Two Days in Madeira: Funchal and the Mountains

Why This Route Sticks to One Axis

Two days in Madeira is not enough time to chase the whole island, and trying anyway is the most common mistake first-time visitors make here. This itinerary picks one axis and does it properly: a full day on foot in Funchal, followed by a single mountain-to-south loop that takes in Pico do Arieiro, Curral das Freiras and Câmara de Lobos.

The north coast, the Rabaçal levadas and Porto Santo are all left out on purpose — they deserve a longer trip, and for a proper look at them see our one-week Madeira itinerary or the dedicated hiking week. If you have a third day free, our three-day itinerary shows where to extend from here.

A small hire car makes day two possible. Book it before you land — see our car rental guide for what to expect on Madeira’s narrow, steep roads.

Day 1: Funchal on Foot

Spend the whole first day in Funchal itself. The city rewards walking, and nothing on this day requires a car — start without one and save the hire pick-up for the morning of day two.

Begin in the Zona Velha, the old town, and its centrepiece, Rua de Santa Maria. Since 2010 dozens of its doors have been painted by local and visiting artists under the Arte Portas Abertas project, and the street is now the densest concentration of evening restaurants in the city. Walk it slowly in the morning while it is quiet, then plan to come back after dark, when it properly comes alive.

From the old town, head to the Mercado dos Lavradores, the 1940s Art Deco market. The ground floor is stacked with tropical fruit and flowers; the upstairs fish hall is where to see espada preta, the black scabbard fish hauled from deep water off the island, laid out whole. One thing worth knowing before you go in: vendors offering free fruit samples sometimes weigh and charge for what you tried. Taste selectively, and agree a price before anything is cut. Our market guide covers what is actually worth buying.

Late morning, walk (or take the cable car) up to Monte. The Monte cable car, running since 2000, climbs about 560 metres from the old town in roughly 15 minutes, with views back over Funchal’s rooftops and the bay the whole way. At the top, the church of Nossa Senhora do Monte holds the tomb of Charles I of Austria, who died in exile here in 1922, and the Monte Palace Tropical Garden is worth an hour if gardens interest you — it is a different, more jungle-like collection than the Botanical Garden lower down, and the two are easy to confuse when planning.

This is also where to try the monte toboggan, the wicker sledges pushed by two carreiros in white and straw boaters, a tradition dating to 1850. It is worth being clear on what it actually is: a two-kilometre downhill ride lasting a few minutes, not a way of getting back to Funchal. The run stops at Livramento, roughly halfway down, and you will need a taxi or bus from there to finish the descent.

Back in the city for the afternoon, a guided walk is the easiest way to see the centre properly without retracing your own steps — a local guide can also point out where the good tastings are along the way.

a guided walking tour of Funchal with food and wine tastings along the way

If you would rather explore alone, wander down toward the marina and the Sé Cathedral, then finish at Blandy’s Wine Lodge for a Madeira wine tasting before dinner. Our wine explainer is worth reading first — the four main grape styles run from bone-dry to very sweet, and it helps to know which is which before you order.

For dinner, go back to the Zona Velha. Espetada — beef cubes grilled on a laurel skewer and served hanging from a stand — and bolo do caco, garlic-butter flatbread, are the two dishes to order without overthinking it. Our food guide has more on both, plus where to eat away from the most touristed strip.

Day 2: Pico do Arieiro, Curral das Freiras and Câmara de Lobos

This is the mountain-and-south day, and it needs a car and an early-ish start — not for a sunrise chase, but simply to make the most of clear morning light before afternoon cloud tends to build around the peaks.

Pico do Arieiro — as a viewpoint, not the traverse

The drive from Funchal up to Pico do Arieiro takes well under an hour, climbing to 1,818 metres, the third-highest point on the island and the only one of the three great peaks the road actually reaches. This itinerary treats it purely as a viewpoint stop: park, walk the short paved section near the top for the view, and turn back. That is a deliberate choice.

The famous version of this — a pre-dawn drive up for sunrise above the cloud line — is Madeira’s single most-booked experience, and it is genuinely spectacular when it works. But it depends entirely on the weather at altitude, which can close in within minutes and give you nothing but grey mist, no refund on the lost sleep. Squeezed into a two-day trip with no spare morning to fall back on, betting the only sunrise slot you have on mountain weather is a bad trade. If a sunrise at altitude matters enough to you to accept that risk, do it on a longer trip where a second attempt is possible — see our Arieiro sunrise guide for how to plan around the odds properly.

What this itinerary does instead: arrive at Arieiro in mid-morning, once the worst of any dawn cloud has usually burned off, for the view alone. Bring a proper layer regardless of the season — temperatures at the summit sit close to freezing on winter mornings even when Funchal is at 18 to 20 degrees, and wind at the viewpoint makes it colder still. Full details on what to wear are in our mountain weather guide.

The full PR1 traverse from here to Pico Ruivo — around 7 kilometres one way, three tunnels, three to four hours of walking with a car shuttle to arrange at the far end — does not fit into this plan at all. It is a serious day on its own and belongs in a dedicated hiking trip; see our PR1 route guide and hiking permits guide if a longer visit lets you take it on. If you would rather have a guide handle the logistics of both the peak and the drive down, a private tour link the sunrise viewpoint with the valley you visit next.

a guided tour combining Pico do Arieiro and Curral das Freiras

Curral das Freiras — the valley of the nuns

From Arieiro, drive down toward Curral das Freiras, the “valley of the nuns,” sitting at the base of a dramatic volcanic amphitheatre. Stop first at the Eira do Serrado viewpoint above it — the whole village and the ring of peaks around it open up from the road here, and it is the single best photo stop of the day.

Down in the village itself, this is chestnut country: roasted chestnuts, chestnut soup and the local chestnut liqueur are what to look for over a coffee stop, and there is no need to rush the walk around the square.

a half-day trip to the Eira do Serrado viewpoint above Curral das Freiras

Câmara de Lobos — back to the coast

Wind back down toward the south coast and finish at Câmara de Lobos, the fishing village where Winston Churchill painted in 1950. The harbour is small and easy to walk in half an hour, but the real reason to stop is poncha — Madeira’s sugar-cane spirit stirred with honey and lemon using a wooden caralhinho — which is drunk here more than almost anywhere else on the island. Our poncha guide explains the classic fisherman’s version and how it differs from the sweeter fruit versions aimed at visitors.

From Câmara de Lobos it is a short drive back into Funchal for dinner, closing the loop where day one began.

Two Days at a Glance

Day	Focus	Drive time	Car needed
Day 1	Funchal Old Town, Mercado dos Lavradores, Monte	None	No
Day 2	Pico do Arieiro, Curral das Freiras, Câmara de Lobos	Roughly 1.5–2 hours total	Yes

What This Itinerary Leaves Out

Being clear about what does not fit matters as much as the plan itself. This route skips the entire north coast — Porto Moniz and its lava pools, Santana and its thatched houses, São Vicente — because reaching the north and doing it justice needs a day of its own; our north versus south guide covers what you would be trading in.

It also leaves out the Rabaçal levadas and 25 Fontes, the classic waymarked walking trails that need a booked trail permit and several dedicated hours each, and Porto Santo, the sister island reached by a ferry that does not run to a fixed guarantee in poor weather. All three are natural extensions if you can stretch this trip to a week — our best viewpoints guide and the full week itinerary both pick up where this one stops.

For a lower-effort alternative to the Arieiro-and-valley loop, guided half-day tours pair light walking with a 4x4 off-road route through the same general area, useful if you would rather not drive the mountain roads yourself.

a private half-day walking and 4x4 tour through the mountains

And if two days leaves you wanting a proper hike rather than a viewpoint stop, a longer guided volcanic hike from Funchal goes further into the terrain than this itinerary’s schedule allows.

a full-day volcanic hiking tour from Funchal

Practical Notes

Funchal is the obvious base for both nights: everything on day one is walkable from the Old Town, and the day-two drive to Arieiro starts from the same spot. Pick up the hire car on the morning of day two rather than at the airport on arrival — there is no need to pay for parking in the city on day one when you are on foot regardless.

Budget for this itinerary sits in the mid-range: a two-day car hire, two dinners with wine, one wine tasting and coffee stops adds up to roughly 150 to 200 euros per person per day, in line with typical costs across the island. See our budget guide for a fuller breakdown, and check current conditions with our best time to visit guide before you fix dates — cloud at Arieiro is far more common in some months than others.

Two Days in Madeira: Your Questions Answered

Is two days enough to see Madeira?

It is enough for a good first look, not for the whole island. This route covers Funchal properly and one mountain-to-south axis; the north coast, Porto Santo and the full hiking network are left for a longer visit.

Do I need a car for this itinerary?

Yes. Pico do Arieiro, Curral das Freiras and Câmara de Lobos are not realistically linked by public bus in a single day. A small hire car is the easiest way to do this route on your own schedule.

What if the Pico do Arieiro sunrise is clouded over?

It happens often enough that you should never book it on your only morning. This itinerary treats Arieiro as a mid-morning viewpoint stop instead, with cloud cover as a real possibility either way, and no early alarm resting on a forecast that can flip in minutes.

Do I need to pay for hiking trails on this itinerary?

This route does not include a levada or an official PR trail, so no trail fee applies. If you add any waymarked PR path, including short stretches near Arieiro, expect a small per-person, per-day fee booked in advance.

Can I do the full Pico do Arieiro to Pico Ruivo traverse in two days?

Not alongside everything else in this plan. The PR1 traverse alone needs three to four hours each way with tunnels and steep steps, plus a car shuttle. It belongs in a dedicated hiking week, not a two-day Funchal-and-mountains trip.

What should I wear at Pico do Arieiro?

Layers, even if Funchal is warm. At 1,818 metres the temperature can sit close to freezing in the early morning while the coast is at 18 to 20 degrees, and wind at the viewpoint makes it feel colder still.

Is Curral das Freiras worth the detour?

Yes, especially paired with the Eira do Serrado viewpoint above it. The valley is one of the more dramatic short stops on the island, and it sits conveniently on the way back down from Arieiro toward the south coast.

Where should I stay for this itinerary?

Funchal, ideally somewhere walkable to the Old Town, since both days start and end there. It also keeps the drive to Pico do Arieiro on day two to well under an hour.