Things to Do in Madeira: 24 Sights, Trails and Sea Trips on One Map

Funchal and Monte

Everything in zone one costs little and needs no booking. The Old Town and the market are free, the cable car up to Monte is $25.30 (€22) return, and from there the toboggan, Monte Palace and the Botanical Garden chain together into one full day. Rainy-day anchors sit here too, Blandy's Wine Lodge and the CR7 Museum.

A first-timer can fill two entire days without leaving this zone, and on a short stay we would, because the evening side of Funchal deserves its own night.

The High Peaks and the Levadas

Zone two is the walking zone, and it is the only one where booking is mandatory. Since 1 January 2026 every classified trail, from PR1 between the peaks to the 25 Fontes and Caldeirão Verde, needs a dated SIMplifica slot, same day or next day only. The one trail fee you can plan around is $5.17 (€4.50) for most routes.

Add the Pico Ruivo summit and the bare plateau of Fanal and you have a second full zone, but check our levada walks page first, because several famous routes are closed on the IFCN register.

The North-West Coast

The north-west is the longest day out from Funchal. Porto Moniz, its lava pools at $3.44 (€3), the black beach at Seixal, the Achadas da Cruz cable car down to its fajã, and Fanal's laurels all sit up here. The São Vicente caves are closed indefinitely, so do not build the day around them. This is the zone where a tour earns its price, because the open-roof 4WD day reaches every stop in one loop with the driving and the parking handled.

See our towns page for Porto Moniz, São Vicente and the other towns on the way.

The East, the South and the Sea

Zone four splits in two halves. East, the Ponta de São Lourenço trail runs along the arid eastern tip, and Santana's thatched houses and Machico sit on the road there. South, Câmara de Lobos and the Cabo Girão skywalk are an easy half day from Funchal.

Then there is the ocean itself, which belongs to no zone and to every day, from whale and dolphin watching off Funchal marina to the Desertas Islands and the ferry to Porto Santo. Check our hikes page before choosing between the east and the peaks.

The table below matches the six easy wins for a car-free visit. It compares how you get there and what the transport costs, with figures from the operators' own pages and Rodoeste's on-board fare table. Everything in Funchal itself is on foot, and the two cable cars cover Monte.

Where a Car Still Wins

The peaks and the north-west are the two places where buses fail you. Rodoeste runs west from Funchal, but no timetable is reproduced here, and Fanal, the Achadas da Cruz cable car and the Rabaçal trailheads sit off any practical bus line in our reading. The SIMplifica booking system makes this worse for walkers, because a trail slot fixes your start time and a two-bus chain cannot guarantee it.

Our pick for a car-free week is to buy two tours, the north-west 4WD day and one peak or east day such as the east tour, and keep the rest of the week inside Funchal and Monte. Read getting around Madeira for the post-2024 bus system before you commit.

These are all free at the point of entry, with no official fee published by any operator, council or IFCN. They spread across all four zones, so a car or a tour is still needed for the far ones.

• Walk the Funchal Old Town and its painted doors
• Browse the Mercado dos Lavradores, open since 1940
• Watch sunrise from Pico do Arieiro, free as a viewpoint
• Stroll Câmara de Lobos and its fishing cove
• The cliff-top viewpoints around Cabo Girão, while the glass skywalk itself is ticketed
• Wander the Fanal Forest, where no fee is published either way
• Look at the black sand of Seixal and the rest of the beaches, which charge nothing where no pool fee applies

The Trail Fee Catch

Every levada and every summit path is free to look at and not free to walk. Since 1 January 2026, each classified PR trail costs a non-resident $5.17 (€4.50), the full PR1 crossing costs $12.06 (€10.50), and passes run from $10.33 (€9) for one day to $60.30 (€52.50) for seven. Residents, children 12 and under, and people with a 60% or higher disability plus one companion go free but must still book a slot.

Refunds exist only if the authorities close the trail that day, requested within 10 working days. The full rules sit on our Madeira trail fees page, and our free things to do page lists more with no catch at all.

Achadas da Cruz Cable Car to the Fajã

At the far north-west, a municipal cable car drops from the clifftop of Achadas da Cruz to the fajã below, a strip of land at the foot of the cliff. One trip is $3.44 (€3) and the round trip is $5.74 (€5), with cheaper fares for over-65s, students and municipal card holders. The council's page prints no opening hours, so treat it as a stop to try on a north-west day, not one to build the day around.

Buy the round trip at the ticket office by the cable car.

Canyoning Near Curral das Freiras

The crater village of Curral das Freiras is where the level 2 canyoning descent runs jumps, slides and rappels for $66.00 over four hours. Full equipment including shoes, a certified guide, insurance and photos are included, and it runs rain or shine, so a grey day does not cancel it on the operator's own terms. The operator asks guests over 50 to make contact before booking.

Our canyoning page explains the level system.

Tandem Paragliding Over the West Coast

A licensed instructor flies the tandem, the passenger's job is to enjoy about 20 minutes in the air. The tandem flight costs $212.00, carries a perfect 5.0 rating on the platform, and includes the transfer from landing back to take-off, safety equipment and insurance. Flights depend on the pilot's own weather judgement on the day, so keep your schedule flexible rather than booking it against a fixed afternoon plan.

Snorkelling Off Ponta de São Lourenço

The eastern tip is a Partial Natural Reserve nine kilometres long, and this trip sees it from the water. The snorkelling boat leaves Quinta do Lorde marina for a two-hour trip with wetsuit, mask, snorkel, fins and guide included for $46.00. It pairs naturally with walking PR8 first, or simply as the sea half of an east day.

Confident swimmers only, and the operator is clear that conditions can change quickly.

Under 7s ride the Funchal cable car free and ages 7 to 14 pay half, so two adults with a 5-year-old and a 10-year-old pay two full fares and one half fare. Monte Palace lets under 15s in free with an adult, and the Botanical Garden charges nothing under 6 and $3.44 (€3) from 6 to 12. The Porto Moniz pools are free for ages 3 and under. On the trails, children 12 and under walk free, but the adult booking them must still reserve their slot on SIMplifica.

That age ladder makes Monte the best single family day on the island, and our Madeira with kids page assembles the full week, rainy days and beach stops included.

Each of these has cost somebody a morning, a fee or a rental car. They are stated plainly so you can plan around them rather than discover them on the day.

• The São Vicente caves are closed for an indefinite period for maintenance works, per the operator and the council. Any itinerary still listing them is out of date
• The Monte toboggan does not run on Sundays and sells tickets on the spot only, same day, with no online booking
• A SIMplifica trail slot can only be booked for the same day or the next day, so you cannot lock a hiking week in advance
• PR1 past Pedra Rija is one-way toward Pico Ruivo, and IFCN provides no transport back to a car at Pico do Arieiro, so arrange the pickup transfer or exit on foot via PR1.1 or PR1.2
• The last road to Casa do Rabaçal is closed to private cars, so park above and walk down or take a local shuttle van, for which no official fare exists
• The peaks cloud over while Funchal sits in sun, our advice is to check the mountain weather the same morning and hold a levada or city day as your fallback