If you’re planning a trip to Madeira, renting a car is the absolute best way to explore the island. But be warned, renting a car in Madeira is not for the faint of heart. In this guide, I’m helping you understand everything you need to know about renting a car in Madeira so you can make the most of your trip.
Madeira is one of the coolest islands in Europe. It’s often referred to as the ‘Hawaii of Europe’ because of its lush greenier but to me, it’s nothing like Hawaii (mainly because the sea is cold and the beaches are rocky! And I associate Hawaii with beaches more than anything else 🤷🏻♀️)
It is however, unlike anywhere else I’ve explored in Europe and I would absolutely love to go back someday.
Please note: This won’t be a full itinerary for Madeira, if you’re looking for that, make sure to read this post. Instead, this post is aimed to help you have a safe and enjoyable road trip on this famous Portuguese island.
Justyn’s Quick Madeira Car Rental Recommendations:
🏎️ Always start your car rental search on Discover Cars. They have the best deals, cancellation terms and insurance options. Discover Cars is my go to when it comes to rental cars.
🚗 If you’re not *really* comfortable driving a manual transmission, make sure to book an automatic rental. Madeira is HILLY and you need to have good clutch control or you won’t survive.
🚙 I recommend getting a nice small car to navigate the winding streets around the island.
🇵🇹 Make sure to get connected fast with a Portugal eSim. You’ll want to make sure you have maps available to navigate your trip!
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Renting a Car in Madeira in 2025: The Complete Guide
When planning my trip to Madeira, I knew that we were going to want a rental car. I had way too many hikes, viewpoints and villages on my list to be able to stay in just one area. A rental car was the perfect way to explore the entire island.
And since we ended up spending over a month in Madeira, the rental car meant that time could be split between 4 different places – fully exploring each region of the island.
That being said, I also was traveling with my husband who is an incredible driver and has experience renting cars around the world. Between the two of us we’ve probably driven in over 20 countries. So renting a car in Madeira was a no brainer.
Do you need a rental car in Madeira?
The first question I always get asked by people planning their trip is, “Do you need a rental car in Madeira?” And the answer is *almost always yes. Having a car is the best way to explore the island. They have buses that connect Funchal to other major towns, but that’s not a reliable way to do any hiking or real sightseeing.
My recommendation if you don’t want to rent a car would be to base yourself in Funchal for easy day trip options. You can do a lot of amazing day trips from Funchal – but you won’t have the freedom and flexibility of a car rental.
But at the end of the day, if you want to get out and really explore Madeira, a car rental is the best way to go.
*The only time I wouldn’t recommend renting a car in Madeira is if you don’t feel comfortable driving – or you can’t confidently drive a manual (and that’s the only car available). While driving in Madeira wasn’t as bad as other places, it’s very hilly and the roads can be tight. So you need good clutch control.
Personally, I recommend booking a rental car through DiscoverCars.com.
How’s the driving in Madeira?
This is where things get tricky – because while I 100% recommend a car rental, you really should only drive if you feel comfortable. Driving a car in Madeira was a bit wild.
First things first, there are a LOT of hills. The entire island is made of mountains that you either have to go over, or under in tunnels. That being said, make sure you have good clutch control, or pay extra for an automatic transmission. I would not have made it on this road trip without my husband doing a lot of the driving.
Then you have the locals. They’re up there with the drivers in Italy… which is my least favorite country to drive in. They don’t really get over for you when entering the highway, so you have to come to a complete stop…and then race onto the highway at full speed while the locals speed around you. They drive very fast, and love undertaking you – so please just be careful!
I would recommend making sure you have good car rental insurance. You can always book that through Discover Cars and then refuse the rental insurance from the car company. Or get yourself a premier travel card that offers car rental insurance. This is the premier travel card that I use (and LOVE).
How much does it cost to rent car in Madeira
Your rental car in Madeira might just be the most affordable part of your trip. We took our trip right after the island opened from COVID, so I’m not going to share my prices because they simply aren’t accurate. But I did a quick search on Discover Cars and you can rent a car in Madeira for around $10 a day!
I was surprised to see that it was still so affordable. Keep in mind that price will likely double for an automatic transmission, but that’s the case across Europe.
This is extra surprising because my rental car in Ireland last year cost us nearly 5x this.
What do you need to rent a car in Madeira?
You’ll find it’s pretty easy to rent a car across Europe, and Madeira is no exception. All we needed to show was our drivers license and passport. I really appreciate the transparency in Discover Cars’ pricing. The other thing you’ll find with rental cars in Madeira is the deposit amount.
I saw some rental companies taking a deposit as high as $2,300! Luckily, when you’re searching on Discover Cars, you can easily see who has an average or high deposit before you go to book. You can even search by deposit amount to easily see which options are the best for you.
As for legal requirements to drive in Madeira, you only need a valid driver’s license. A few years ago a lot of places required international drivers licenses (which you could pick up in your home country for $30-$50) but I haven’t been asked for one in years. Your normal, valid drivers license from home will be enough to rent a car in Madeira.
According to my searches, there are car rental companies that will rent a car to drivers as young as 18 years old. Though keep in mind that you might pay a bit more for being less than 21 and older than 65. That’s pretty normal anywhere in the world – but you can rent a rental car in Madeira much younger than in America.
How long should you stay in Madeira
I recommend coming to Madeira for at least a week, and spending your time around Funchal and at least one other destination. I personally loved staying in Paúl do Mar and highly recommend adding this Airbnb to your bucket list (this is where my husband proposed to me!)
However the other destination that we truly loved was São Vicente. The climate there was completely different to the coasts, and you’re close to so much incredible hiking. If you want to stay in three of the locations that we did during our trip, I would recommend at least 10 days.
To completely plan your trip, make sure to read my 3-week guide.
Madeira would also be an amazing place to base yourself as a digital nomad – especially in the off-season when the crowds are much less. I think it’s one of the best digital nomad destinations in Europe.
Other Madeira Car Rental Tips
How long should you rent a car for?
If you plan on staying in various towns across Madeira, make sure that you book the rental car for the length of your stay. We picked our rental car up from the airport and kept the car for our entire stay.
However, if you plan on staying in Funchal, you could save money by renting the car only for the period you plan on exploring outside of Funchal.
For example, if you’re starting your trip with a couple of nights in Funchal, rent your car when you plan on leaving. You can easily get around Funchal without the car, and knowing where to drive and park in Funchal could be a headache.
This is my usual advice for renting a car in any European country. When we rented a car in Rome, we made sure not to have the rental car for the few nights we were actually staying in Rome. And we explored Reykjavik by foot before renting our car for that trip.
Driving (and parking) in Madeira
I’ve heard from friends who’ve visited Madeira recently that the most popular hikes and viewpoints are getting more strict on entry and parking. The Visit Madeira website will always have the most up-to-date information for walkers. Make sure to read their advice to walkers.
Please make sure that you’re always following local governance. You don’t want your tourism to negatively impact the lives of the locals. It’s important to put people before your photos, videos and social media posts. If somewhere is too busy, consider visiting somewhere else, or coming back at another time.
Be a good tourist and do your research ahead of time, pay the required fees and try to explore lesser known places on the island – instead of rushing to the most popular (and therefore most crowded) spots. The entire island of Madeira is beautiful so get out there and find your favorite spots.
Overall, I highly recommend renting a car in Madeira. It’s the best way to explore the island and really get off the beaten path. Make sure to rent a car you feel comfortable driving – and always have insurance, whether that’s from the agent (like Discover Cars) or through your credit card, like me.
Additional Activities in Madeira
For the days you don’t want to drive, check out these local activities, tours and guided hikes.
Madeira Travel Essentials
Here are some essentials to help you plan the perfect trip to Madeira.
Flights: Grab last minute flight deals on Kiwi. Don’t overpay for flights – let Kiwi do the hard work of finding cheap flights for you.
Credit Cards: I’ve started using the Capital One Venture X Card and I couldn’t recommend it more. You get unlimited lounge access, TSA or Global Entry, $300 travel credit, $50-$100 experience credit, car rental insurance and so much more. Learn more and apply here.
Travel Insurance: I never travel without travel insurance – I’ve learned my lesson for not having it in the past. As a full-time digital nomad, I highly recommend SafetyWing. Learn more and get insured here.
Accommodation: For our accommodation in Madeira, I mostly searched on Airbnb or Booking.com. Once you reach Genius Level 3 on Booking.com – they’ll actually pay a portion of your stay! So it’s worth staying committed to their booking platform. Start your search today.
eSims: I used to get physical sims every time I went to a new country. Now, I keep my UK SIM in all the time and instead get eSims for the length of my trip. That means no more wasting time in airports or getting ripped off. You can start using your phone from the moment you land.
I hope this guide helps you understand everything you need to know about renting a car in Madeira! Enjoy your trip – I wish I was going with you.
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