Best Spots to Stay in Madeira: From Funchal to Hidden Gems

Madeira is not a small island. And while a highway runs along the perimeter, cutting through the mountains with tunnel after tunnel, making the journey from place to place smoother and faster, much of what you may want to see on Madeira is in the interior of the island. So to avoid spending all your days driving from place to place, it’s important to be strategic with where you decide to stay. 

Depending on how much time you have I recommend splitting your time. I also recommend not booking your entire Madeira stay in Funchal. While there is a lot to see in Funchal, there is even more to see around the rest of Madeira, and you can situate yourself closer to some of those other landmarks and attractions. More than anything though, my top Madeira accommodation tips is to book everything well in advance. Accommodation is limited and the island is very popular, so once it’s all gone, it’s all gone. 

Based on my time spent on the island, here is where I recommend as the best areas to stay in Madeira. 

Seixal

Seixal quickly became my favorite spot on the island. It’s a small village on the north coast of the island, about a 45 minute drive from Funchal. Seixal has a population of less than 1,000, so don’t expect there to be a lot going on here. But the setting, my god it’s simply beautiful. The village spills down the hillside, culminating in black pebble beaches. The beaches are each tucked into small coves, so the waves are small and the water is very dippable.

Everywhere you look the colors and landscapes are lush. The cliffs surrounding you are covered in rich greens, the water is a saturated, sparkling blue, the orange rooftops crawl up the hillside. And of course there are the black beaches which sit with white foam lapping at their edges all day and night. I think I’ve done a good job describing how stunning Seixal is, but I also think it’s impossible to fully get it until you’ve visited. 

While, again, there isn’t a lot going on in town, there are a decent number of restaurants. I had a lunch at Lounge Bar Clube Naval do Seixal which is right by the water. You should also check out Restaurante Seixal Butcher if you want to try one of Madeira’s famous dishes — espetada.

Seixal has natural rock pools and a few beaches — so there is plenty of oceanside lounging to be done during your stay. 

Since it’s a small town, the accommodation options are limited so you should definitely plan to book in advance. I recommend checking out Casa Das Videiras which is an old home that has been refurbished into a bed & breakfast and is a decent mid-range option. 

Funchal

Funchal is the main city of Madeira. It sits on the south coast and is where the airport as well as the main port are located, as such it is where the cruise ships come in. And they come in often, sometimes multiple at a time, so the city does get very crowded. Luckily, when the cruises are in town those tourist numbers don’t affect accommodation availability. While there is certainly loads to see around the rest of Madeira, you should also plan to spend some time in Funchal as it too has interesting attractions. If you have the space in your Madeira itinerary, I’d recommend three nights in Funchal, and three nights in another spot on the island (at a minimum). 

Also, if you don’t plan to rent a car (which I do recommend as it makes accessing the island so much easier) then you’re going to want to base yourself in Funchal as it is where most tours will leave which will be your best alternative bet to see the rest of the island.

In terms of where to stay, your best bet is to stick to the center of town — that’s near the Madeira Story Center or Blandy’s Wine Lodge. If you’re based here then you can easily walk to all of the attractions in Funchal. Note that while the airport is nearby, it is not in the city, so if you book close to it you will not have easy walking access to downtown Funchal. 

There is certainly plenty to do in Funchal. You will have no shortage of bars, restaurants, and attractions to check out during your stay.

For a budget option in Funchal I’d recommend looking at Hotel Orquidea. For something more mid-range, the Melia Madeira Mare is a good option. And if you really want to splurge during your stay in Funchal, The Vine Hotel is a beautiful property with luxury amenities like a sauna and a hammam. 

Porto Moniz

Porto Moniz is one of the larger population centers on Madeira, with around 2,500 permanent residents. The drive from Funchal to Porto Moniz takes about one hour. The town sits at the base of an incredibly steep hillside and is surrounded by water as it juts out into the shimmering sea. 

While Porto Moniz is quite quiet, there are a few small grocery stores where you can pick up basics, plenty of restaurants along the waterfront, and a few little bars — though nothing open past midnight. If you’re in the mood for a good seafood meal while visiting, or any number of the Madeiran classics, head over to Conchinha. 

You’ll definitely want to have a car with you if you stay in Porto Moniz to get into any of the surrounding nature or hikes, but there are also a few things to do in town. You can visit the natural pools — there are two of them in Seixal. Or walk up to the Miradouro do Cabo Calhau, and of course spend your days at the beaches. 

The town is not large so accommodation is not spread far and wide, but the closer you are to the water, the better — it will be a faster walk but it will also be flatter. 

Hotel Euro Moniz is a good reliable mid-range option with 3-star amenities and a great location. 

Câmara de Lobos

Situated just to the west of Funchal, Câmara de Lobos is both its own town and a suburb of Funchal. The town used to be a favorite vacation spot for Sir Winston Churchill. The town is also well known as the first spot inhabited by the first European explorer to discover the island. The town is fairly well populated with around 35,000 inhabitants — in addition to the local sea lions — which is what the town gets its name from.

Historically, Câmara de Lobos was known for its very active fishing culture, and while fishermen still operate from the small harbor, tourism has overtaken as the main industry of the town. 

While you’ll find that Câmara de Lobos is significantly quieter than nearby Funchal, it is still quite touristy. I found that the streets and buildings were a bit too polished to feel real. It’s as if they have been transformed into what an outsider might want to see here even if that is not the reality of the place. 

Nonetheless, if you want to skip the chaos of Funchal (though I don’t personally recommend that approach) Câmara de Lobos is a good option. You can still get back and forth to the main city within about 20 minutes on the bus. And there is a good bit to see right in town. You could go up to the top of Pico da Torre to check out the views from the miradouro. Farther up than that you can make your way to Miradouro da Boca dos Namorados for more epic views — you won’t want to walk all the way up though and while renting a car of your own is your best bet, you could also hire an Uber to bring you. Closer to sea level there are also several viewpoints along the waterfront. And of course plenty of bars and restaurants. For a nice dinner in town, check out Gavião do Ilhéu. 

While the hills around the town have a lot of nice quintas and more spacious, luxury properties, if you want to be in town, you’ll need to book well in advance. A really nice mid-range option with a pool is Casa da Cal – by Casas na Ilha. 

Ponta do Pargo

If you want to watch stunning sunsets each evening of your stay, this is where you’ll want to be. Ponta do Pargo is the westerly most point of Madeira island, it is a small piece of land that very casually juts off the mainland. The town has a population of less than 1,000 and is about a 50 minute drive from Funchal. 

My favorite spot here is the lighthouse which protects the coast. The white tower casts a beam of light in a rotating ray across the land and sea. And it is the perfect place to watch the sunset from. There isn’t a great deal to do in town. I’d strongly, strongly recommend having a car out here — and with that you can coast along the coast, hopping from viewpoint to viewpoint. Or go a bit inland and hike around the Levada da Ponta do Pargo. 

Impressive for its small size, there are a number of really nice restaurants in Ponta do Pargo as well as a few bars (though don’t expect any of them to stay open late). For a nice dinner al fresco, with sea views, check out O Farolim. 

Casa Luciana is a nice vacation home in Ponta do Pargo. But I’d also encourage you to look at the countryside around the small town for unique accommodation. For example, just a short drive inland is Vilas Felicidade Rocha by An Island Apart which offers a villa with a private pool. 

Curral das Freiras

Known most often as the beautiful village which you catch views of during your hike through Nuns Valley, you can actually stay in this gorgeous spot. The town is tucked right into the most epic landscape of all of the island — mountain peaks will tower over you in every direction. The entire town is just one big viewpoint. And with its brown roofs, stone houses, and blooming tropical flowers, the town is just a postcard level of picture-perfect. Curral das Freiras has a population of about 1,500 and that number is actually unfortunately decreasing. The village is about a 30 minute drive from Funchal, in the center of the island. And yes, you absolutely do need to have a car if you plan to stay out here. 

Curral das Freiras is the perfect place to base yourself if you want to do a lot of hiking. The famous Nuns Path hiking route ends here. Plus you can explore endless miradouros. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there is not a lot else going on in town. But there are several really nice dining options. For a no-fuss, but simply delicious local sit down, have a meal at Pinto’s Clock Restaurant. While there are a few little tascas which one could consider a bar if they were being kind, none of them stay open past 8PM. So this is the spot to stay if you want quiet, views, and epic hiking.

There is actually only one accommodation option in town, so if a stay in Curral das Freiras sounds appealing to you, make sure you book it as soon as you have your dates lined up. Valley of Nuns Holiday Apartments has gorgeous mountain views from its terrace. 

Sao Vicente

If you’re planning to make a trip to Quinta do Barbusano, one of the things I recommend doing on Madeira, staying in Sao Vicente is a good choice to make your journey down the mountain significantly shorter. This seemingly tiny town actually has a decent population (for Madeira) of around 6,000 people. It’s around a 35 minute drive from Funchal, and is a great spot for anyone into geology as there are a series of fascinating volcanic caves in the area. 

My main recommendation of what to do here is to drive up the mountain to Quinta do Barbusano for wine, food, and breathtaking views across the mountain range, town, and off into the sea. If you want to get the opposing view, you can access the chapel which you can see from the winery — Nossa Senhora de Fátima Chapel — by climbing a few sets of stairs. And beyond that you can also do the Levada Fajã do Rodrigues walk which is a pretty short and easy walk. 

In town you have a number of restaurants to choose from. For a nice meal by the water, check out Restaurante Lilinha. There is also even a late night bar in São Vicente — Porto de Abrigo — which stays open until 2AM!

A rather uninspired hotel with an absolutely spectacular location is Mediterrâneo Madeira. Though the property is only two stars and the rooms are very basic, the location is directly on the water so it holds its spot as one of the top Madeira hotels with ocean views. 

If you want to book one of the luxury villas Madeira has to offer, one that pulls out all the stops, Casas do Lanço by An Island Apart is a much more luxury option in the area — though it is tucked away in the mountains so offers more of a jungle rather than seaside vibe.

As you can see, when considering the Madeira best places to stay, you have a lot of options. Like I mentioned, I’d recommend choosing at minimum two of these locations. My guidance would be to have part of your time in Funchal and then part of your time elsewhere on the island — and it’s best to pick that second location based on what else you want to see and do on the island and therefore will want to be close to. And don’t forget, while there are some affordable hotels Madeira has to offer, if you don’t book in advance, those options are going to be gone, and you may in fact find that you don’t have any options left at all!

So, as soon as you are ready with your Madeira dates, get your Madeira vacation rentals booked.