Portugal · Europe · northern hemisphere
Madeira is at its best for hiking in April to May and September to October. Good but not prime in March, June and November.
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swimming | 16 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 44 | 64 | 73 | 93 | 90 | 88 | 61 | 40 |
| Lakes & Coastline | 3 | 48 | 67 | 88 | 95 | 74 | 26 | 20 | 89 | 85 | 60 | 36 |
| Hiking | 24 | 47 | 71 | 94 | 98 | 69 | 13 | 5 | 82 | 88 | 64 | 37 |
No reliable monthly crowd data for this destination — the proxy used elsewhere did not pass its checks here, so nothing is shown rather than a guess.
Swipe the table sideways for the rest of the year.
A walking island first and a beach island barely at all — there is almost no sand, and the reason to come is 800km of primary levadas, the irrigation channels with footpaths beside them that contour around the whole island
Contour paths beside water channels, plus exposed high ridges. No guide needed; the classified PR trails need a paid ticket.
Coming for beaches. Madeira has two small imported-sand beaches and a lot of concrete lidos — the sea swimming is off rock platforms and it is excellent, but the sand holiday is on Porto Santo, not here.
New Year for the fireworks, and July to September
Levada paths often have a sheer drop on one side and no railing, and several go through unlit tunnels. The lidos and the Porto Moniz rock pools are the easy version.
Funchal has the hotels and the airport transfer. The north coast — Santana, São Vicente, Porto Moniz — is dramatically cheaper, much wetter, and closer to the north-coast levadas.
Levada routes close after rockfall and stay closed. Check the official trail status before setting out.Jan · Feb · Mar · Oct · Nov · Dec
Kept out of the score on purpose. Averaging a rare catastrophe into a monthly number would tell you something false; the warning is the honest form.
Take a torch for the levada tunnels, and check the official trail status before setting out — routes close after rockfall and stay closed. The high peaks are often above the cloud when the coast is grey, which is the opposite of what you expect.
These are affiliate links: we earn a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you. Nothing on this page is chosen by who pays — not a score, not a month, not a warning.