How to Explore Madeira by Public Transport

Now touted as the “Hawaii of Europe”, the Portuguese island of Madeira has seen a large uptick in travelers over the past few years, especially budget-friendly explorers.

Thanks to its volcanic and mountainous landscape, let’s just say the roads can be a little bit sketchy to drive on if you’re not used to the winding bends and steep hills.

With many of the best places to visit in Madeira being their famous hikes and coastal towns, it means that many of us have to rely on public transport. So, how does it stack up and how can you explore Madeira by public transport?

Let’s dive in and find out more.

Choosing a base

First things first, as anyone who has had to rely on public transport, or has read any of my other public transport guides (Costa Rica, Brittany, or Lake Como), location choice is key.

With that in mind, we opted to stay in the capital, Funchal. This is on the southeastern coast, close to the airport, and it’s where most of the buses and tours go from.

While there are hubs elsewhere, like Machico in the east or Porto Cruz in the north, for us, Funchal was the obvious choice.

Bus Networks

In Madeira, there are four major bus networks:

• Horários do Funchal,
• SAM,
• EACL and
• Rodoeste

During our trip, we only ended up using Horários do Funchal and SAM. Realistically, these are the main ones that you’ll use if you’re based in Funchal. They do have different bus stops around the city, so check your bus operator and number to ensure you’re at the right stop at the right time!

PR trails on bus routes

So, one of the major reasons why we chose to visit Madeira was to hike. Madeira has a network of unbelievable hiking trails known as the PR system. Each hike has its own number so it’s easy to pick your trail and plan.

As we were only there for five days, we picked two hikes; one major coastal trail, and one levada trail which Madeira is known for. We didn’t opt for the Instagram-famous PR1 Stairway to Heaven hike for a few reasons including lack of public transport, vertigo fears on the exposed sections, and crowds. As it turns out, there was a landslide when we were there and the route wasn’t open anyway.

The hikes that we chose were PR8 (Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço) out on the eastern coast and PR10 (Levada do Furado).

PR8 (Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço)

For our first hike of the trip, we chose PR8 which takes you to the most Easterly point of the island. It’s a classic coastal hike that clocks in at around 4.6 miles or 7 kilometres. It doesn’t sound that long but it does have a lot of ups and downs as you pass around the different coastal sections.

Getting there is really straightforward as there is a direct bus from the waterfront in Funchal right to the trailhead at Caniçal/D’Abra Bay. This bus is the 113 SAM bus and it takes around an hour and 20 minutes.

The hike itself takes between two and a half hours to three hours depending on your pace. One of the great things about this trail is there is a cafe at the furthest point with ice-cold drinks and tons of cakes. It was surprisingly cheap as well which is also a bonus.

Once you’re back at the trailhead, there are also two food trucks selling ice cream, beer, and of course, poncha. It’s a great way to end the hike!

PR10 (Levada do Furado)

Our levada hike two days later took a little more planning but was still relatively straightforward to get to. That’s because this is an 11-mile point-to-point hike rather than an out-and-back hike, so we needed to line up the buses at the finish point.

We hiked from Ribeiro Frio to Portela and I’d definitely advise doing it this way around as there is less incline straight off the bat and you start your hike surrounded by nature rather than dealing with a ton of stairs and car parks.

To get from Funchal to Ribeiro Frio you take the number 56 Horários do Funchal bus and it takes around 40 minutes to get to the trailhead. This is also where the much shorter PR11 viewpoint hike starts so the buses tend to be pretty busy.

Once you’ve hiked for around 3-4 hours, you’ll arrive at the tiny town of Portela. There will be a taxi man waiting, but we don’t have the budget for that! Cross the road and go down the steps and you’ll find a restaurant with a bus shelter opposite – that’s the stop you need!

The restaurant has varying opening times, but we found it opened around 1pm, which was ideal for a bathroom break and a quick refreshing drink.

From Portela back to Funchal, you can jump on the 53, 20, or 78 SAM bus from that stop. You will probably have to change buses in Machico but it’s a straight swap and you’re on your way again in no time.

Airport buses

The main airport bus is run by SAM and takes you directly from the Cristiano Ronaldo Airport to Funchal. It costs six euros one way which was by far the most expensive bus we got on, but unlike the regular buses, it doesn’t stop at every village and neighborhood along the way.

The other great benefit was that there was an airport bus at 2.30am which was ideal for our early morning Ryanair flight back to the UK.

Things to remember about Madeiran public transport

As with any overseas destination, there are some quirks about Madeiran public transport that you should probably be aware of before you visit.

There are no trains

First off, there are no trains on the island of Madeira. It was only relatively recently that a major road was built to go through the mountains linking the north and the south. Buses, rental cars, and private tours are the way to get around in Madeira.

Times are suggested

We found that the bus times in Madeira were largely suggested. It wasn’t uncommon for buses to be 10 minutes late, especially coming back from the trailheads. However, if you’re leaving Funchal from the bus terminal, one of our buses did leave early because it was full, so give yourself plenty of time.

There are one-way tickets only

The only bus that has return tickets is the airport bus. Every other bus that we went on only sold one-way tickets, so make sure you have enough change for the return journey.

Cash only

Speaking of which, you cannot pay by card on any of the buses, including the airport bus. All buses in Madeira are cash only (Euros) so make sure you have enough money on you to get there and back.

You may have to swap buses

As I mentioned, you might have to swap buses along your journey, even if it’s listed as a direct route. This is just to combine regional buses onto a central route. We had this happen twice, and both times it was when we got to Machico. This is because it’s a major hub with smaller buses feeding into the city.