Madeira is a destination that is both exotic and easy to organize your stay. The island is only 3h30 from Paris, it is only 55 km from West to East and 24 km from North to South, it is an island on a human scale that is easy to discover with the family. Here is our practical information for exploring Madeira!
It is only possible to get to Madeira by air. Indeed the island is located nearly 1000 km from the Portuguese coast.
There are several companies that fly between France and Madeira, TAP, Transavia or Easyjet with or without a stopover in Portugal. The direct flight time is less than 3h30.
The plane ticket is around 200/250 euros per person return trip in season during school holidays. Family travel blog obliges, I will not insult you by giving you the ridiculously low prices for departures outside school holidays.
The island is relatively small, it is possible to stay in the same rental and to radiate around.
During our stay in Madeira, we spent one night at the Funchal Youth Hostel. Then a week in an Airbnb rental in Madalena do Mar in the South. And finally three nights in Ponta Delgada in the North. We opted for several accommodations only to extend the stay but we loved our three rental experiences.
I recommend you at an unbeatable price the youth hostel of Funchal Hostel Santa Maria . It is a former elementary school that has been completely renovated while keeping a certain character. It is ideally located in the historic district of Funchal, just at the foot of the cable car. And there is no problem to stay there as a family with young children. We had a private room for the 4 of us.
The historic district of Funchal
Our second accommodation, a real favorite that goes to our little fisherman's house in Madalena do Mar rented on Airbnb.
Located in the south of the island, on the sunniest coast of Madeira, the house is located in a small area outside the village, facing the sea. The decoration is absolutely perfect and the terrace with a view of the plantations of banana trees so relaxing. It is ideally located to shine on the island. Only 30 min from Funchal, 30 min from the start of the 25 Fontes, 45 min from the natural pools of Porto Moniz.
To do our shopping, we loved picking up our bread or eggs at the small grocery store at the end of the alley in our neighborhood. We didn't speak a word of Portuguese. And the grocer did not understand a word of French or English but we always managed to make ourselves understood. The children particularly liked the place because they quickly made Portuguese friends there.
Our favorite Airbnb rental for the week
Finally, our third accommodation was located in the north of the island, in Ponta Delgada. Charming little town with its church, its seaside swimming pool and its more capricious sun.
Madeira has a subtropical climate, in other words the temperatures are relatively mild all year round. However, precipitation is higher in winter than in the high season from May to September. I still advise you to bring in addition to your light clothes, a windbreaker and a fleece. During our hike to Pico Ruivo the temperatures barely exceeded 13 degrees in July!
For hiking equipment, I advise you to read the article on our 3 hikes to do with children in Madeira. You can also take inspiration from my checklist of the suitcase of the children on the trip to prepare your stay in Madeira.
After the swimming pool, at Camara de Lobos
To fully enjoy Madeira, I advise you to rent a vehicle on the island. The road network is good in Madeira, it is easy to get around but the roads can be very very steep. We took a road with a 32% climb several times, a road that is therefore one of the steepest in the world and it is not uncommon on the island. I recommend that you, to avoid getting into trouble at a stop sign with a climb that follows at 32%, take a vehicle with an automatic gearbox. Don't economize on it. Really!
For the children we took in our backpacks, BubbleBum brand inflatable car seats group 2/3 to European standards. Found on Le bon coin at a low price, they allowed us to save a lot of money on car seat rental when traveling!
And everywhere old pick-ups!
Free carwash!
In each small village, you will easily find small supermarkets or grocery stores with basic necessities. Then there are supermarkets of the Continente chain in the larger towns, such as Ribeira Brava or Santana. .
As much as I hate shopping in France. As much as I love going to the supermarket when we travel. It says a lot about the daily life of the locals. Madeira being an island, the fish section holds an important place in the supermarket. While the meat department is reduced to a few showcases of frozen products imported from the continent. We did not see any breeding on the island, at best we saw about ten cows on the whole island. Finally, the fruit and vegetable section is overflowing with sweet potatoes, squash, tomatoes, spinach, cabbage, bananas, mangoes...
Good preparations for your trip to the island of flowers!
