The quick version
- A guided jeep day, a coach day tour and a rental car all reach the west coast, but the day feels very different in each one.
- West tours are listed from US$37 for a small-group day trip and from US$79 for the 4WD Skywalk, Porto Moniz, Seixal and Fanal loop.[1][2]
- The west loops are listed at 7 to 8 hours, with starting times confirmed when you check availability.[2][3]
- Pickups are included on the 4WD loop, which lists 11 pickup location options.[2] A hire car is not the only way west.
- The loop takes in the Cabo Girão Skywalk, Seixal, Porto Moniz, the Lombinho waterfall, Fanal Forest and Paul da Serra.[2]
| 4x4 small group | Rental car, self-drive | Coach day tour | |
|---|---|---|---|
| From price | from US$79[2] | Hire plus fuel and tolls | from US$38[4] |
| Listed length | 8 hours[2] | Your own pace, all day | 8 hours[4] |
| Who drives | Live tour guide on board[2] | You, on the hairpins | Live tour guide on board[4] |
| Group size | Private or small groups available[2] | Your own party only | Small group available[4] |
| Free cancellation | Up to 24 hours in advance[2] | Depends on the hire terms | Up to 24 hours in advance[4] |
The lounging area is approximately 3217 m2 while the swimming area is 3800 m2 and 2 metres deep, allowing around 7600 m3 of seawater into the pools.
Which way round the west suits you
Things to check
Why a 4x4 handles Madeira's west differently from a rental car
The west of Madeira is a stack of green ridges that fall straight into the Atlantic, with a high plateau sitting between the south coast and the north. The road climbs out of Câmara de Lobos past Cabo Girão, crosses Paul da Serra where cloud often sits on the tarmac, then drops through São Vicente and Seixal towards Porto Moniz. It is narrow, it switches back constantly, and around Fanal the mist can swallow the road markings altogether. Driving it yourself is perfectly doable, but it is a full day of concentration rather than a sightseeing drive, and the person in the passenger seat usually sees more than the driver does.
The guided 4WD version of the same loop leaves the driving to someone who does it every week. The Madeira: Skywalk, Porto Moniz, Seixal, and Fanal 4WD Tour is listed at 8 hours and comes with a live tour guide in Portuguese, Spanish, English and French.[2] Pickups are included, with the options confirmed when you check availability, and the listing offers private or small group options.[2] It carries a rating of 4.87 from 9,297 reviews, and you can reserve now and pay later, with free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.[2]
Coach tour or small-group 4x4: what actually changes
The biggest practical difference between a coach and a small jeep is where the vehicle can go and how many people are sitting in it. Coaches keep to the wider roads, so the day tends to stay on the main coast route with stops at the big viewpoints. A jeep can nose down the smaller lanes, pull onto a switchback for a photo, and turn around in a village square. On the coastal stretch between Seixal and Porto Moniz, where the cliff road hugs the rock, a small vehicle is far easier to park and far easier to pass.
Prices reflect that difference. A bus or coach west day such as the West Madeira: Laurel Forest, Waterfall, Rock Pools, Walk tour is listed from US$38 over 8 hours with a live tour guide.[4] The 4WD skywalk loop is listed from US$79.[2] Both listings offer free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund, and both include pickup, with details to confirm when you check availability.[2][4] If a smaller vehicle and a guide who can stop where the light is good matter more than the fare, the jeep tour is the one to book.
The coast road between Seixal and Porto Moniz hugs the cliff face.
What a 4x4 reaches that a hire car cannot
Two stops on the west loop deserve their own paragraph. Cabo Girão stands 580 metres high and the skywalk on its clifftop was completed in October 2012.[6][7] Entry is €2, except for residents and children up to 12 years old, and the viewpoint is open daily from 08:00 to 20:00.[6] From there a cable car drops to the Fajã do Cabo Girão beach, a narrow, lush strip of farmland known for its fertility, at 10 euros for a return trip.[8][9] Earlier in the day the same coast gives you Câmara de Lobos, the bay Winston Churchill painted in January 1950 from the Espírito Santo Viewpoint.[10]
Further west, the loop calls at the Véu da Noiva viewpoint, Seixal, Porto Moniz, the Lombinho waterfall, Ribeira da Janela, Fanal Forest and Fanal Pond on its way across Paul da Serra.[2] The natural pools at Porto Moniz are the swim stop, with a swimming area of 3,800 m2 that is 2 metres deep and holds around 7,600 m3 of seawater.[11] The surrounding Laurissilva forest has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999, and Madeira's tourism board presents Fanal as a mystical century-old forest.[12]
West route first or east route first
The west crosses the island, climbing over the plateau and dropping into the north coast villages before looping home along the south. The east is a different shape of day: the dry, bare spine of the São Lourenço peninsula, straighter roads, and stops such as Santana and the Guindaste Viewpoint, which sits on a slope of the Foz da Ribeira do Faial and looks out over the north coast.[13] If you want one day to show you the range of the island, the west does it in a single loop.
Which one comes first is mostly about energy and weather. The west is the longer touring day, it starts with pickup from Funchal and other points, and it finishes back in Funchal, so it slots neatly into the start of a stay.[2] Keep the east for a day when you fancy shorter drives, sea views and a walk out to the peninsula tip. Conditions on the plateau can be very different from those on the coast, which is another argument for booking something you can move; free cancellation runs up to 24 hours in advance.[2]
from US$79
The Skywalk, Porto Moniz, Seixal and Fanal 4WD Tour is listed at 8 hours with pickup and free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance.[2]
One day or two for the full west
One long day covers the headline stops: the skywalk, Ribeira Brava, São Vicente, Seixal, Porto Moniz, Fanal Forest and Paul da Serra, before the return through Calheta, Ponta do Sol and Câmara de Lobos.[2] That is the full loop, and it is a lot of road in one go. A second day lets you walk instead of ride. The Levada do Norte walk from Estreito de Câmara de Lobos to Cabo Girão follows the levada channel below the cliffs, with the sea on one side and terraced slopes on the other.[14]
If you would rather see the west from a different angle, alternatives include a west side tour using an electric car and the Achadas da Cruz cable car, listed at 8.5 hours from US$87, and a Wild West 4X4 Tour Safari listed from US$63.[15][16] Splitting the west over two days also lets you take Fanal slowly. Madeira's tourism board describes it as a mystical century-old forest, and the trees look their best when the mist moves through them.[12]
Do you need a guide for the skywalk, Seixal and Fanal
No, you do not need a guide to see the skywalk, Seixal and Fanal, but you will work harder without one. Funchal car rental gives you freedom, and the drive west is straightforward on the main roads as far as Ribeira Brava. After that the coast road narrows, the plateau climbs into cloud, and parking at the popular viewpoints fills up. A guide takes those decisions away, parks where you cannot, and knows which stop is clear on the day. The 4WD skywalk loop travels with a guide who speaks Portuguese, Spanish, English or French.[2]
Self-drivers should budget for the small costs. Skywalk entry is €2, with residents and children up to 12 years old exempt, and the viewpoint is open daily from 08:00 to 20:00.[6] The cable car down to the beach at Fajã do Cabo Girão is 10 euros for a return trip.[9] Guided tours also come with a wide choice of pickup points: one west day trip lists 81 pickup location options, and the 4WD skywalk loop lists 11.[1][2]
Is the west a good first-day orientation
It works well as a first day. In one loop you see the terraced south coast, the cliff at Cabo Girão, the laurel forest on the plateau, the north coast villages and the volcanic pools, then the warmer south-west on the way home.[2] You finish knowing which parts of the island you want to return to, and you have had the roads explained to you by someone who drives them for a living, which makes any later decision about hiring a car much easier.
Funchal to Fanal Forest is a slow climb through changing weather, and that is part of the appeal: the island packs several climates into a short drive. Madeira has a subtropical Mediterranean climate with even temperatures all year round and an average annual temperature of 20°C (67°F).[5] Book the guided west loop early in your stay, keep the evening after it free, and see how you feel about driving before you commit to anything longer.
From prices for west Madeira tours
From prices in US dollars as listed for these west Madeira tours:[1][2][3][17][18].
What a west day costs per person
All amounts are per-person from prices in US dollars, as listed for these GetYourGuide tours:[1][2][3][17][18].
When to book your west day
How to choose your day
Count your driving hours
If a full day on narrow mountain roads sounds like work, book the guided 4WD loop and let someone else drive.[2]
Match the group size
The 4WD loop offers private or small group options; one small-group west day trip is limited to 8 participants.[1][2]
Read the stop list
Check the stops, not the pictures. A loop naming the skywalk, Seixal, Porto Moniz and Fanal Forest is a full circuit of the west.[2]
Fix your dates early
West tours offer free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance, so you can hold a date and move it if the weather turns.[2]
Decide about the car
On a short trip, keep the first west day guided, then decide about a rental car once you have seen the roads.
Ride the west with a guide who knows every hairpin
from US$80Reserve now & pay later
