Madeira Trip Guide
Madeira Prices: A Five-Day Budget From Official Price Sheets
Madeira prices are unusually easy to check, because almost everything a visitor pays for beyond the room and the plate has a published official rate. The five-day plan on this page costs $333.90 per person, our sum, before room, food and flights. That total comes from official sheets: IFCN trail fees, the SIGA bus tariff, the taxi convention, the cable cars, the gardens, the toboggan, Cabo Girão, the Porto Moniz pools, the Funchal tourist tax and the ferry. Start with the Madeira guide front page, the bookable entries in Madeira tickets and the practical notes in Madeira travel tips. Dollar figures on this page use €1 = $1.1481, and the euro figure is the one you actually hand over.
Quick answer What five days on Madeira cost
The five-day plan below costs $166.80 (€145.30) in official fees, fares and tourist tax plus $167.00 in three day tours, so $333.90 per person, our sum, before room, food and flights. No official source prices a hotel room, a meal or a flight, so those stay out of the sum. Every other line comes from a published price sheet.
Key takeaways
- The Pico do Arieiro sunrise and Ruivo PR1 hike transfer at $38.00 lists trail booking assistance, and the $12.06 (€10.50) PR1 fee is paid separately to IFCN.
- Read trail fees and booking before you reserve any classified walk.
- For the tourist bus pass and every published fare, see getting around Madeira.
- Beaches, rock pools and unclassified walks cost nothing, see free things to do in Madeira.
What a Madeira Euro Is Worth Right Now
Three amounts a visitor to Madeira actually hands over, shown in euro and dollars at the European Central Bank reference rate, refreshed as the page loads.
€4.50
one classified trail fee on SIMplifica
- USD$5.17
- GBP£3.86
€72.70
day one in Funchal and Monte from the budget below
- USD$83.47
- GBP£62.4
€145.40
the same day for two
- USD$166.93
- GBP£124.8
Dollar figures elsewhere on this page are converted at €1 = $1.1481 and are approximations. The euro figure is the one on the ticket. Source: European Central Bank reference rates via api.frankfurter.dev.
Five Days on Madeira Compared, Day by Day
This is the working budget of the page: one adult, five days, sleeping in Funchal all five nights, with every figure taken from the IFCN, SIMplifica, SIGA, cable car, toboggan, garden, Blandy's, Porto Moniz and Frente MarFunchal price sheets, plus the Funchal tourist tax rules and the operators' listed tour prices.
| Day | What you pay for | Fees, fares and tax | Tour | Day total, our sum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1, Funchal and Monte | Aerobus from the airport $7.69 (€6.70), cable car up one way $18.37 (€16), Monte Palace $20.70 (€18), toboggan for one $34.40 (€30), Funchal tourist tax $2.30 (€2) | $83.50 (€72.70) | None | $83.50 |
| Day 2, the peaks | PR1 full crossing fee $12.06 (€10.50), tourist tax $2.30 (€2) | $14.35 (€12.50) | PR1 hike transfer $38.00 | $52.40 |
| Day 3, the west | Cabo Girão $5.74 (€5), Porto Moniz pools $3.44 (€3), tourist tax $2.30 (€2) | $11.48 (€10) | 4WD west tour $79.00 | $90.50 |
| Day 4, the levadas | PR6 and PR6.1 on one day, charged as the 1-day pass $10.33 (€9), tourist tax $2.30 (€2) | $12.63 (€11) | Rabaçal hiking transfer $50.00 | $62.60 |
| Day 5, Funchal slowly | Blandy's Lodge Tour $19.52 (€17), Botanical Garden $11.48 (€10), lido entry $6.89 (€6), two municipal bus rides on board $4.71 (€4.10), tourist tax $2.30 (€2) | $44.90 (€39.10) | None | $44.90 |
| Five days, one adult | Fees, fares and five nights of tourist tax | $166.80 (€145.30) | $167.00 | $333.90 |
Official prices from IFCN, SIGA, the cable car, garden, toboggan, Blandy's, Porto Moniz, Frente MarFunchal and SIMplifica sheets. Tour prices are the operators' listed US dollar figures. Dollar totals are our sums of rounded figures. Room, meals, flights and the Aerobus back to the airport are left out. Figures current in Q3 2026.
What a Night Adds: The Tourist Tax
Three municipalities publish a tourist-tax rule on an official page. The rate is the same in all three, and the small print differs.
The Municipalities That Charge
Funchal charges $2.30 (€2) per person per night, capped at 7 consecutive nights, so $16.07 (€14) at most per uninterrupted stay. The tax applies since 1 October 2024, and cruise passengers have paid it too since 1 January 2025.
Calheta charges the same $2.30 (€2) a night with the same 7-night cap. Children aged 12 and under and residents are exempt.
Santa Cruz, which covers Caniço and the airport area, also charges $2.30 (€2) a night for at most 7 nights, a cap of $16.07 (€14). Anyone under 13 is exempt. The rules come from the amendment text published in Diário da República in 2022.
Ponta do Sol, Santana, Porto Moniz and the rest of the island: not verified on an official page. Check the tax line on your booking total before you assume it is zero.
| Municipality | Tax per night | Cap |
|---|---|---|
| Funchal | $2.30 (€2) | 7 nights, $16.07 (€14) |
| Calheta | $2.30 (€2) | 7 nights |
| Santa Cruz (Caniço, airport area) | $2.30 (€2) | 7 nights, $16.07 (€14) |
| Ponta do Sol, Santana, Porto Moniz and the rest | not stated | not stated |
Sources: Funchal tourist tax FAQ, Calheta tourist tax FAQ, Santa Cruz amendment, Diário da República
Trail Fees: The New Line in Every Budget
Since the fee system went live, every classified walking route on Madeira carries a charge, booked through the SIMplifica portal. The rates below come from the IFCN fee schedule.
Every Published Trail Rate
Free but still booked: residents, children aged 12 and under, and holders of a disability rating of 60% or more travelling with a companion. They pay nothing but must still reserve a slot on SIMplifica.
PR3, PR3.1, PR4 and PR23 are municipal or parish routes. They have no SIMplifica booking and no fee. If your walk does not appear on the portal, that is usually why.
The full mechanics, slot by slot, are on trail fees and booking. Route choice and difficulty are on hikes.
| Ticket | Fee | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| One classified trail | $5.17 (€4.50) | A single walk on one day, except PR1 |
| PR1 full crossing | $12.06 (€10.50) | The whole Areeiro to Ruivo ridge, both sections |
| PR1 Areeiro to Pedra Rija only | $5.17 (€4.50) | The first section of the ridge walk |
| 1-day pass | $10.33 (€9) | All classified trails for one day, PR1 excluded |
| 3-day pass | $25.80 (€22.50) | All classified trails for three days, PR1 excluded |
| 7-day pass | $60.30 (€52.50) | All classified trails for seven days, PR1 excluded |
What the Sights Charge
Madeira's paid sights all publish their tariffs, and the range is wide, from $3.44 (€3) for a natural pool to $68.90 (€60) for three people in one toboggan sledge. Every figure below comes from the operator's own page.
Every Published Sight Price
Day one of the budget above uses the one-way cable car up and the toboggan down, which is the classic Monte circuit. All the bookable entries are collected in Madeira tickets, and the Monte pair in particular in cable car and toboggan tickets.
| Sight | Adult price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Funchal to Monte cable car | $18.37 (€16) one way, $25.30 (€22) return | Aged 0-6 free, 7-14 half price |
| Monte to Botanical Garden cable car | $12.63 (€11) one way, $18.37 (€16) return | With garden entry $21.80 (€19) one way, $27.60 (€24) return |
| Monte Palace Tropical Garden | $20.70 (€18) | Children up to 14 free with an adult |
| Monte toboggan | $34.40 (€30) one person, $45.90 (€40) two, $68.90 (€60) three | Pay on site, runs Monday to Saturday |
| Botanical Garden | $11.48 (€10) over 12, $3.44 (€3) aged 6-12 | Free under 6 |
| Blandy's Wine Lodge | Lodge Tour $19.52 (€17) | Premium $26.40 (€23), Vintage Premium $67.70 (€59) |
| Cabo Girão viewpoint | $5.74 (€5) | Booked on SIMplifica, free for 12 and under |
| Porto Moniz natural pools | $3.44 (€3) | The Aquário and Cachalote rock pools are free |
| Achadas da Cruz cable car | $3.44 (€3) one trip | Return $5.74 (€5) |
| Funchal lido | $6.89 (€6) | Sunbed $2.87 (€2.50) |
Sources: Madeira Cable Car prices, Botanical Garden cable car, Monte Palace FAQ, Carreiros do Monte, Botanical Garden visitor information, Blandy's Wine Lodge tours, Cabo Girão on SIMplifica, Porto Moniz pools, Achadas da Cruz cable car, Frente MarFunchal tariffs
Getting Around: Every Published Fare
Buses run on a regional tariff set in law, taxis on a convention signed by the trade. Both are public documents, which is rare and useful.
Buses on the SIGA Tariff
One gap: the tariff sheet does not say whether the Regional Tourist passes cover the Aerobus. Ask before you buy a pass for an arrival day. The pass arithmetic, route by route, is worked through in getting around Madeira.
| Ticket | On board | On GIRO card |
|---|---|---|
| Municipal ride | $2.35 (€2.05) | $1.66 (€1.45) |
| Intermunicipal ride | $3.04 (€2.65) | $2.30 (€2) |
| Regional Tourist pass, 1 day | $15.79 (€13.75) | Same price |
| Regional Tourist pass, 3 days | $26.40 (€23) | Same price |
| Regional Tourist pass, 7 days | $41.30 (€36) | Same price |
| Aerobus from the airport | $7.69 (€6.70) | $6.37 (€5.55) |
Taxis on the IMT Convention
The 2026 taxi tariff convention sets the flag fall at $4.59 (€4) by day, 06:00 to 21:00, and $5.51 (€4.80) at night, on weekends and on holidays. After the flag falls, the meter runs at €0.10 per fraction. A bag or a pet adds $1.72 (€1.50).
Waiting time is $13.78 (€12) an hour by day. There is no fixed airport fare in the tariff, so the airport ride is whatever the meter says. More on hailing and typical routes in Madeira taxi.
Further Out: Shuttle and Ferry
Calheta council runs a shuttle to Rabaçal that solves the trailhead access problem: $5.74 (€5) one way, $9.18 (€8) return. The Porto Santo Line ferry charges an adult visitor $82.70 (€72.02) round trip from April to September and $67.60 (€58.90) in other months, plus a fuel surcharge.
Car hire and parking have no official published price anywhere, so this page prints no figure for them. The practicalities are in car hire in Madeira and the island next door in Porto Santo.
Sources: SIGA tariff, Aerobus, IMT taxi tariff convention
Eating and Drinking: What Nobody Publishes
Here the official trail ends. No institution publishes what a plate of espada or a galão costs.
The Price Vacuum
No official source publishes the price of a meal, a coffee, a beer, a poncha or a supermarket basket on Madeira. None is printed on this page as fact, and any daily food figure you read elsewhere is somebody's estimate, not a published rate. Leave a line in your budget for it and read the price bands below for the top of the market.
| What you want to know | Published figure |
|---|---|
| Price of a meal | not stated |
| Price of a coffee | not stated |
| Price of a beer | not stated |
| Price of a poncha | not stated |
| Price of a supermarket basket | not stated |
The Two Anchors That Do Exist
The MICHELIN Guide 2026 lists 12 Madeira entries and labels them by price band words, not euros: "A moderate spend" for the Bib Gourmand Casal da Penha, "Spare no expense" for William and Desarma. That tells you the top of the market without a number.
Two bookable food experiences do carry prices, because the operators list them. The Madeira food and wine walking tour costs $109.00 and includes 11 tastings and 6 drinks over three and a half hours. The H.M. Borges winery guided tour with wine tasting costs $23.00 for an hour with pours, honey cake and sugar cane cookies. Both are ceilings on what a themed food outing costs, not averages for daily eating. Where to find ordinary restaurants is in where to eat, the dishes themselves in typical food.
Sources: MICHELIN Guide Madeira, Visit Madeira
A Tour Against Doing It Yourself
For three of the island's headline walks, the honest comparison is not guide against freedom, it is transport logistics against a listed transfer price.
PR1: The Return Leg Is the Problem
The PR1 ridge walk is one-way past Pedra Rija, and the IFCN provides no return transport from the far end. So the Pico do Arieiro Sunrise and Ruivo PR1 Hike Transfer at $38.00 is mostly buying the drive at both ends and a timed pre-dawn start. The trail fee of $12.06 (€10.50) is paid separately to IFCN, and the listing offers booking assistance only.
Add them and the walking day costs $50.10, our sum, before food.
Rabaçal and São Lourenço
The Rabaçal road is closed to private cars on its last section, so driving yourself is not an option for the final leg. The council shuttle costs $9.18 (€8) return. The Rabaçal 25 Fontes and Risco Levada Hiking Transfer at $50.00 costs more than the shuttle but picks up at your hotel across a wide area.
On the east coast, the Caniçal Transfer for the PR8 Ponta de São Lourenço Hike at $36.00 lists the PR8 permit as included, which removes one SIMplifica booking from your day.
When the Tour Adds Nothing to Pay
The West Madeira Waterfalls and Fanal Forest Tour bundles no entry at all, because every stop is free. Its $39.00 buys seats and driving only. A hire car could match it, but car hire has no official published price on Madeira, so no do-it-yourself total can be claimed here with a straight face.
Sources: IFCN fees FAQ, Calheta Rabaçal shuttle
What Costs Nothing
A surprising share of the island's best hours carry no ticket, and the free list is worth reading before you buy anything.
The Zero Line
- Praia Formosa, Praia de São Tiago and Lido Poente are free to enter, per the Frente MarFunchal tariff sheet. Only the staffed lido sections charge. - The Aquário and Cachalote rock pools at Porto Moniz are free. Only the main natural pools complex charges $3.44 (€3). - Non-classified trails carry no fee and need no SIMplifica booking, which includes PR3, PR3.1, PR4 and PR23. - Monte Palace Tropical Garden lets children up to 14 in free with an adult. - The Botanical Garden is free under 6, and $3.44 (€3) from 6 to 12.
The longer version of this list, with maps, is in free things to do in Madeira and the swimming guide in beaches.
Sources: Frente MarFunchal tariffs, Porto Moniz beaches, Monte Palace FAQ, IFCN fees FAQ
Tours Whose Price Solves a Problem
Each of these solves a specific access problem on Madeira, from a road closed to private cars to a trailhead with no return bus. The prices shown are the operators' listed US dollar figures, entry rules are on each card.
from $38.00
Pico do Arieiro Sunrise & Ruivo PR1 Hike Transfer
A timed sunrise transfer to Pico do Arieiro with a return pickup after the PR1 ridge hike toward Pico Ruivo, plus permit booking help.
Check Availability
from $36.00
Caniçal Transfer for the PR8 Ponta de São Lourenço Hike
A shared transfer to the PR8 trailhead at Ponta de São Lourenço, Madeira's easternmost tip, with the trail permit and a digital map included.
Check Availability
from $79.00
Madeira Skywalk, Porto Moniz, Seixal & Fanal 4WD Tour
A full-day open-roof Land Rover tour reaching Porto Moniz, Seixal, Fanal forest and Ponta do Sol, with a lunch break and free pickup.
Check Availability
from $50.00
Rabaçal: 25 Fontes & Risco Levada Hiking Transfer
A transfer to Rabaçal covering both the 25 Fontes and Risco waterfall levadas, with a route map instead of a guided walk.
Check Availability
from $39.00
West Madeira Waterfalls and Fanal Forest Tour
A full-day west-coast tour of coastal waterfalls and the fog-shrouded Fanal laurel forest, with hotel pickup from the Funchal area.
Check Availability
from $19.00
Funchal Old Town Walking Tour
A 2 hour small-group walk through Funchal's Old Town, the Jesuits' College, the Farmers' Market, a wine lodge and a historic sweet factory.
Check AvailabilityPrices, ratings and details are the platform's own. dollar figures are the listed prices — the platform bills in your account's currency.
Keep Planning
Four pages that pair naturally with this budget.
Madeira Tickets
Every bookable sight in one list, with the cable cars, gardens and wine lodge prices cross-checked against the operators.
Getting Around Madeira
How to use the GIRO card, the tourist passes and the Aerobus, and when a taxi beats the bus.
Cheap Hotels in Madeira
The room is the one cost with no published figure. These picks keep the biggest blank in the budget small.
Free Things to Do in Madeira
Beaches, viewpoints, rock pools and unclassified walks that add zero to the five-day sum.
Madeira Prices: Questions
Is Madeira expensive to visit?
The fixed, published costs are modest. Five days of trail fees, bus fares, cable cars, gardens, tourist tax and three day tours come to $333.90 per person, our sum, on this page. What decides the total is the room and the food, and no official source publishes a figure for either.
How much does a trip to Madeira cost per day?
On the published items alone, the five-day plan here averages $66.80 a day, our sum, ranging from $44.90 to $90.50 depending on the day. Add a room, meals and any car hire, none of which carry an official price.
How much does a meal cost in Madeira?
Not stated on any official source, and no figure is printed on this page. The MICHELIN Guide 2026 labels its 12 Madeira restaurants by band words only. If you want a priced food outing, the Madeira food and wine walking tour lists 11 tastings and 6 drinks for $109.00.
Do I pay a tourist tax in Madeira?
In Funchal, Calheta and Santa Cruz, yes: $2.30 (€2) per person per night, capped at 7 consecutive nights, so at most $16.07 (€14) per stay in Funchal and Santa Cruz. Funchal also charges cruise passengers since 1 January 2025. Other municipalities are not verified on an official page, so check your booking total.
How much are the trail fees?
One classified trail costs $5.17 (€4.50), the full PR1 crossing $12.06 (€10.50), and passes run $10.33 (€9) for a day to $60.30 (€52.50) for seven days. Passes never include PR1. Residents, children 12 and under, and people with a disability of 60% or more plus a companion enter free but still book. Details in trail fees and booking.
Is the bus cheaper than a taxi from the airport?
Yes on paper. The Aerobus costs $7.69 (€6.70) on board, or $6.37 (€5.55) on a GIRO card. A taxi flags at $4.59 (€4) by day plus €0.10 per fraction of the meter, and the tariff sets no fixed airport fare, so the final fare depends on distance, time and traffic. Compare the options in getting around Madeira.
Madeira Costs on Film
Three travellers walking through what a week on Madeira cost them, useful next to the published sheets above.
Madeira in 7 Days 🇵🇹 | Full Itinerary + Real Costs
A week on the island with the spending written down, day by day.
Video: THAT GREEK GUYMadeira Travel Itinerary With Budget | Where To Stay, Things To Do
A budget-led itinerary, to compare with the five-day table on this page.
Video: Desi Couple On The GoDiscover the Magic of Madeira with Low Cost Vibes | Budget-Friendly Travel Series
The low-budget end of a Madeira trip, filmed on the island.
Video: Low Cost VibesVideos load from YouTube only when you press play.
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