H20 Madeira– Whale and Dolphin Watching tour.
This tour leaves out of Calheta on the West side of the island. We stayed in Calheta, so I chose this company for a tour. If you are staying closer to Funchal, I would recommend going with Rota do Cetecos
Monte Palace Gardens-
- take the tram up to the gardens and park down near the ocean. I would avoid the parking garage directly next to the tram entrance, because it is soooo busy! There are a few parking garages that are closer to the market that are much easier to park in and the walk to the tram from these is only about 5 minutes.
- If you plan on taking the “street cart” ride down the hill from the gardens go as early in the day as possible.
- The lines to ride the basket carts down the streets gets incredibly long the later in the day it gets. Expect to wait in line for AT LEAST an hour for the basket ride. They are open from 0900-1800(6pm) each day. Alternatively you can pay for round trip tickets on the tram and ride that back down the side of the mountain into town.
Flower Festival 2026–
Each May Madeira celebrates with a Flower Festival. For a month shows, music, food stands and parades are put on in various locations throughout the island of Madeira.
Most of the festivities are located in Funchal, and the markets are full of poncha, sweets, beers, flowers, and pasteries
We watched a local university woman’s musical group perform and stood by while hundreds of Madeirans placed their flowers on the Wall of Solidarity. Such a lively and fun atmosphere full of locals and tourists alike.
Go for a Drive-
Madeira is full of windy, twisty roads that go up and down hills. My husband reports that it is the most fun he has ever had driving on these roads. There are tons of Miradouro’s (viewpoints) to stop and take in the views.
- A note on parking in Madeira: Most parking around the island you will need to pay for. If you park inside the blue painted lines it is a paid stall. These are cheap to park in, you will need some euro coins in small denominations. Put your coins into the parking payment kiosk and place the receipt on your dash to avoid parking tickets.
- There are also a lot of waterfalls that you can either see from the road or take a quick walk to. I used google maps to find some of them and blog posts for others
- People park on the sides of the roads, the roads are all one lane each way so you sometimes need to wait for cars to pass in the opposite direction to get past. The roads here are very curvy and narrow, with lots of hills and tunnels. Also they do love their roundabouts, so make sure you know how to use a roundabout.
- If you are driving in Funchal there are many parking garages you can park in to leave your car to explore. You will want to hold on to the ticket (don’t lose it!) When you are leaving there are kiosks near the stairwells where you will insert your ticket, pay and get a receipt. You will need this to exit the parking garage. note: If you lose your ticket, there is a booth near the exits that you can pay a full day charge to get a ticket to exit.
Explore Funchal– The cathedral in Funchal is located downtown near the water. It is a beautiful old church and entrance is free.
The main streets to walk are down by the ocean in Funchal. There is the historic district full of beautifully painted doorways and doors. Walk down by the docks as well and marvel at the boats and fantastic sunny ocean views. Shops and food places line the streets and this area is very walkable.
The Market– Go on a Friday or Saturday morning when the local farmers are there selling their produce. Don’t buy from the tourist stalls located around the perimeter of the ground floor, they mark up their produce. The stalls that are in the middle, set up on crates are the local farmers and prices are much more reasonable and the produce is delicious and fresh. There are also vendors selling souvenir type wares, dried fruits, spices and such.
Get in the Ocean: Beaches and Natural Pools are all over Madeira. However most of the beaches are rocky, they do have a few sandy beaches on the island. Water temperatures stay fairly warm throughout the year due to the ocean currents. Water temps when we visited in May were around 68 degrees, warm enough to get in and swim but a bit brisk.
There are also a lot of natural rock pools that you can swim in scattered along all the coasts of Madeira. Bathing complexes (pools built on the coast near the ocean) are also available for a small daily fee.
A lot of the beach/ocean areas will have chairs and umbrellas for rent. Just find the kiosk and pay roughly $7 euros for a chair for the whole day.
Banana Museum of Madeira
This is located on the west side of the island and there is free parking just past the gate (drive up to kiosk for entry).
This small museum details the history of banana growing and farming on Madeira and showcases tons of banana trees outside as well. This is a good option to do if it is a bit rainy. We spent about an hour here, including grabbing banana beer and espresso at the cute cafe/gift shop.
Watch the Sunset:
We opted to rent a cute little apartment on the west side of Madeira. So we were treated to amazing sunsets every night from our balcony.
One evening we decided to drive to the nearby village of Jardim do Mar, for dinner and a stroll along the beachside promenade.
We ate at a cute little bar called Joe’s Bar. There were resident cats lounging about and occasionally begging diners with their sad eyes for treats. (The signs posted explained that they were all well fed and not to feed them)
The food here was yummy and filling and we opted to share a plate of espetada, which is hunks of meat skewered on a metal stick or laurel wood branch and grilled over fire.
When coming here you can park at the entrance to the village, it is very small and easily walkable. The narrow walkways are so dreamy, and I loved the quaint feeling here, the gardens and ocean views
Sunsets are incredible in Madeira. There are a ton of hikes to choose from with views out over the island and sunrise/sunset miradouros (viewpoints) that are rated for top views of the sunset.
Short Walk to Large Waterfall
Along the western coast, close to the north side of the island, there is a pull off to take a short “hike” ( it takes about 10 minutes) and at the end you are blessed with gorgeous views of a very tall waterfall. The drop offs are steep here, and I’m scared of heights in my old age (hahaha). But the views from the cliffs of the mountains next to the ocean are something you just have to see!
behind us in the fields were grazing cows, who wandered close to the cliff edge just munching on the grass. What a life that must be!
Relax– Madeira is a great place to relax and unwind. The beauty of the island is burned in my memory.
Also don’t miss the hiking! See what hikes we did in Madeira on my blog page at https://www.thebeckeffect.com
