If you were to ask me, I would say that renting a car in Madeira is a must! In this article you will read why and I have some useful information/ tips to prepare you for your trip to the beautiful Portuguese island.
Why should you rent a car in Madeira?
Madeira is a paradise for hiking enthusiasts. There is surely no lack of diversity considering all the levada and vereda routes through the mountains, along rock formations or through the forest.
Because Madeira is a volcanic island it has many differences in altitude. For example, in Funchal it runs quite steeply uphill as you enter the quieter neighborhoods. Once in the vicinity of several mountains, the road goes up quite steeply. Public transportation (bus) is not that big that it covers all the highlights on the island.
Renting a car in Madeira gives you the freedom you need!
If you rent a car, you can go wherever you want without being tied to bus schedules or tour itineraries.
The volcanic nature of the island is bound to surprise you during your drive. The more beautiful it is to have the freedom to stop at an unexpected viewpoint along the way.
Een onverwachts viewpoint tijdens onze rit langs de kust!
Get the most out of your visit to Madeira!
In most cases, your visit to Madeira will not be long enough to visit all the highlights of the island. That's why it's better to make a big list in advance and tick off several of these highlights in one day. The small size of the island makes it relatively easy to combine highlights!
For example, after the PR9 hike you can drive downhill a bit and stop in Santana, after which you can go to a nearby natural pool to cool off. It's easy if you have a rental car.
Or how about a route to the fairytale Fanal Forest with 2 viewpoints along the coast and a natural pool? With a rental car you decide the pace and route!
Essential information & tips
There are, of course, numerous rental car providers in Madeira. If you search online you will immediately come across several well-known rental companies, such as Sixt or Europcar.
After a positive experience with Rentalcars in Mexico, we decided to rent the car on Madeira via their website. Through Rentalcars we got ourselves a Seat Ibiza at our disposal from rental company AVIS.
Sale trap
Once we arrived at the airport, we were offered an upgrade at extra cost. A standard sales trick where they try to play on the ignorance of the tourist. Do not do it! People will say that maybe in the mountains you can use some more HP. Yes, it is certainly nice to have a car with even more HP than the average; but the extra cost (€100) was not worth it to us.
In addition, we knew that we would get a car with sufficient HP for driving through the mountains. Personally, I would therefore also recommend to have an extra good look at the car you'll book in advance. If you'll book a Fiat 500, you're likely to experience some lack of HP when you're driving trough the mountains.
Driving at Madeira
Madeira's infrastructure is more than excellent. There are quite a few tunnels and the main roads (usually a maximum speed of 80 - 90 km/h) are perfectly paved. Due to the height differences, you will not often drive in 5th gear in a 5-speed car. Within about 1 hour you can get from the capital Funchal to most places on the island.
If you get into the mountains then the roads are often a bit less. Furthermore, in the mountains (but also in the villages) you will encounter several sharp turns and steep roads. On some roads (such as the one from Paul da Serra towards Fanal Forest) you may encounter cows, just so you know. Along this road you will also encounter warning signs to watch your speed.
Driving in the mountains
Speaking of driving in the mountains, it did turn out that this is an art in itself. In particular, driving downhill is something the rental companies do not emphasize. Many drivers are constantly driving downhill with the brakes on, something that can cause the brakes to overheat considerably. Both annoying for you (because you get stopped by the side of the road to let the brakes cool down) and for the rental company.
Tip coming from the Car forum: "Brake on the engine as much as possible (making some extra revs won't hurt) and brake briefly, but forcefully."
To conclude!
Of course, I don't mean that you shouldn't take public transportation or cabs, on the contrary. Depending on your budget/situation, a car may not necessarily be the most obvious option.
Hopefully with this article I have at least given you the tools to at least consider renting a car during your vacation to Madeira!
Bonus tip
Go for a carwash at the Anjos Waterfall.
Pictures say more than words, so here we go!
More Madeira articles!
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