Where will you wake up in Madeira?

Choose your Madeira base, give Funchal time of its own, and check official trail restrictions and reservations before planning mountain days.

Madeira’s north coast · SeixalMichael Gaylard from Horsham, UK / CC BY 2.0 · Photo · Licence

Match the base to your days

Choose your base, transport and season, then fit the days around them.

Keep the city on your doorstep

Keep the capital as your base when the market, gardens and city evenings are part of the holiday. Start with a central-city day, then choose the Lido seafront or a separately planned Monte outing. An address uphill is a different daily journey from one near the bay.

South coast
City and gardens

Base character: Urban evenings and cultural stops
Access question: How will you reach and return from each trailhead?

Plan a Funchal day

A nearby landscape is not proof of walkable access to a trailhead. Check the start and finish separately.

Check the route, the section and the reservation

The 2026 trail rules use SIMplifica reservations and entry slots. Read specific IFCN notices as well as the route status: a partial reopening is not permission to walk a whole route. Full PR1 also has a one-way section, so your return transport needs its own plan.

Trail closures and booking: what to check

Plan the walk as well as the stay

Name the actual route

A levada is a kind of water channel, not one interchangeable walking experience.

Plan the return

Check whether the start and finish are the same place, then arrange transport accordingly.

Check the official notice

Check the current official status and section notices, then reserve the appropriate route and entry slot through SIMplifica. Recheck before leaving.