East vs West Jeep Tour: Which Side of Madeira to Choose

Two different islands, not one long day

Madeira’s open-top jeep tours split cleanly into two products, and the split is geographic rather than a matter of operator branding: an east route built around the peninsula at Ponta de Sao Lourenco, the harbour town of Machico and the thatched village of Santana, and a west route built around the high plateau of Paul da Serra, the cliff edge at Cabo Girao and the lava pools of Porto Moniz.

Both run as full-day trips from Funchal in open 4x4 vehicles, both mix sealed roads with unpaved tracks, and both are genuinely worthwhile. What they are not is interchangeable, and they are not combined. If a listing implies you get the whole island in one sitting, read the stop list again — you are looking at one side or the other, not both. This page assumes you already know what a jeep tour involves generally (covered on our dedicated 4x4 guide) and focuses on the one decision that actually matters: which side to book.

The two routes at a glance

	East route	West route
Core stops	Ponta de Sao Lourenco, Machico, Santana, Porto da Cruz	Paul da Serra, Cabo Girao, Porto Moniz, Seixal, often Fanal
Landscape	Volcanic peninsula, terraced valleys, thatched village	High plateau, sea cliffs, lava pools, laurel forest edge
Typical duration	6-8 hours	7-9 hours
Road surface	Mostly sealed with short forestry sections	Longer stretches of unpaved plateau track
Swimming stop	Rarely included	Often included, at Porto Moniz or Seixal
Best for	A shorter day, coastal drama, Santana’s houses	Maximum variety in one outing, first-time visitors
Weather risk	Lower — most stops are at low to mid altitude	Higher — Paul da Serra and Fanal sit in the cloud belt

The duration difference is not marketing padding. The west route physically covers more ground: it climbs to the plateau, drops to the north coast twice, and often finishes with a natural pool stop that the east route rarely includes.

What the east route actually shows you

Vehicles typically leave Funchal along the south coast motorway, cut north over the mountains, and reach Ponta de Sao Lourenco — the bare, rust-red peninsula at the island’s eastern tip, treeless and exposed in a way nothing else on Madeira is. From there the route usually drops into Machico, the first Portuguese settlement on the island from 1419, before climbing north through terraced valleys towards Santana, where the triangular thatched casas de colmo give the route its postcard stop. Some itineraries add Porto da Cruz or a viewpoint over Sao Jorge on the way back.

The driving itself is comparatively gentle: sealed coastal roads for most of the distance, with only short unpaved sections through forestry tracks above Santana. That makes the east route a reasonable choice for anyone nervous about a long day of switchbacks and gravel, or for a group with only half a day free — several operators sell an abbreviated version covering just Santana and the near east coast.

a full day exploring Santana and the east coast in an open-top jeep covers this exact route with lunch included, and a companion option, a private 4x4 trip along the north-east coast, works well for a family or small group who want the same stops without joining a shared vehicle.

What the west route actually shows you

The west route trades the peninsula for the plateau. Departing Funchal, vehicles usually climb through Camara de Lobos to Cabo Girao, one of Europe’s highest sea cliffs at around 580 metres, before pushing on to Paul da Serra, the island’s only true plateau — flat, treeless, often wrapped in cloud. Many itineraries detour to Fanal for its gnarled, centuries-old laurel trees, then descend to the north coast at Porto Moniz for its volcanic pools, sometimes finishing at Seixal for its black-sand beach and roadside waterfalls.

This is the longer, harder-driving of the two routes, with more unsealed track across the plateau and a bigger swing in altitude and weather within a single day — sunshine on the coast, cloud on the plateau, and a real chance of both within the same hour. It is also, for most first-time visitors, the more rewarding single day out, because it compresses more of the island’s range — cliff, plateau, ancient forest, coast — into one itinerary than the east route does.

a west-coast jeep tour taking in Fanal forest and Seixal’s black-sand beach is the standard version of this route, and a guided photography-focused day through the north-west suits travellers who want longer stops for pictures over a fast-paced circuit.

Choosing by what you actually want from the day

If you are deciding between the two and have no strong pull either way, three questions settle it faster than reading every operator description.

How much time do you have? If it is one full day and one only, the west route is the safer default: it fits more contrast into the time available. If you are on the island for a week or more and can give it two separate days, book both — they do not overlap, so there is no wasted repetition.

Do you want a swim included? The west route’s stop at Porto Moniz or Seixal is usually the only point on either circuit where swimwear is worth packing. The east route rarely stops anywhere swimmable.

How much unpaved driving do you want? The west route spends noticeably longer on plateau track and forestry road. Anyone who finds long stretches of gravel and switchbacks uncomfortable, or who gets carsick easily, will have an easier day on the east route’s mostly sealed roads.

None of this replaces reading the specific stop list on the tour you are considering — operators vary the exact combination, and a “north-east” tour is a different product again from the classic east route described here, often overlapping with Porto da Cruz and Camacha rather than reaching Machico.

a forest-and-waterfalls 4x4 tour through Madeira’s interior sits slightly apart from both coastal circuits, running inland rather than to either coast, and is worth a look if neither the pure east nor pure west format appeals.

What neither route includes

Worth stating plainly, because it is the mistake most travellers make when booking from a thumbnail photo: no single jeep tour circles the island. The east route does not reach Cabo Girao or Porto Moniz, and the west route does not reach Ponta de Sao Lourenco or Machico. There is no “full island” jeep day sold honestly by any operator, because the driving distance alone rules it out — Madeira’s roads are slow, narrow and mountainous, and a genuine circuit of both coasts in daylight hours is not realistic even in a fast vehicle. If a listing’s photos show both a lava pool and a red-rock peninsula, check the itinerary text closely; it is more likely showing you two different tours’ stock images than one true combined route.

Neither route is a hiking day either. Jeeps stop at viewpoints and short walkable sections — the boardwalk start of Ponta de Sao Lourenco, the skywalk at Cabo Girao — but the point of the format is covering ground by vehicle, not walking a levada. If a proper hike is what you want, look separately at Madeira’s levada walks rather than folding one into a jeep booking.

Timing, season and what to pack

Both routes run year-round, but conditions differ enough between them to matter. The west route’s plateau stretch at Paul da Serra sits around 1,400 metres and regularly sits in cloud even when Funchal is clear and warm — pack a layer regardless of the season, and do not expect guaranteed views at Fanal, since without mist it is simply an open pasture. The east route stays lower and drier for most of its length, though Ponta de Sao Lourenco is exposed to wind year-round and offers no shade at all, so sun protection matters as much as a jacket.

Departures on both routes are typically mid-morning, seven to eight thirty, with pickup from central Funchal hotels. Vehicles are open-sided or open-top, so wind and dust are part of the experience on unsealed sections — tie back long hair and expect a change of clothes to be useful if you are heading straight to dinner afterwards. Neither route requires a permit or reservation of the kind that levada walks now do; the tour price covers everything on the stop list.

If you are still unsure

Travellers with one day free and a preference for coastal drama over variety should book the east route and treat Santana and the peninsula as the day’s two highlights. Those who want the single most representative day out on the island — cliff, plateau, ancient forest and coast in one sitting — should book west.

And anyone comparing this to simply hiring a car and driving the west or east routes independently should weigh that against the unsealed sections a hire car agreement may not cover; our guided tour versus self-drive comparison goes into that trade-off directly. Whichever side you choose, book it as its own day, not half of a plan to somehow see both coasts before dinner.

East or west jeep tour: your questions answered

Can I do both the east and west jeep tours in one day?

No. Each route is a full itinerary in its own right, usually seven to nine hours including stops, and operators sell them as separate bookings. Combining them would mean a genuinely exhausting day on unpaved mountain roads with almost no time at each stop.

Which jeep tour is better for a first visit to Madeira?

The west route generally wins for a single trip, because it strings together the plateau, the coast and a natural pool stop in one day. Choose the east route instead if you have already done a west-side day, or if Ponta de Sao Lourenco’s cliffs are the one thing on your list.

Do jeep tours in Madeira drive on paved roads?

Both routes mix sealed roads with unpaved forestry tracks, cattle paths and old cobbled sections, which is the entire point of hiring an open-top 4x4 rather than a hire car. Expect dust in summer and mud after rain on the unsealed stretches.

Is the west jeep tour better than the east one for photography?

The west route has the edge, since it covers the plateau at Paul da Serra, the cliff edge at Cabo Girao and the lava pools at Porto Moniz within a single day, giving more contrast between stops than the east route’s coastline-and-valley focus.

How long are Madeira’s east and west jeep tours?

Most operators run both as full-day trips of around seven to eight hours, departing Funchal mid-morning and returning by early evening, with a stop for lunch included on most itineraries.

Are jeep tours in Madeira suitable for people prone to car sickness?

Both routes involve sustained switchback driving on narrow roads, and the west route adds unsealed forestry tracks with more jolting. Anyone prone to motion sickness should take medication in advance and ask to sit in the front seat.

Can I choose a shorter jeep tour that covers only part of one route?

Yes. Several operators sell half-day versions focused on Santana and the near east coast, or on Fanal and Seixal in the west, which suit travellers with only a morning or afternoon free rather than a full day.