How to get to Madeira
Madeira Island
Last update: August 2023
Autonomous Region of Madeira
Tourism and Gastronomy
Paradise for your vacation -
"Despite having a small area, Madeira is rich in majestic scenery and rare beauty"
[Visit Portugal].
Madeira Island International Airport, Portugal © Internet, illustration
How to get to Madeira?
There are two ways to get to
Madeira:
• By plane
Madeira Island has an airport
quite busy international airport, the
Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport,
or
Madeira International Airport,
located in the city of
Santa Catarina, in the municipality of
Santa Cruz,
16 km northeast of
Funchal.
Fourth busiest airport in Portugal,
Madeira International Airport
has connections with 40 destinations, being the fastest and even the cheapest way to get to
Madeira Island.
Serving this great tourist destination that is
Madeira, visitors have all the
the conveniences and facilities of a modern airport: car rental and other services.
Madeira Island International Airport, Portugal © Internet, illustration
In addition to
domestic visitors,
English, Scandinavian and Central European visitors
are the highlights among the most numerous passengers.
Difficult airport
Madeira International Airport is considered relatively accessible.
difficult for pilots due to the
strong winds that often blow on the island. A part
of the airport, during an expansion carried out to increase the length of the runway, it was
built on pillars by the sea.
Cruises to Funchal, Madeira Island, Portugal © Internet, illustration
• By ferry-boat or ship
Visitors use the
Port of Funchal, with its important terminal for
cruises and
ferry-boats
that operate between the European continent,
Madeira Island, the
Canary Islands
and
North Africa.
One of the most important ports in Portugal,
Porto do Funchal is the first as
to the number of tourists passing through it.
Cruises to Madeira
The largest international cruise operators include
Madeira in their cruise routes.
It is also an excellent opportunity to discover
Funchal and the beauties of
Madeira Island.
Airplane from Lisbon to Funchal
There are several flight options from
Lisbon to
Funchal, the capital
from
Madeira, with prices from 30 €, one way. It's good to count 1h45 long
of this 720 km journey.
In many cases, this is the fastest option and perhaps also the cheapest.
Lisbon to Funchal ferry
By ferry, residents of Madeira have a preferential price of 25 € by route.
Non-residents, from 80 €, and if you bring your car, per journey the price will be
120€.
It's good to do the calculations, as it is possible to rent a car in
Funchal...
•
Tip: It is also possible to take a ferry boat from the Algarve directly to
Funchal.
Ferry-boat between Funchal and Porto Santo, Madeira Island, Portugal © Porto Santo Line, illustration
Funchal, the Capital of Madeira
The capital of the
Madeira Archipelago, historic city and great center
tourist destination in Portugal, is the fourth most visited city in the country.
According to the report recently published by Bloom Consulting, the fourth place,
considering its variables and including the overseas archipelagos, it is the city of
Funchal, on the island of Madeira, behind only
Lisbon, Porto and Cascais.
Porto Santo is an island in the
Madeira Archipelago, famous for its incredible beaches and for
to be, since 2020, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.
The municipality of
Porto Santo occupies the entire area of this island, whose capital is
city of
Vila Baleira.
Porto Santo is home to some of the most incredible beaches in Europe, which is why
which is why it is a great tourist destination.
Learn more:
Porto Santo, Madeira
Funchal Cathedral, Madeira Island, Portugal © Diocese of Madeira, illustration
Madeira Wine
One of the best known wines in the world,
Madeira Wine is the great ambassador of this
region of Portugal.
Gastronomy
Lovers of good food will have many opportunities to taste the typical snacks and specialties
of the varied and traditional cuisine of Madeira.
Find out more:
Madeira Cuisine
Some distances
Madeira Island is located about 685 km from the coast of Africa (closer to Morocco), 973 km from Lisbon,
520 km from the island of Gran Canaria, and 891 km from the island of Santa Maria, the closest to the Azores archipelago.
Madeira Island, Portugal © Images of Portugal
Nice weather
Temperatures in Madeira hover around 20°C most of the year. Including the water temperature
sea is 26°C in summer (17°C in winter).