Currency. Madeira uses the Euro, though major credit cards will work and ATMs are widely available. If you're flying direct to Madeira, currency can be exchanged at airports, banks, and hotels.
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You should plan to spend around €95 ($101) per day on your vacation in Madeira Islands, which is the average daily price based on the expenses of other visitors. Past travelers have spent, on average, €33 ($35) on meals for one day and €9.87 ($10) on local transportation.
Madeira's national currency is Euro (EUR), which comes in denominations of 5€, 10€, 20€, 50€, 100€, 200€ and 500€ notes. Coins come in 1, 2,5, 10, 20 and 50 cent and one and two euros denominations. Banks are open from 8:30 am to 15:00 pm, Monday to Friday.
The official language spoken in the Madeira archipelago is Portuguese, but a majority of the local population is proficient in English, especially in the more tourist-heavy spots.
You can easily pay €40 a head in Madeira. There are several fine dining restaurants where you can pay much more than that but you can have an evening meal in many (or perhaps even most) restaurants (with wine) typically for no more than €20 to €30 a head.
Average monthly temperaturesFor the highest temperatures the best time to visit Madeira is between August and September although the sub tropical climate offers sunshine throughout the year and winter months are equally popular with visitors.
While meal prices in Madeira Islands can vary, the average cost of food in Madeira Islands is €33 per day. Based on the spending habits of previous travelers, when dining out an average meal in Madeira Islands should cost around €13 per person.
My little AA Essential Guide to Madeira suggests that, as Flowercity says, tipping is appreciated but not required in Madeira. If you do want to tip, the advice is 10% in restaurants and for taxi drivers and hairdressers. In bars it suggests just loose change but nothing for chambermaids in hotels.
Visiting MadeiraHowever, there are other means of transport available such as buses, taxis, tuk-tuks, bicycles and scooters. It is also worth mentioning the importance of the cable cars, which connect to some of the archipelago's most iconic points of interest.
The average standard of living tends to be a bit lower than in mainland Portugal, and the local autonomous government gives generous subsidies coming from the tourist industry revenues and from the Portuguese national budget. Go where the locals go and everything will be cheap.
Madeira is a pretty small island, and so luckily you don't need very long to see all of the incredible things that this destination has to offer. If you're looking to experience the must-dos then a short four-day break would be fine. However, a week is the perfect amount of time to really make the most of the island.
Funchal – Madeira Island's capitalA family of four estimated monthly costs are 1,943.8€ without rent. A single person estimated monthly costs are 542.5€ without rent. Funchal is 13.1% less expensive than Lisbon. Rent in Funchal is, on average, 32.4% lower than in Lisbon.
Famous for it's year-round warmth and sunshine – choosing the best time to visit Madeira all depends on the type of holiday you're looking for… Let's start at the beginning of the year – January through to March is the coolest time of the year, but it's also the quietest and the cheapest.
So you can swim all year round in Madeira if you are not cold. If you want to sunbathe and swim, the months of May to September are obviously the best. The island of Porto Santo and its 7 km long beach should interest you, even if the influence of tourists is impressive in high season!
The rainy season is between November and February, during which time rolling clouds and frequent rainstorms are typical. Most days during this time will have at least one rainstorm passing through. The months between May and August are the driest of the year.
Find the best dealsAirfare to Madeira Island (FNC) varies throughout the year based on seasonal demand. You'll see the lowest rates for roundtrips to FNC in December and in December for one-ways.
There are dozens of trails, hundreds of kilometres and countless sceneries to enjoy while hiking in Madeira. The west coast of Madeira hides some of the most breathtaking sceneries with trails and routes that cater for those who just want to stroll along as well as those who are looking for a bit of adventure.
ELECTRICITY AND WATERThe electric current in the archipelago is 220 volts. There is plenty of water in Madeira and it is all drinkable and of excellent quality.