The quick version
- Cabo Girão is 580 metres high, and the skywalk was completed in October 2012. Entry is €2, except for residents and children up to 12 years old.[1][2]
- Câmara de Lobos is the obvious stop after the skywalk; its bay was painted by Winston Churchill in January 1950 from the Espírito Santo Viewpoint.[3]
- There is nothing to stay in at the cliff edge; the bases are Funchal and the south coast towns, among them Câmara de Lobos, Ribeira Brava, Ponta do Sol and Calheta.
- The skywalk is open daily from 08:00 to 20:00, about 15 kilometres west of Funchal. A return cable car trip below the cliff is 10 euros.[1][4][5]
- The Skywalk, Porto Moniz, Seixal and Fanal 4WD tour takes 8 hours with pickup included and free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance, from US$79.[6]
- Top choice Skywalk & Fanal 4WD from US$79 Rating4.87 from 9,297 reviews[6]Duration8 hours[6]CancellationFree cancellation up to 24 hours[6]Stops includeCabo Girão Skywalk and Fanal Forest[6] Check availability
- West Tour with Guide from US$42 Rating4.80 from 2,479 reviews[7]Duration7 hours[7]CancellationFree cancellation up to 24 hours[7]Stops includeCabo Girao Cliff and Fanal Forest[7] See this tour
- Waterfalls & Fanal Forest from US$40 Rating4.70 from 3,827 reviews[8]Duration8 hours[8]CancellationFree cancellation up to 24 hours[8]Stops includeFanal Forest and Porto Moniz[8] See this tour
The uniqueness of the Câmara de Lobos Bay was immortalised by Winston Churchill, on the day when, in January 1950, sitting at the Espírito Santo Viewpoint, facing the sea, he set up his easel and painted a picture that he would never forget.
Stay low, eat in the fishing towns, ride up to the skywalk
Things to check
Where Cabo Girão sits on Madeira's map
Cabo Girão is the great cliff of Madeira's south coast, a sheer wall of rock that drops straight to the Atlantic a short way west of Funchal. The island's tourism board gives its height as 580 metres, and the glass-floored skywalk that juts out over the drop was completed in October 2012.[1][2] From the platform you look down on terraced fields, on the small beach below and on the coastal road threading its way towards Ribeira Brava.
The viewpoint is open daily from 08:00 to 20:00, and there is an entrance fee of €2, except for residents and children up to 12 years old.[1] It sits about 15 kilometres west of Funchal, close enough for a half-day trip from the capital and easy to fold into a longer loop along the west coast.[4]
Below the cliff, the Fajã do Cabo Girão is a narrow and unusually fertile strip of farmland reached by cable car, and a return trip on the Teleférico do Rancho costs 10 euros.[5][10] It feels like a different world down there: small market gardens, a black pebble beach and the sound of the sea working at the rocks, with the traffic and the coach park far above your head.
Is there a village called Cabo Girão?
There is no settlement called Cabo Girão, which is worth knowing before you set off looking for one. The name belongs to the headland and the cliff, and the skywalk stands on the south coast in the municipality of Câmara de Lobos, roughly 15 kilometres west of Funchal.[4] What you find at the top is a viewpoint, a car park and the glass platform itself, not a village street.
What people usually mean by a village at Cabo Girão is Câmara de Lobos, the town just along the coast, or one of the small parishes on the road west, such as Quinta Grande, Campanário or Ribeira Brava. These are working places rather than resort strips: a church, a bakery, a few tascas, a harbour or a market, and streets that climb steeply up from the water.
Câmara de Lobos is the obvious stop. Its bay was painted by Winston Churchill in January 1950, from the Espírito Santo Viewpoint, with his easel set up facing the sea.[3] Today the town still turns towards the water, with fishing boats, a small promenade and places to eat looking out over the harbour.
The Fanal forest in mist, near the end of the west-coast loop.
Eating near Cabo Girão: what to expect
For restaurants near Cabo Girão, Madeira's south coast does the work: almost everything is down by the water rather than up at the viewpoint, and the cooking is plain, fresh and generous. Along the coast you will find grilled fish, limpets, octopus, seafood rice and the island's scabbard fish, often served with banana and passion fruit, plus simple meat dishes cooked with garlic and wine. Lunch is the main meal for many islanders, and a plate of the day in a small tasca is usually enough to carry you through to a late dinner.
Câmara de Lobos is the easiest place to eat after the skywalk, with the harbour and the seafront lined with everything from snack bars to proper restaurants. Ribeira Brava, further west, is a good halfway stop with cafés near the seafront and a market, while Seixal and Porto Moniz on the north coast have places that fill quickly when the tour vans arrive.
Two small things help. Booking a table for dinner in Funchal or Câmara de Lobos on a summer weekend saves a lot of walking, and if you are on a guided day out, ask your guide where the group stops and how long you have, so you can choose between a sit-down lunch and something quick.
Where to stay near the cliff
A Cabo Girão hotel, in practice, means a hotel in Funchal or in one of the south coast towns on the road west, because there is nothing to stay in at the cliff edge itself. Funchal has old quintas, boutique townhouses and large resort hotels, along with the restaurants, markets and buses that make a stay easy without a car.
If you would rather sleep beside the sea, Câmara de Lobos, Ribeira Brava, Ponta do Sol and Calheta all sit on the same coast road and put you closer to the west of the island. Staying out west shortens the morning run to the skywalk and leaves less driving for the rest of the day, when the loop usually carries on to Seixal, Porto Moniz and Fanal.
Booking matters as much as location on this side of Madeira, where small guesthouses and rural houses sell out in summer. If you are joining a guided tour, check the pickup list before you choose: the 4WD tour from this site has 11 pickup location options and 11 drop-off locations, so there is a good chance of one near your accommodation.[6]
from US$79
The Skywalk, Porto Moniz, Seixal and Fanal 4WD Tour runs 8 hours and includes pickup and a live tour guide.[6]
Driving, parking and guided alternatives
You can drive to Cabo Girão yourself, and the road up from the coast is short but steep, with tight bends and traffic in both directions. Parking at the viewpoint is limited, and it fills up through the middle of the day, so an early arrival makes the visit calmer and the photographs cleaner.
A guided day removes most of the logistics. The Madeira: Skywalk, Porto Moniz, Seixal, and Fanal 4WD Tour lasts 8 hours and includes pickup, a live tour guide and free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund, and it starts from US$79.[6] You can reserve now and pay later, which makes it easy to hold a place while you sort out flights and the rest of your week.
The route is a proper loop of the west rather than a single stop: Funchal, Quinta Grande, the Cabo Girão Skywalk, Campanário, Ribeira Brava, Serra de Água, São Vicente, the Véu da Noiva viewpoint, Seixal, Porto Moniz, Lombinho waterfall, Ribeira da Janela, Fanal Forest, Fanal Pond, Paul da Serra, Calheta, Canhas, Ponta do Sol and back through Câmara de Lobos.[6]
Fanal, the Laurissilva and the north coast
Fanal is the part of the west that people remember. Madeira's tourism board describes it as a mystical century-old forest and invites visitors to come and discover it, and it belongs to the same laurel forest world as the island's Laurissilva, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999.[11] The trees are twisted and mossy, the ground is soft with ferns, and mist drifts between the trunks.
At Porto Moniz the natural pools are the headline stop. The complex has a swimming area of 3,800 m2 that is 2 metres deep and holds around 7,600 m3 of seawater, with a lounging area of approximately 3,217 m2.[12] The pools are cut into black lava rock and refilled by the Atlantic, and on a bright day the contrast of dark stone and clear water is what you came for.
The north coast in between is greener and cooler than the south, with waterfalls running down the cliffs after rain and viewpoints such as the Guindaste viewpoint in Santana looking out over the sea.[13] Bring a layer even in summer, because the north side of the island catches the cloud, and Fanal can be damper and chillier than Funchal at the same hour.
When to go and what to pack
Madeira has a subtropical Mediterranean climate with even temperatures all year round and an average annual temperature of 20°C (67°F).[9] You can visit the skywalk in any month, but the weather changes quickly with height and with which side of the island you are on, and a warm afternoon in Funchal can turn into a damp, windy one at Fanal.
Pack for layers rather than for one climate: a light waterproof, a fleece or jumper, shoes with grip for wet stone and forest paths, and swimwear if you plan to use the Porto Moniz pools. Sun protection matters too, because the skywalk platform is exposed and the light off the sea is strong even when the air feels cool.
Allow a full day for the west coast and a half day for the cliff on its own. The skywalk is a short stop, the cable car down to the fajã adds a little more time, and the drive on to Seixal, Porto Moniz and Fanal fills the rest of the day. The view from the platform deserves more than a quick glance on the way past.
Review counts for west Madeira tours
Review counts as listed on GetYourGuide for each of these west Madeira tours.[6][7][8][14]
West Madeira tour prices
US dollar from-prices for four west Madeira tour listings.[6][7][8][14]
Best times of day for the skywalk and the west
Plan your Cabo Girão day
Pick your base
Choose Funchal for convenience, or a south coast town such as Câmara de Lobos, Ribeira Brava or Calheta if you want to be closer to the west.
Decide on transport
Driving gives you freedom on the coast road; a guided west tour handles the narrow climbs, the parking and the long loop in one day.
Time the skywalk
Go early if you are driving, since the platform is open from 08:00 and the car park fills through the middle of the day.[1]
Pack layers and swimwear
A light waterproof, grippy shoes and a swimsuit cover the cliff, the forest and the Porto Moniz pools in one bag.
Add the cable car
If you have time, ride down to the Fajã do Cabo Girão beach, where a return trip costs 10 euros.[5][10]
Leave room for lunch
Build a proper meal into the day, in Câmara de Lobos on the way home or in one of the north coast villages.
See the skywalk, Seixal, Porto Moniz and Fanal in one day
from US$80Reserve now & pay later
