Portugal car rental guide
Is It Worth Renting a Car in Funchal?
Funchal's harbor sits at the bottom of a hillside so steep that the airport runway itself was extended out over the ocean on a platform of pillars, because there was nowhere flat enough left to lengthen it inland.
Funchal itself rewards the cable car more than a car
The Monte cable car climbs straight out of the old town to the church and gardens above the city, and the famous wicker toboggan run comes back down a paved street rather than a driving road. Funchal's own hills mean parking gets awkward fast, so a short stay in town leans on walking and the cable car rather than a rental.
The levadas and the mountain roads are why people actually rent here
Madeira's levadas — narrow irrigation channels with walking paths alongside — run across the island, and many of their trailheads sit well outside any bus route. Getting to one usually means driving there yourself and picking it up on the way back.
The road up to Pico do Arieiro and on toward Pico Ruivo, Madeira's highest points, climbs fast through cloud that can close visibility without much warning; check conditions before committing to the summit rather than assuming a clear morning holds.
Two more things worth knowing
- Distances on the map are short, but hairpins and fog on the mountain roads mean journeys take longer than the kilometers suggest.
- Tunnels now connect Funchal to much of the north coast, though older coastal stretches still exist for anyone who prefers the view.
Cabo Girão and the drive west
Cabo Girão, near Câmara de Lobos just west of Funchal, has a glass-floor skywalk over one of Europe's highest sea cliffs, and it's an easy add-on to a coastal drive rather than a destination that needs a full day of its own.
Who should skip it
A resort-based stay near Funchal with no plans beyond the cable car, the old town and the hotel pool doesn't need a car. It starts to matter the moment a levada walk, Pico do Arieiro, or a loop of the north coast is actually on the itinerary.
Madeira's terrain does most of the deciding here. Funchal itself is compact enough to walk, but the levadas, the mountain peaks and the far side of the island are built for a car, not a bus timetable.