{"id":25,"date":"2026-08-10T00:40:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T23:40:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whatsonmadeira.info\/home\/"},"modified":"2026-08-10T00:40:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T23:40:14","slug":"home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/whatsonmadeira.info\/en\/","title":{"rendered":"The whole island, in order"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The whole island, in order<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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From 1,862 metres down to the Atlantic \u2014 on an island 57 kilometres long.<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Independent planning notes for Madeira. Levada by levada, coast by coast, month by month \u2014 checked on the ground.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat's on this week<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAll articles<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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The index<\/h2>The essentials<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Now<\/a>Always<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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01<\/span>Hiking & Levadas<\/span>Levada walks on Madeira<\/span>Some 3,000 kilometres of water channels run through the island. Part of that network is walkable, and that part is why most people come.<\/span><\/span>\"A<\/span><\/a>02<\/span>Practical<\/span>Car hire and getting there<\/span>The coastal roads are new and fast. The routes into the highlands are not. What that means for the car you book.<\/span><\/span>\"A<\/span><\/a>03<\/span>Culture & Festivals<\/span>Funchal<\/span>The 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.<\/span><\/span>\"The<\/span><\/a>04<\/span>Practical<\/span>The best time to visit Madeira<\/span>A 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.<\/span><\/span>\"Mist<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Six regions and a second island<\/h2>Where you base yourself<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\"Funchal<\/span>560 m<\/bdi><\/span>Funchal<\/span>Where you sleep<\/span><\/span><\/a>\"The<\/span>580 m<\/bdi><\/span>South<\/span>Cabo Gir\u00e3o, a 580 m sea cliff<\/span>20 min<\/bdi> from Funchal<\/span><\/span><\/a>\"The<\/span>35 mm\/month<\/bdi><\/span>West<\/span>Sun when it rains everywhere else<\/span>35 min<\/bdi> from Funchal<\/span><\/span><\/a>\"The<\/span>1,200 mm<\/bdi><\/span>North<\/span>Lava pools and waterfalls<\/span>70 min<\/bdi> from Funchal<\/span><\/span><\/a>\"The<\/span>8 km PR8<\/bdi><\/span>East<\/span>The one walk with no forest<\/span>35 min<\/bdi> from Funchal<\/span><\/span><\/a>\"A<\/span>1,818 m<\/bdi><\/span>Highlands<\/span>As high as the car goes \u2014 the summit is 44 m above<\/span>50 min<\/bdi> from Funchal<\/span><\/span><\/a>\"The<\/span>9 km of beach<\/bdi><\/span>Porto Santo<\/span>9 km of sand, ferry from Funchal<\/span>2.5 h<\/bdi> from Funchal<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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About the island<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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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.<\/p>

What we write about here is everything that follows from that \u2014 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.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSee Hiking & Levadas<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Before you book<\/h2>Three things that regularly go wrong on Madeira<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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01<\/span>Mountain roads are not motorway ramps<\/span>The 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.<\/span>Car hire and getting there<\/span><\/div>
02<\/span>Difficulty, tunnels, head torch<\/span>Levada 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.<\/span>Levada walks<\/span><\/div>
03<\/span>North and south on the same day<\/span>Rain in Santana and sun in Funchal is the normal case, not the exception. A forecast for "Madeira" is therefore worthless \u2014 you plan per coast and decide in the morning.<\/span>Best time to visit<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t