Despite suggestions that driving in Madeira could be challenging, we decided to hire a small car for the week of our stay in Funchal, the capital.
You need to get into the right mind-set for this. Madeira has a mountainous terrain with steep ravines, and there are few stretches of road that are straight. Although there are quite a few kilometres of Via Rapida (two-lane dual carriageway) speeds can never be high and your concentration needs to be 100%. Even on the Via Rapida, for example, slip-roads are unbelievably short and tunnels frequent. Any manouvre needs a lot of care.
On minor roads, even in towns, there are often deep gulleys, rather than mere gutters, at the side for water drainage. Get your wheel in one of those and you are in trouble.
Road widths can vary enormously and suddenly; you need to know where the sides of your car are and what size gap it will fit into. Surfaces can be dramatically awful.
Funchal is a rabbit-warren of roads, some in tunnels, many narrow and one-way, often cobbled, which twist and turn so that all sense of direction can be lost. Signage can be inconsistent. Your navigational skills will be tested! We did not have a sat-nav and I often wondered how it would have coped with roads very close to, and in some cases, on top of, other roads.
The Portuguese have a reputation for bad driving, but I saw no evidence of it on Madeira, perhaps because most of the time speeds are necessarily slow. In town, drivers were unfailingly courteous to pedestrians, even when they were jay-walking. Parking is difficult in Funchal, but easy anywhere else.
As a footnote, do not be deterred from driving here because of the recent floods. Damage is restricted to a few areas and certainly all main roads are now open, albeit with temporary surfaces in some cases. (The road - recently re-opened - from Ribeira Brava in the south over the middle of the island to São Vicente in the north is fascinating and reveals some of the awful power of nature as well as the Madeiran capacity for hard work.) Certainly little or no impact on tourism will be made from now on.
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Glad you enjoyed it - I too had no real issues driving there and it should not put any off from doing the same. We too had no sat nav (there are no sat nav maps of the island availble) and the maps are near to useless. But hey what the hell its holiday - getting lost is part of it.
Hope you had high tea at Rieds palace hotel?
Last edited by: Zero on Mon 29 Mar 10 at 11:52
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Yes, we did. We knew what "tea at Reid's" was all about and, although we don't normally do posh, we can when we want. So it was nice frock for her and white linen jacket for me, and we contrived to look bored and condescending as we mingled with the toffs on the balcony overlooking the bay where tea is served. And a very nice pot of Darjeeling it was, too - a bit dear at €28 each, but you're there for the total experience, not just the tea.
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Thanks for the info.
We are off to Madeira in three week's time and intend to pick up a hire car at the airport. It's good to hear that the major routes are now open.
Must remember the jacket for Reids.
Last edited by: Arctophile on Mon 29 Mar 10 at 14:58
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The jacket's not compulsory, but they ban shorts and trainers. Ideally I would have worn a tie as well, but forgot to take one, and fortunately there were a few other men who did not feel a tie necessary.
Seriously - do go. It's great fun and a fascinating place to walk into. Ideally, make a booking the day before.
Madeira is gorgeous, especially if you're into plants and gardens - these are seriously amazing.
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So how do I get those on my tomtom?
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Oh and by the way, having been there and driven there, those maps have insufficient details
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This is the fully-zoomed-in map around the Reid's area. Appears to be the normal sat-nav detail:
farm3.static.flickr.com/2499/4472832257_1348680d19_b.jpg
TomTom coverage:
countries fully covered (99.9%): Spain, Portugal, Andorra, Gibraltar, Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza, Formentera and the Canary Islands
I think Madeira is the 0.1% missing - should've have got a Garmin!
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What a pleasant surprise that there are other fans of Madeira on this forum besides myself. We go there every year and have now bought a timeshare.
They call it "The Garden of the Atlantic", and they are not joking.
However, I have NEVER hired a car there. It's bad enough driving in the UK, but there it is just scary!
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>> However I have NEVER hired a car there. It's bad enough driving in the UK
>> but there it is just scary!
Of course its not! Its no worse than italy or Spain. To be frank the driving standards there were better than some I have seen elsewhere. Just stick a portugese custard tart in one hand and drive with the other,
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Been there 14 times. Love it. Do not be complacent regarding driving there though. There any many mega accidents on their main routes. Also driving in the mountains can be a nightmare through rock falls. It only takes a very small rock from a great height to do serious damage to the roof of one's car and often one's head!! We use a taxi driver (now a Friend) at all times. Many years ago we 'did' the old roads prior to the EU funded 'Freeways'. brilliant place and brilliant people.
Next question?
Best regards.......................MD
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>> Next question?
Your a wimp. there is no reason NOT to hire a car and drive when and how you like. Spend the taxi money on something else. Like Estrella.
;)
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Who she? A friend of Coral?
Last edited by: ChrisPeugeot on Mon 29 Mar 10 at 19:51
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>> Your a wimp. there is no reason NOT to hire a car and drive when and how you like
Yes, I saw the smiley.
But actually, it is nice to take a break from driving when on holiday.
I can't really say that I enjoy driving in the UK at all, and enjoy it even less in places where they drive on the wrong side of the road!
Nice to chill out most days, take the bus (which is cheap in Madeira), or the odd taxi.
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>>
>> >> Next question?
>>
>> Your a wimp. there is no reason NOT to hire a car and drive when
>> and how you like. Spend the taxi money on something else. Like Estrella.
>>
>> ;)
>>
You're
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Driving in Madeira - Zero
