We spend eight days on Madeira with six full days of walking, moving across the island as we go. The first three nights are in Santo da Serra, our base for the Caldeirão Verde levada and the Pico Arieiro to Pico Ruivo traverse. Then two nights in Porto Moniz, right beside the natural pools, with a vineyard visit, a traditional lunch, and the Paul da Serra plateau in between. The last two nights are in Funchal, where we walk the wild São Lourenço peninsula, swim, explore the city, and sit down to a farewell dinner. All hotels are 4-star with pools, and breakfasts, dinners, and trail picnics are included.
Arrive at Madeira Airport, where your local hiking guide will be waiting to welcome the group. From there, we drive up to Santo da Serra, a quiet village in the green hills above the island’s east coast and our home for the next three nights. Once we’ve settled into our 4-star hotel, we sit down to our first dinner together and get ready for the week of hiking ahead.
Meals: Dinner
Accommodation: Porto Bay Serra Golf (4-star hotel), Santo da Serra
We start with one of Madeira’s best levada walks. Levadas are the narrow irrigation channels cut into the island’s slopes, and the paths beside them make for some of the most scenic walking on Madeira. Ours leads through the Laurisilva laurel forest, through four tunnels and along cliffside sections secured with a safety wire, to Caldeirão Verde, the Green Cauldron, where a waterfall drops into a lagoon. After a picnic, we descend to the remote village of Ilha. Bring a headlamp for the tunnels, and if heights bother you, you can turn back halfway.
Meals: Breakfast, picnic, dinner
Hiking: 14 km (8.7 mi), approx. 4.5 hours
Elevation: +110 m (+361 ft) / -620 m (-2,034 ft)
Accommodation: Porto Bay Serra Golf (4-star hotel), Santo da Serra
Today we hike between two of Madeira’s most famous peaks. We start at Pico do Arieiro (1,818 m / 5,965 ft) and follow an alpine trail of tunnels and staircases carved into the rock to Pico Ruivo, the island’s highest point at 1,862 m (6,109 ft). The views over Madeira’s jagged volcanic interior keep coming the whole way. Our guide picks the perfect picnic spot along the trail, and once we’re done, a taxi waits for us at Achada do Teixeira to take us back to the hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, picnic, dinner
Hiking: 10 km (6.2 mi), approx. 4 hours
Elevation: +500 m (+1,640 ft) / -700 m (-2,297 ft)
Accommodation: Porto Bay Serra Golf (4-star hotel), Santo da Serra
We leave Santo da Serra and head for the hills of São Vicente on the north coast. Here, we take a guided walk through vineyards planted on volcanic soil and cooled by sea breezes, followed by a tasting of six local wines with a small cheese board. Lunch is a traditional Madeiran feast: espetada, beef skewered on bay laurel sticks, served with boiled potatoes, salad, and bolo do caco with garlic butter. Dessert is passion fruit pudding with a glass of Madeira wine and coffee. In the afternoon, we take a gentle levada walk above Porto Moniz, then transfer to our hotel, right next to the town’s natural lava rock pools.
Meals: Breakfast, skewer lunch, dinner
Hiking: 7 km (4.3 mi), approx. 3 hours
Elevation: +50 m (+164 ft) / -50 m (-164 ft)
Accommodation: Aqua Natura Madeira (4-star hotel), Porto Moniz
From Porto Moniz, we cross the high Paul da Serra plateau to Fanal, an old crater dotted with century-old laurel trees. It’s part of the Laurisilva, which is a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site. From there, we continue along the Levada dos Cedros, one of the island’s oldest, dug into the ground in the 17th century. Back in Porto Moniz, there’s time to cool off in the natural pools before dinner.
Meals: Breakfast, picnic, dinner
Hiking: 8 km (5 mi), approx. 4 hours 15 minutes
Elevation: +150 m (+492 ft) / -300 m (-984 ft)
Accommodation: Aqua Natura Madeira (4-star hotel), Porto Moniz
Today’s hike starts on the Paul da Serra plateau and leads us through an enchanted forest, where we pass streams, waterfalls, and plenty of Madeira’s endemic flora. We stop for a picnic along the trail, then transfer to Funchal, the island’s capital, where we spend our last two nights in a 4-star hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, picnic, dinner
Hiking: 14 km (8.7 mi), approx. 4.5 hours
Elevation: +205 m (+673 ft) / -485 m (-1,591 ft)
Accommodation: Enotel Magnolia (4-star hotel), Funchal
Our final hike shows a completely different side of the island. The São Lourenço Peninsula is Madeira’s semi-arid east, with basalt cliffs carved by wind and waves and a nature reserve home to unusual flora and fauna. It’s also our chance for a swim at the beach. Back in Funchal, we take a short guided visit of the city, and the rest of the afternoon is free to explore at your own pace. In the evening, we gather for a farewell dinner at a local restaurant.
Meals: Breakfast, picnic, dinner
Hiking: 8 km (5 mi), approx. 3 hours
Elevation: +400 m (+1,312 ft) / -400 m (-1,312 ft)
Accommodation: Enotel Magnolia (4-star hotel), Funchal
Our adventure wraps up after breakfast. A taxi takes you from the hotel to Madeira Airport, timed so you arrive 2 hours and 30 minutes before your flight. Note that guiding services end on Day 7.
Meals: Breakfast
Included:
Add-ons (pricing shown at checkout):
Not included:
In order to join this hiking tour, good fitness is required as well as previous experience with full days on the trail. The most you’ll hike within a day is up to 14 km (8.7 mi), with up to 500 m (1,640 ft) of elevation gain. Expect roughly 3 to 5 hours of walking on each of the six hiking days, on levada paths, forest trails, and one alpine ridge with tunnels and staircases between Pico Arieiro and Pico Ruivo.
You’ll only carry a day pack, since you’re based in hotels and everything else stays in your room. Some levada sections run along cliffsides with a safety wire, so if heights bother you on the Caldeirão Verde walk, you can turn back halfway.
Gear:
Clothing & footwear:
Other:
Dress comfortably and for the weather in clothes you can move in. We suggest bringing clothing appropriate for the season. Layers are best and don’t wear jeans.
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Group sizes and pricing:
Min. age requirements:
This Madeira hiking trip is based on twin-share rooms, but a single occupancy room can be arranged at an additional fee. You can add it to your booking at checkout.
The starting point of your Madeira hiking tour is Madeira Airport (FNC), just outside Funchal. To get there, most people fly into Madeira Airport directly.
You will meet your guide at Madeira Airport on Day 1. It’s best if your flight lands between 10 am and 5 pm, and you’ll be asked to share your approximate landing time after booking.
We highly recommend that you cover all your bases with insurance. To make your booking and traveling experience as carefree as possible, you’ll be offered to simply insure your trip with Redpoint at checkout.
Redpoint—the official 57hours insurance partner—tailors protection packages for adventure travel, offering a comprehensive travel program, even in remote locations! Trip cancellation, natural disasters, pandemic coverage, medical evacuation, primary medical expenses—regardless of the travel interruption that may happen, Redpoint will have you covered.