Europe · Portugal
Madeira, Portugal
In April 2023 I spent eight days alone on Madeira, the Portuguese island in the Atlantic off the coast of Africa. I didn't do a thru-hike. I rented a car, slept in hotels and did day hikes from the road: Pico Grande from the Valley of the Nuns, Pico do Areeiro to Pico Ruivo above the clouds, the old laurel trees at Fanal, part of the Levada do Caldeirão Verde, and Ponta de São Lourenço at the east end. In between I drove the coast from Ponta do Sol to Porto Moniz, Seixal and Machico. About 29.6 miles (47.7 km) of hiking and 10,462 ft (3,189 m) of climbing by my GPS. It's the trip from my films 8 Days of Traveling and Hiking in Madeira and Madeira in 8 Days.
Kraig Adams
Effort at this pace: Easy · about 4 mi (6 km) and 1,308 ft (399 m) of climbing a day over 8 days, up to 6,109 ft (1,862 m). Our grade for the days given, worked out from distance, climbing and altitude a day; it isn't the trail's usual difficulty rating (under Basics) and doesn't rate exposure, terrain or weather.
From Kraig Adams's GPS recording and guide.
From Kraig Adams's GPS
Elevation26–5,961 ft29.5 mi
From Kraig Adams's GPS. Terrain: Mapzen Terrain Tiles (SRTM, GMTED) on AWS · Rivers & lakes © OpenStreetMap contributors
Kraig Adams's days
The film
8 Days of Traveling and Hiking in Madeira
Before you go
From Kraig Adams's guide
about US$1,350 to US$2,220 (about €1,215 to €2,000, ECB rate 2026-11-12)
From Kraig Adams's guide
From Kraig Adams's guide. For planning, not navigation: check before you go.
Their films and versions
1 creator so far: Kraig, 8 days, $1,350–$2,220, hotels.
8 Days of Traveling and Hiking in Madeira
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Typical: 8 days (the hike's facts).
Planning questions about Madeira, answered only from this page's facts, the creators' versions and hikers' public tracks, with where each answer comes from. When the data doesn't say, the answer says "not given".
From hikers
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Answered from the data
Kraig Adams hiked it in 8 days.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
8 days for one person, as I did it, comes to about €1,215 to €2,000 before flights and fuel:
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
April to May and September to October are the usual picks: less rain than winter and less heat and fewer people than summer. The mountains are much colder than the coast, with ice on some winter days, and the clouds can cover the peaks at any time of year.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
You need a booking. Since January 1, 2026, every classified trail needs a 30-minute time slot booked and paid on the SIMplifica portal before you start. There's no payment at the trailhead. See The rules.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
Yes, since January 1, 2026. Every classified trail (PR) needs a 30-minute time slot booked and paid in advance on the SIMplifica portal: €4.50 a trail, €10.50 for the full PR1 to Pico Ruivo. Children 12 and under and Madeira residents don't pay but still book. There's no payment at the trailhead.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
Not any more. Since the PR1 reopened in 2026 it's one-way, toward Pico Ruivo, past the Pedra Rija viewpoint. Walk from Pico do Areeiro to Pico Ruivo and down to Achada do Teixeira and get a taxi back, walk Pico do Areeiro to Pedra Rija and back, or walk up to Pico Ruivo from Achada do Teixeira and back.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
Officially 6.1 km, plus 2.8 km down the PR1.2 to Achada do Teixeira. My out-and-back in April 2023 from the Pico do Areeiro parking, by way of Achada do Teixeira, was 12.5 miles and about 5,100 ft of climbing by my GPS, about 7.5 hours with stops.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
It helps a lot. The trailheads are high and spread around the island, and the weather changes fast, so a car lets you go back when the clouds clear. There is a daily bus from Funchal to Pico do Areeiro and buses toward Santana and Baía d'Abra, but none to Queimadas, Achada do Teixeira or Fanal.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
The route I hiked, from the village of Curral das Freiras, isn't one of the classified PR routes, so it wasn't on the forest service's list or in the booking system in October 2026. The classified PR12 from Boca da Corrida was only partly open.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.