Are you looking for advice about car hire in Madeira? Here is some honest advice and tips about how to make the most from your trip exploring the island. Read on for a full guide about how to rent a car in Madeira, the best place to rent a car from and what you need to know about driving in Madeira!
Madeira is a vibrant island packed with activities for the adventurous. Each part of the island offers something unique and there are endless wild spots to discover.
Despite being a small Atlantic island, it’s not easy to explore Madeira without a vehicle. As much using public transport is a great way to get to know a country, it wasn’t feasible here.
The public transport isn’t well developed and the taxi services aren’t regular enough. While you could organize transfers everyday for your adventures, this will clock up to be very costly.
Cynthia and I hired a car at Funchal airport, and overall, our driving experience was pleasant but we have honest, helpful tips to advise you on.
Tip: See our Madeira Travel Page for a complete overview of all our travel guides about Madeira!
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Madeira experiences & travel resources
Top experiences
- Sunrise hike from Pico do Arieiro to Pico Ruivo
- Walking Tours in Madeira
- Whale watching & Sunset sailing tour
- Canyoning Adventures in Madeira
Madeira Travel Resources
Car hire in Madeira: Is it worth renting a car in Madeira?
As I touched on above, you really need to rent a car while you’re out there.
I guess the only exception is if you’re after a city break and are staying exclusively in Funchal. From there, it is possible to organize transfers to other parts of the island from the capital.
With a car, we were able to reach some really remote parts and tailor our day to exact how we wanted. We didn’t have to worry about getting back on time for a bus either (it’s outrageous how many times I’ve had to leg it down a mountain to make a train in England).
Using a car is a fantastic way to sweep through the island’s myriad of mountains, beaches and forests. Cynthia and I savored our car journeys together – they were filled with spectacular views (even the main roads are adorned with green vegetation!) good music and long chats.
Lastly, because Madeira is a small island nearly all of the destinations were accessible by car in an hour or less. This means you can explore an area during the day and still have time to pack in a swim at the end of the day.
public transport in madeira
BUSES
In our time on the island, we didn’t see many buses. I did some research while I was there to see if it was possible to travel to other parts of Madeira from Ponta do Sol but the timetables were pretty difficult to navigate and the services weren’t regular. Timetables for buses leaving from Funchal to urban areas can be found here, while timetables for buses leaving Funchal to the inter-urban areas can be found here.
TAXIS
Taxis in Madeira are yellow saloon cars with two blue stripes across the vehicle’s body. Taxis that drive outside of Funchal don’t use a taxi-meter and work on a kilometer basis. The government sets prices for pre-defined routes which can be found on the back of the front seat.
From what I’ve read online, you can usually haggle on the price with the driver – just do it before you set off on your journey.
The app Bolt is in operation on the island, but it doesn’t have many drivers using it outside Funchal. I tried to use it twice from Ponta do Sol but didn’t have any success.
If you’re living in Madeira, or have any advice about travelling in Madeira via public transport, please leave a comment or message us. We’d love to know more!
How much does it cost to rent a car in Madeira?
Cynthia shopped around using Booking’s Rental Cars. She looked for car rental companies with a review score of minimum 8 and pick-up and drop-off location at the airport. Then she checked the size (we didn’t need a big one) and capacity of the car. She always adds full protection insurance (you just never know). It cost us in total €300, including insurance, to rent a car in Madeira.
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Do I need to rent a 4×4 car in Madeira?
No, you don’t need a 4×4 but do ensure you hire an automatic. Don’t put yourself through the torment of a stick shift (manual), especially given Madeira’s terrain.
It’s guaranteed you will be driving up some steep slopes with hairpin turns. Also in the villages, you’ll likely have to make a lot of stops to weave between parked cars which are often on a sharp incline. Pretty much everyday we thanked our lucky stars for having an automatic.
A 4×4 will make the above easier, but bear in mind that on the narrower roads it will be far harder to maneuver between cars.
Which car rental should I choose in Madeira?
On arrival at Funchal airport, there is a decent selection of car hire rental companies to choose from. It’s always a good idea to check travel comparison websites for the best deal for car hire, such as Booking’s Rental Cars.
Car rental services from Funchal airport include:
- Avis (Tel: +351 291 524 392)
- Europcar (Tel: +351 291 524 633)
- Goldcar (Tel: +351 291 523 689)
- Hertz (Tel: +351 291 426 300)
Our experience with Sixt
Cynthia and I were frustrated and felt let down by Sixt’s service. If you go with this company, please read the below and be aware.
Before our trip, Cynthia had pre-booked a car. She picked an automatic SUV, knowing some of Madeira’s roads would be steep. So after a long journey, we arrived at the Sixt stall at Madeira Airport.
A woman greeted us and said the car we had pre-booked was not available. The woman quickly pushed another car onto us, which would have cost an extra €250 for the trip. We asked about our pre-booked car and her reply was “no darling, the car is not strong enough to cope with the hills of Madeira”.
We looked at each other totally perplexed. Our pre-booked car was a good size and automatic. Why would they advertise it in Madeira if it wasn’t good enough? I asked her again, she repeated the same and kept pushing the other expensive car. When we firmly said no, suddenly our pre-booked car was available.
Surprise surprise, our pre-booked car was amazing for the trip and it became a running joke whenever we drove up steep hills.
Oh and then the petrol… So the same woman kept pushing us to pay an extra €60 for her staff to fill the tank when we returned the car. She was very convincing in telling us that there was nowhere else cheaper to fill the tank on the island, the gas stations closed early and that there would be a big fine if we didn’t fill up the tank.
By this point, we were so knackered (Cynthia had traveled for about 24 hours) so we decided to trust what she told us. It turns out what the woman had promised was total rubbish. There were plenty of gas stations that offered a good price and would have been open when we needed them.
Interestingly, if you take a look at the Google reviews of Sixt operating from Funchal airport, many people have had a similar experience...
Is driving in Madeira difficult?
We found that driving in Madeira was a pleasant experience, made much easier by driving an automatic vehicle. The roads were really easy to navigate and it was rare to see congestion.
Apart from a few speeding drivers, everyone on the roads were really respectful and calm.
Main roads
The main roads are clearly marked and kept in a very good condition. The most important thing to know is at the end of a slip road, cars wanting to pull onto the main road must come to a complete stop and give way. In the UK, Belgium and in various other EU countries, drivers on the main road must allow for other cars to merge. This difference took us some time to get used to!
The village roads, which are steep and narrow, are mostly suited to single-car traffic
country roads
Pretty much as soon as you veer off the main roads, the roads become very narrow and have hundreds of hairpin turns. Most villagers park on the side of the road too, so careful driving is needed to spot and wait for oncoming cars.
Turning around can also be problematic in these tight spaces, so it’s really important to have a thorough look of your destination and parking spots before you set off.
parking
Visitor parking for visitors seems to be a total bugbear for the locals and we were on the receiving end during our stay.
When we arrived at our accommodation, we were loosely told of a parking spot. It was clear of private parking signs, wasn’t near a yellow line (which means no parking in Madeira) and there were plenty of spaces available in the surrounding area.
On our third day, we walked down and found a threatening note pinned on our car from a resident who said they would call the police if we parked there again and some *other lovely language*. Within minutes, some locals came out of their homes and stared us down. We scuttled away before they got out their pitchforks.
We couldn’t help finding the situation funny (Cynthia kept the note as a token of our stay) but we were obviously confused because we had played everything by the rules. Even other locals said we had not done anything wrong. It was probably some tetchy neighbors who hated visitors. Nevertheless, it’s something to bear in mind.
To summarize, make sure you double check with your accommodation about delegated parking spaces, don’t park in spots that are labeled ‘estacionamento privado’ and don’t park on yellow lines.
TUNNELS
Madeira is very mountainous so inevitably constructors needed to carve roads in the rock to improve infrastructure. There is a network of 153 road tunnels on the island.
We learned pretty quickly that some locals drive incredibly fast in these tunnels, which we found hair-raising at times! If you’re a nervous driver, keep to the far right hand lane and give plenty of space between you and the driver in front.
Luckily not all tunnels in Madeira are like this one!
In most tunnels, you don’t have to face oncoming traffic because each two-lane road is separated. However, some tunnels do not have this so be vigilant. As time goes on, you will get used to driving in them.
There were a few road accidents in the tunnels during our stay which resulted in heavy traffic queues. Google Maps was a reliable way to monitor traffic and we could choose different routes if roads were blocked.
I hope my advice helps you with planning your trip and knowing more about how to rent a car in Madeira. We’re really interested to know more from people who have traveled in Madeira using public transport or have hired a car here… please feel free to share your experiences below!
Sorry for belated reply. Basically, there are three bus companies operating from the shore front area of central Funchal. All three companies – Rodeste which operates in the west of Madeira, https://www.rodoeste.com.pt/ , Horatio De Funchal, http://www.horariosdofunchal.pt/mobile/horarios.php?lang=en which operates from South to North on the central spine of Madeira and SAM which operates on the East of the Island, https://www.sam.pt/en/ all have online timetables.
It does take some time to work out viable routes but with some care the most fantastic walks can take place on an AtoB basis by using buses from the different companies e.g., HF from Funchal at 10.00 to Riberio Frio at 10.45, walk on Levada 12km to Portela, return on afternoon SAM bus at 16.05, returning to Funchal at 17.25.
Please also note that Rodested offer a Rapide service to Riberio Brava, meaning you can leave later from Funchal and catch up with other services at Riberio Brava. This can be repeated as well on the return to Funchal.
Thanks so much for this Malcolm!
Quick update re buses and levada walking in Madeira. From July 2024, the three previous bus companies have merged into one (SIGA) and have a new fleet of 127 buses. Timetables remain almost the same as before.
From January 2025 most levada walks require a daily 3Euro web-based payment.
Please see relevant web links below.
https://siga.madeira.gov.pt/
https://thisismadeiraisland.com/madeira-introduces-hiking-fees/
https://www.timeout.com/news/madeira-is-charging-tourists-an-extra-fee-to-hike-its-popular-trails-in-2025-110424
Malcolm
Thank you Malcolm!
I have a different view to you re buses. I’ve enjoyed 8×2 week holidays to Madeira in the last ten years and only ever used buses. Once you work out the three main bus companies and study their online timetables, it is possible to work out interesting A to B walking routes, rather than needing to return to a car. Weekend timetables are more of a problem but even then some services are very similiar to midweek. You also often get a better view from a bus.
Hi Malcolm, good to hear that you’ve had great experiences taking the bus. If you could share the time tables, good be useful to my readers 🙂