We were expecting Madeira to be one of the priciest stops on our trip this year – numbers as high as £4,000/month had been bandied about, way over our budget of £2,000–£2,500. But, donning our let’s-be-sensible hats, we managed to rein it in.
Here’s a rough breakdown of our expenditure for the month:
Accommodation (£1,500) – We stayed in a 2-bedroom apartment with a terrace in the cheaper Livramento area up the hill towards Monte. It’s only a 15-minute walk down to the city centre, but it takes a bit longer to walk up! Booking for a month through Airbnb often gets you a decent discount – in this case, we got 4 weeks for the price of 3.
Groceries (£500) – Our plan was always to self-cater our breakfasts and dinners. We bought plenty of fresh fruit and veg, bread, butter, (fresh) milk (there’s a lot of UHT milk, but we managed to find some fresh stuff), yoghurt, cereal, biscuits, chocolate, snacks (crisps, nuts, dried broad beans, etc.), fresh seafood (fish, prawns and octopus), fresh meat (mainly chicken and pork), cured meats, cheese, juice, wine (€2–€4 bottles of vinho verde were perfectly good) and beer (Coral or SuperBock), as well as some essential toiletries and cleaning products.
Dining out (£400) – We made savings here by trying to only eat street food–style snacks when we were out and about, such as a coffee and a pastel de nata (€1.50 at Nata 7) or a lunch of seafood buns and beer/juice (€15 for the three of us at Tapas do Anibal). A couple of times, we had more of a sit-down lunch, ordering a dish each, totalling around €30 (including a couple of drinks), so we didn’t do that too often – it was usually after a big walk when we needed some serious refuelling (at Câmara de Lobos after walking down from Cabo Girão and at São Vicente after walking PR16 and then back down into town). And our biggest blow-outs were a big espetada lunch (€60 at Restaurante O Lagar Antiguidades, Curral das Freiras) and a big seafood lunch of mixte de peixe, prego, chips, salad and drinks (€60 at Bela 5) – both of which were feasts and more than the three of us could possibly eat!
Transport (£100) – We didn’t feel the need to rent a car, and we also didn’t hire any guides to take us places – two things we thought we might have to do. We stuck to what was achievable by buses, Bolts and Ubers – and still had an absolute whale of a time. Buses to destinations outside of Funchal cost only €2.80, no matter how far you travel (except the ‘special’ Pico do Areeiro bus which costs €3), so they are a real bargain. And Bolts/Ubers back up the hill from the city centre to our Airbnb cost around €5.
Activities (£100) – This could seriously blow out anyone’s budget, but there are so many things you can do for free in Madeira. We definitely didn’t need to go whale-watching or on a pirate ship cruise, so we capitalised on the freebies! Most of the walks are free, and the few PR walks that do charge a fee only cost €3 per person (over 12). Our main expenditure here was on a couple of cable car rides (Fajãs do Cabo Girão and Funchal) – although we could’ve done without the Funchal one! – and the entrance fees to Cabo Girão and Monte Palace Garden.
In general, we found that most places accept cards, but cash is still needed for buses, markets and smaller local shops. We used our Wise cards to get a good exchange rate and avoid any extra charges (get a referral code for a free Wise card here). Watch out for ATM charges (often mentioned in tiny print on the screen), especially around the touristy areas like Rua da Santa Maria. We found some ATMs trying to charge an extra €5.95! – just cancel the transaction and walk on to the next ATM. In general, avoid the Euronet ATMs and look for Multibanco instead.
