The whole island, in order
From 1,862 metres down to the Atlantic — on an island 57 kilometres long.
Independent planning notes for Madeira. Levada by levada, coast by coast, month by month — checked on the ground.
The index
01Hiking & LevadasLevada walks on MadeiraSome 3,000 kilometres of water channels run through the island. Part of that network is walkable, and that part is why most people come.
02PracticalCar hire and getting thereThe coastal roads are new and fast. The routes into the highlands are not. What that means for the car you book.
03Culture & FestivalsFunchalThe city sits in an amphitheatre of slopes. That explains most of it: the cable car, the prices per metre of altitude, and why you rarely walk on the level.
04PracticalThe best time to visit MadeiraA year-round destination does not mean every month is the same. What differs is not the temperature but the light, the rain and the crowds.
02PracticalCar hire and getting thereThe coastal roads are new and fast. The routes into the highlands are not. What that means for the car you book.03Culture & FestivalsFunchalThe city sits in an amphitheatre of slopes. That explains most of it: the cable car, the prices per metre of altitude, and why you rarely walk on the level.04PracticalThe best time to visit MadeiraA year-round destination does not mean every month is the same. What differs is not the temperature but the light, the rain and the crowds.
About the island
Madeira measures 57 kilometres end to end and 22 across, and still it takes under an hour to get from the north coast to the south. What makes the island big is the vertical: from sea level to 1,862 metres, with the weather changing every few hundred metres of altitude.
What we write about here is everything that follows from that — which levada works in which weather, where a hire car turns into a problem, when each festival actually happens. German first, English on equal footing, no holiday-brochure prose.
Before you book
01Mountain roads are not motorway rampsThe coastal roads are new and fast. The routes into the highlands are not. Book the smallest car with a manual gearbox and you will eventually stall on an 18 percent ramp.Car hire and getting there
02Difficulty, tunnels, head torchLevada does not mean flat. Several of the well-known routes run through unlit tunnels, and without a head torch the walk ends there. The official difficulty ratings are conservative, not sporting.Levada walks
03North and south on the same dayRain in Santana and sun in Funchal is the normal case, not the exception. A forecast for "Madeira" is therefore worthless — you plan per coast and decide in the morning.Best time to visit