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Our travel guides are free to read and explore online. If you want to get your own copy, the full travel guide for this destination is available to you offline* to bring along anywhere or print for your trip.
*this will be downloaded as a PDF.Price
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Best Time to Visit
The guide was updated:Madeira is known for its warm Mediterranean climate, which means that temperatures are high all year round and never drop below 14 degrees. If you are a sun-worshipper, visit during July and August, when the temperature is around 25 degrees. If you are planning to do a lot of hiking and other physical activities, visit the island during April and May. Later, it could be too hot to enjoy hiking, and after the summer it can get quite rainy. In the spring you can see beautiful gardens at their best.
Useful Information
Digital Travel Guide Download
Our travel guides are free to read and explore online. If you want to get your own copy, the full travel guide for this destination is available to you offline* to bring along anywhere or print for your trip.
*this will be downloaded as a PDF.Price
€4,95
Portugal can be visited visa-free for up to 90 days by citizens of Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Israel, UAE and most countries in America. If you are unsure whether or not you need to apply for a visa, we recommend contacting the embassy or consulate in your country. International (non-Schengen) travellers need a passport that is valid for at least 3 months after the end of their intended trip in order to enter the Schengen zone. Citizens of Schengen countries can travel without a passport, but must have a valid ID with them during their stay.
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Best Time to Visit
Madeira is known for its warm Mediterranean climate, which means that temperatures are high all year round and never drop below 14 degrees. If you are a sun-worshipper, visit during July and August, when the temperature is around 25 degrees. If you are planning to do a lot of hiking and other physical activities, visit the island during April and May. Later, it could be too hot to enjoy hiking, and after the summer it can get quite rainy. In the spring you can see beautiful gardens at their best.
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Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport (FNC)
Madeira has one airport — Aeroporto da Madeira, informally known as Funchal Airport. It's located 20 kilometres from the city centre.
Shuttle
You can take the shuttle, the aerobus, which departs from the Arrivals area to Formosa Beach and the city centre (the trip will take 30 minutes). It will stop by a lot of hotels, and can be used every day of the week. Usually the aerobus departs every 45 minutes, be sure to check the schedule for the exact routes and times. Tickets can be bought when entering the bus.
Taxi
You can also take a taxi, they are located in the Arrivals section on the ground floor. On weekdays, the prices of trips from the airport increase by 20% if it's between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. Travelling with baggage comes at an extra fee.
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Public Transport
The Horários do Funchal bus service is a collection of busses which will take you all over Funchal. There is also the Linha Eco, environmentally- and wheelchair-friendly mini busses. They haven't got specific stops, but you can hail them down and board anywhere in the capital. You can recognise them by their yellow colour. They operate from Monday to Friday, from 8 am until 8 pm, and Saturdays from 8 am until 2 pm. Tickets can be purchased on board.
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Taxi
Taxis in Funchal are yellow and easy to notice. Some of the reputable companies are Taxi-Madeira Miguel Pereira (+351 918 399 115), Madeira Travel Taxi (+351 917 462 001) and Daniel Madeira Taxis (+351 919 791 289).
Bolt and Uber rideshare apps operate in Funchal, too.
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Post
Funchal's main post office is Posto de Correios de Zarco, found at Avenida Zarco. You can find tall cylindrical letterboxes scattered all over the city. Red letterboxes are for national or international mail sent with regular postage stamps, while blue letterboxes are for express or priority mail sent with prepaid/pre-stamped envelopes.
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Pharmacy
Prescription and non-prescription drugs are available from pharmacies (farmácia), but if you need regular medication it is better to take supplies with you. Pharmacies are usually open Mon–Fri (9am–1pm and 3pm–7pm). There are some pharmacies that are open beyond this schedule but in only some specific points. To find out which pharmacies are open all day, you can check the information posted in every pharmacy.
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Telephone
Country code: +351
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Electricity
220 volts AC with two-pronged round-pin plugs, common in many European countries.
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