At Zest Car Rental we have been lucky enough to enlist the help of travel writer Andy Jarosz who will be writing a series of guest posts for us sharing his tips and tricks on driving abroad! Here we have his guide to driving in Madeira. Post 3/3.
The first impression you might get when you locate Madeira on a map is that such a tiny dot in the mid-Atlantic doesn’t require a car to get around. It comes as a surprise to many to learn that a drive around the coastal road is almost exactly 100 miles and that the island has enough roads to keep a visitor busy for several days.
Porto Moniz. Photo by: Vlada Z/Adobe Stock
Apart from the all-important fact that on Madeira you drive on the right, there are two other points worth taking into account before you set off:
1. The roads are very quiet (good news)
2. The roads can be very steep (bad news if you struggled with a hill start during your driving test)
Madeira may be barely half the size of London but it has some serious mountains. At 1,862m Pico Ruivo, the highest peak on the island, is significantly higher than Ben Nevis – so you’re never far from a steep hill and the only cyclists you’re likely to see on the road are serious athletes. Recent development has seen modern highways being built and you can now drive along the south and the east of Madeira (particularly around the airport and the main city of Funchal) at relatively high speed.
But the excitement of driving in Madeira remains alive and well and it’s along the old roads that the island is best explored. Parts of the ER101, the original 100-mile coastal road that does a full circle of the island, have become a tourist attraction in themselves, offering a drive along some of the most extreme roads that you’re likely to have faced. The narrow road between São Vicente and Porto Moniz climbs steeply and falls to the shore, with the waves occasionally throwing up their spray onto passing cars – a free carwash, as the islanders call it. Those in the passenger seat can admire the spectacular coastal scenery (or shut their eyes and pray), but for the driver there’s no let up in concentration with an almost constant succession of sharp curves. Thankfully this northern stretch has been made one-way (east to west), making the road infinitely safer by removing the risk of meeting oncoming traffic.
There are plenty of opportunities to stop and enjoy the scenery along this stretch of road, whether it’s to admire the frequent waterfalls that tumble from the mountains, or to take out a picnic and have your lunch in the fresh sea air with an unspoilt view of the Atlantic waves. There’s a pleasant reward at the end of the route too, with the volcanic lava pools in Porto Moniz offering a chance for safe bathing in sheltered sea water; perfect for a warm summer’s day.
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens. Photo by: a_mikhall/Adobe Stock
While the old ER101 also follows the coast on the southern edge of Madeira, the road is gentler and the flower-filled landscape makes for a more pleasing, if less exhilarating experience. The ocean is normally calmer to the south of the island and the winds lighter – it is along this coast that many of the island’s more popular walking routes are found and there is normally adequate space to leave your car at the start of a waymarked trail.
Driving in Madeira offers many delights for the visitor and a car provides the flexibility to explore these at a gentle pace. Don’t be fooled by the island’s size though; with slow mountain roads that pass through pretty villages and with many great look-out points, what looks like a short route can easily take a whole day to explore.
Experience the excitement of driving in Madeira
If you fancy having a go at cruising along these twisty-turny roads then head over to our quote page for more information on car hire in Madeira.
Or, let us know if you have been to Madeira! Leave a comment below and tell us what your must-see attractions on the island are.
Andy Jarosz is the author of this post. When he isn’t regaling readers on the excitement of driving in Madeira, he spends his time exploring the world and writing articles for the likes of National Geographic Traveller, BBC Travel and CNN Travel.
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Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment, we always appreciate feedback on our posts!
Glad to hear you have both enjoyed your driving holidays in Madeira, even if one your favourite roads was built as a consequence of a particularly unpleasant storm Rachel!
I’m sure our other readers will find your tips very useful Andrew and I will be sure to review our driving guide in light of your suggestions!
hi we love driving in Madeira, have been many times and still find something different to do and explore. we are looking forward to our 15th time next week. We were particually taken with the new road between Pico de Aerio and Curral des Freires (nuns valley ) what a lovely road only to be used in daylight, It saves such a lot of mileage when taking friends to visit both beautiful places it saves going back down to the main road and back up again. built all because of the storm damage so the diggers and lorries could repair the hills. I have to say we were trying to land in that storm 4 years ago last week, we had to spend the night in Tenerife and were delivered back to the mud and chaos of madeira the next day !! that was an experience we dont really want to repeat.
Driving in Madeira is indeed exciting, however the old road from Sao Vicente to Porto Moniz is no longer open to cars, even as a tourist attraction, because of continual rock falls. The spectacular new tunnels have replaced the old road. Further hazards to be aware of that seem to be peculiar to Madeira are stray dogs and roundabouts. We have encountered dogs in the middle of the high speed via rapida on more than one occasion. The Madeiran attitude to roundabouts lacks the usual conventions of lane discipline adhered to elsewhere. Finally, only about half of Madeiran drivers seem to use direction indicators. All of these factors demand extra caution.