{"id":666,"date":"2026-08-17T12:23:37","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T11:23:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whatsonmadeira.info\/island-tours-day-trips\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T12:23:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T11:23:37","slug":"island-tours-day-trips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatsonmadeira.info\/en\/island-tours-day-trips\/","title":{"rendered":"Island tours and day trips on Madeira"},"content":{"rendered":"

Madeira is 57 km long and 22 km wide. That sounds like one day. It is not: the roads are twisty, the mountains sit in the middle, and the north coast is reached only through tunnels or over 1,400 metres. So there is no “island tour” \u2014 there is west<\/strong> and east<\/strong>, and wanting both means two days.<\/p>\n

The west route (from about \u20ac36)<\/h2>\n

Cabo Gir\u00e3o \u00b7 Ribeira Brava \u00b7 Ponta do Sol or Calheta \u00b7 Pa\u00fal da Serra \u00b7 Fanal<\/strong> \u00b7 Porto Moniz and the lava pools \u00b7 Seixal \u00b7 S\u00e3o Vicente. The more spectacular of the two: sea cliff, cloud forest, high plateau, swimming in volcanic rock.<\/p>\n

The east route (from about \u20ac36)<\/h2>\n

Terreiro da Luta \u00b7 Pico do Arieiro<\/strong> \u00b7 Ribeiro Frio with the Balc\u00f5es path \u00b7 Santana<\/strong> and its thatched houses \u00b7 Faial and the Guindaste glass walkway \u00b7 Porto da Cruz \u00b7 Ponta de S\u00e3o Louren\u00e7o<\/strong>. Culturally the denser route, with high mountains at the start and the bare peninsula at the end.<\/p>\n

Two days (from about \u20ac70)<\/h2>\n

There are 32 multi-day trips<\/strong>, mostly west and east with a night in the north. Worth it if you have no car and still want the whole island \u2014 otherwise not really.<\/p>\n

Formats<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Format<\/th>\nfrom<\/th>\nGroup size<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Coach<\/td>\n\u20ac33<\/td>\n20\u201340<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Minibus \/ van<\/td>\n\u20ac36\u201348<\/td>\n8\u201316<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jeep<\/td>\n\u20ac67<\/td>\n6\u20138<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Private Mercedes tour<\/td>\nfrom \u20ac110 per group<\/td>\nyours<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

What to watch for<\/h2>\n