the peaks on the clearest day, the west on the next good day, and the east and coast when it is cloudy.