09:30–10:10
1Mercado dos Lavradores Sight
Ground-floor flower and fruit stalls, fishmongers upstairs slicing espada, go before 10am to beat the tour buses.
Rua Latino Coelho, Funchal
Trips planned by Robin · Funchal, Portugal
Madeira Itinerary: The Perfect 3, 5 or 7 Days.
Three days covers Madeira's essentials in one clean arc: old Funchal and the Monte cable car on day one, the island's iconic Arieiro-to-Ruivo ridge walk plus Cabo Girão's glass skywalk on day two, and the volcanic pools of Porto Moniz with a slow south-coast return to finish. It is a rental-car trip built from Funchal, and this page also maps the honest way to stretch it to five or seven days.
Robin planned this trip forFirst visitLevadas & viewpointsCoupleRental carBalanced paceMid-MayChange these assumptions →
Planned by Robin
3 days · 17 stops
Every place is real, planned with the same verified data that Robin uses in the app. How these itineraries are made
3-day Funchal itinerary at a glance
1Mercado dos Lavradores→Rua de Santa Maria→Monte cable car→toboggan down
2Pico do Arieiro–Pico Ruivo ridge→Cabo Girão skywalk→Câmara de Lobos
3Porto Moniz lava pools→Ribeira Brava→Funchal at dusk
- Best for
- First-time visitors who want peaks, pools and old Funchal in one trip
- Car needed
- Yes, from day 2: the ridge trailhead, Cabo Girão and Porto Moniz have no practical transit
- Where to stay
- Funchal, between the old town and the Lido
- Best months
- April to June and September to October; the peaks are clearest early in the day year-round
- Pace
- Balanced
- Robin recommends
- Check the webcams before committing to the ridge walk; when Arieiro is in cloud, flip days 2 and 3 rather than walking in fog
Your 3-day route
All stops, numbered by day order · Map © OpenStreetMap contributors
Day 1 · Friday
Day 1: Old Funchal, the market and a wicker toboggan down from Monte
Ease into the island in old Funchal, the market's color and smell, a wander down the painted-door lane, then up the mountain by cable car for the famous toboggan ride down.
Stops in walking order · Map © OpenStreetMap contributors
↓350 m · ~4 min walk
11:15–12:45
2Rua de Santa Maria Old Town Walk Walk
Wander the painted-door street (Arte de Portas Abertas) where dozens of shuttered doors became local artists' canvases.
14:00–14:30
3Funchal Cable Car to Monte Transit
The 15-minute gondola climbs 550m above the rooftops, sit on the right side for the best harbour view.
14:35–16:35
4Monte Palace Tropical Garden Nature
Koi ponds, azulejo panels and a jungle of ferns terraced into the hillside, the Oriental section is the quiet highlight.
16:45–17:30
5Monte Toboggan Ride
Two wicker-basket 'carreiros' steer you down the old cobbled road to Livramento, a genuinely local ritual since the 1850s.
18:00–20:00
6Gavião Novo Eat
Tiny, packed fish-and-grill spot in the old town, the espada com banana is the dish to order.
Robin's tip. Ride the cable car up sitting on the right for the harbour view, and do the toboggan before 16:00; the carreiros stop running late afternoon and the queue is shortest after lunch.
Day 2 · Saturday
Day 2: The ridge between Madeira's two highest peaks
This is the big outdoors day: the ridge walk between Madeira's two highest peaks, then the vertigo of Cabo Girão's glass skywalk and a quiet turn through Câmara de Lobos before dinner.
Stops in walking order · Map © OpenStreetMap contributors
09:00–09:15
1Pastelaria Eat
Pick up pastries and sandwiches here for a trailside picnic, you'll eat looking down over the ridgeline at Pico do Arieiro.
↓13 km · ~18 min drive
09:42–11:12
2Pico do Arieiro to Pico Ruivo Trail (PR1) Nature
Madeira's iconic ridge hike, 1,818m to 1,862m, through tunnels and knife-edge stairs with the cloud sea often below you by mid-morning.
↓14 km · ~19 min drive
14:30–15:30
3Cabo Girão Skywalk Sight
Glass platform 580m above the sea, one of Europe's highest sea cliffs, the banana terraces below are the real payoff.
↓2.2 km · a short ride
16:00–17:30
4Câmara de Lobos Old Fishing Village Walk
The colourful harbour Churchill once painted from, walk the seawall as the poça boats come in for the evening.
↓11 km · ~16 min drive
18:00–20:00
5Taj Mahal Eat
A well-loved Indian spot near Câmara de Lobos, a welcome change of pace after a long day on the ridge.
Day 3 · Sunday
Day 3: Lava pools at Porto Moniz and a golden-hour goodbye
A slower, salty morning at Porto Moniz's volcanic pools, then an easy drift back along the south coast and a last golden-hour walk through Funchal before you fly on another day.
Stops in walking order · Map © OpenStreetMap contributors
09:00–09:50
1Drive to Porto Moniz Transit
North-coast drive along the old ER101 corridor road, cliffs on one side, ocean on the other, go slow, it's the scenic route.
10:00–12:00
2Porto Moniz Natural Pools Nature
Swim in volcanic lava pools filled by the Atlantic, arrive right at opening for calmer water and fewer crowds.
12:30–13:30
3Cachalote Restaurante Eat
Perched right over the rocks in Porto Moniz, order the limpets (lapas) while the spray hits the windows.
15:30–17:00
4Ribeira Brava Seafront Walk Walk
A short stop in this old fishing town's black-and-white cobbled square and 15th-century church on the way back.
↓19 km · ~24 min drive
17:36–19:06
5Jardim de São Francisco & Sé Cathedral at Dusk Sight
Funchal's central garden turns gold as the sun drops behind the cathedral's Manueline tower, a fitting last look at the city.
↓400 m · ~5 min walk
19:15–21:15
6Armazém do Sal Eat
A former salt warehouse turned wine-forward restaurant, a good last-night pick given the strong Madeira wine list.
Choose the shape of your last day
If you love a big scenic loop and do not mind three hours total behind the wheelkeep the plan; the north-coast road to Porto Moniz and the south-coast return through Ribeira Brava are two different islands in one day
If you would rather swim more and drive lessgo straight to Porto Moniz, stay in the pools past lunch at Cachalote, and drop Ribeira Brava; you will be back in Funchal by golden hour anyway
If you have already had your fill of cliffsswap the whole loop for an easy levada walk near Funchal and give the afternoon to the old town you rushed on day 1
Ask Robin to personalize this day →
Bucket-list foods in Funchal
Espada com banana
Black scabbardfish with fried banana, Madeira's signature plate and better than it sounds by a mile.
On this trip: Gavião Novo, day 1 dinner in the old town
Lapas
Limpets grilled in garlic butter, eaten within sight of the sea they came from.
On this trip: Cachalote, day 3 lunch perched over the Porto Moniz rocks
Bolo do caco with garlic butter
The warm sweet-potato flatbread that starts nearly every Madeiran meal; never turn it down.
On this trip: Order it first wherever you sit down; day 1's old-town tables all bake it
Poncha and espetada
The sugarcane-rum citrus drink and the laurel-skewered beef, both born around Câmara de Lobos. The plan walks the village but books neither; ask Robin to swap day 2's dinner for a poncha bar and espetada house and it will.
Where to stay for this itinerary
Stay in Funchal old town (Zona Velha) if…
- you want day 1 entirely on foot and dinner streets at your door
- atmosphere matters more than a pool deck
Stay in Funchal's hotel zone by the Lido if…
- you want ocean-front pools and sunset terraces
- a 20-minute seafront walk into town is a feature, not a cost
Stay in Câmara de Lobos if…
- you would trade nightlife for a fishing-village harbour Churchill painted
- you are happy driving to dinner
Before you go
Do you need a car?
Yes, for days 2 and 3: the Arieiro trailhead, Cabo Girão and Porto Moniz are all drives with no practical bus timing. Day 1 in Funchal needs no car at all, so many visitors collect the rental on the second morning.
What must be booked ahead?
The rental car and a table at Armazém do Sal for your last night. The ridge walk needs no permit; it needs an early start and a weather check, which matter more.
How do you get in from the airport?
Funchal is about 20 minutes west of the airport by the VR1 expressway; taxis and the aerobus both make the run, and rental desks sit in the terminal if you are picking the car up on arrival.
Is three days enough?
For the icons, yes, and the plan proves it. What three days cannot hold is a real levada day, the wild east-point walk at São Lourenço, or any time on the calmer east side; that is exactly what five or seven days add.
How hard is the Pico do Arieiro to Pico Ruivo walk?
It is the island's most serious day walk: exposed staircases, tunnels you need a headtorch for, and real elevation. Fit walkers love it; if knife-edge ridges are not your thing, walk the first kilometre for the views and turn back, which is a known and honorable choice.
5 days
Have 5 days?
First, give the mountains two days
Split day 2: the ridge walk deserves a whole day with a slow lunch after, and Cabo Girão with Câmara de Lobos becomes a relaxed second afternoon.
Day 4: a real levada
Pick one classic irrigation-channel walk, the 25 Fontes and Risco waterfall route being the famous choice, and let it take the whole morning; these gentle contour paths are the island's soul.
Day 5: the wild east
Walk the bare volcanic point at Ponta de São Lourenço, then swim at Machico's sheltered bay on the way back; it is the opposite landscape to the laurel forest and completes the island.
7 days
Have 7 days?
Sleep a night in the north
Move to Porto Moniz or Seixal for one night so the pools, the black-sand beach and the north-coast cliffs stop being a day trip and become your doorstep.
Add Santana and the north-east
The triangular thatched houses at Santana, the Caldeirão Verde levada into the green heart of the island, and the São Vicente valley fill two unhurried days.
Finish with a whale-watching morning
Boats out of Funchal or Calheta run year-round for whales and dolphins; hold it for the last day so the sea state can pick your morning.
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