Car Hire in Funchal - Getting to Funchal
Funchal is located on the southeastern coast of Madeira in the Atlantic, southwest of the Portuguese mainland and north of the Canary Islands. The Aeroporto de Madeira, 20kms northeast of Funchal, is the point of entry to Madeira. Air Portugal, TAP and GB Airways are the main airlines serving the island. Air Portugal has daily flights from Lisbon and two weekly direct flights from London.
The Sociedad de Automobiles de Madeira bus operates on the Funchal-Santa-Catarina route, including the airport; buses are timed to coincide with flights. Journey time from the airport to Funchal is about 40 minutes. Metered taxis are available at the airport and take about 20 minutes to reach Funchal.
Many visitors come to Madeira on package holidays with chartered airlines. Carriers include Monarch Air, Air 2000 and TUF. This option usually works out the cheapest and a transfer to the hotel is included in most deals.
Driving on the island is a great experience, and the roads are generally in good condition. However, care should be taken on some of the mountain roads as hairpin bends are all too common.
Madeira does not have a regular ferry service from continental Europe. However, cruise ships dock here regularly to allow passengers to sample the delights of the island for a day or two. It may be possible to journey onward from the Funchal port on one of these cruise liners as some of them are associated with travel agencies on Madeira.
