EUROPCAR Car Rental at Madeira Airport

The service desk of Europcar car rental at Madeira International Airport is located on the ground floor of the terminal, close to the security section. The service desk is open from 7.00 am to midnight every day and can be contacted by phone on +351 291 524 633 to arrange for pick-up and drop off. Reservations can be made online using the form above.

Europcar is just one of many rental car companies at Madeira Airport.

Madeira's famous caves are located in the municipality of São Vicente. Discovered in 1885, the São Vicente Caves open to the public at 10.00 am and close at 6.00 pm every day. About 890,000 years old, these volcanic caves stretch for about 1 kilometer into the bowels of the island, but only some 700 m of this is easily accessible for guided tours. The caves were formed as a result of a volcanic eruption and the first to be opened to the public in Portugal in 1996. When the lava cooled rapidly, the gas trapped inside left large tunnels, some 5 or 6 meters in height in places. The tour takes about half an hour, and includes information about the creation of Madeira.

If you're starting with a rental car from Funchal, take the motorway towards Ribeira Brava, then follow signposting to São Vicente. When you reach the Serra de Água exit, another sign will direct you towards São Vicente, but only the tunnel approach leads you straight to the caves after about 500 meters at the first exit at the 3rd roundabout.

Madeira offers visitors spectacular vistas across valleys, mountains and the Atlantic ocean. Various hiking trails run through the mountains, one of them is the PR5 Vereda das Funduras, an 8.7 km route that begins at the Portela Lookout Point (also called the Miradouro Portela). It is located between Porto da Cruz and Machico. This hiking trail is only moderately difficult, and families with older children should be able to manage it. The views along the way of Madeira's northern coast are breath-taking. The path takes in parts of the Laurisilva Forest, the largest surviving laurel forest in the world. Laurisilva Forest is home to uniquely Madeiran plants and animals, such as the Madeiran Laurel pigeon for example, or the Mountain Orchid, the Orquidea da Serra, and endemic tree species like the Madeira mahogany and bay tree.

The laurel forest spans some 15,000 hectares within the 27,000 hectares park. Madeira Natural Park was created in 1982, and is classified as a Biogenetic Reserve by UNESCO. The best way to see parts of the park is by following some of the signposted hiking trails.