If you’re planning a trip to Madeira, Portugal, and considering renting a car, let me tell you firsthand—this was the best decision we made for our 2-week trip to the island last fall!
The roads weave through dramatic landscapes and past incredible viewpoints, and we were so thankful for the freedom to explore Madeira at our own pace and keep our itinerary flexible!
Driving here might initially seem intimidating, but you should do it.
We put together a complete guide based on our experience to help you feel more confident about renting a car in Madeira.
We’ll include some insider tips for finding an affordable car, what kind of car you’ll want, the documents you need (if any), and our personal advice for driving on Madiera’s roads.
Do You Need a Rental Car in Madeira?
In a practical sense, no, you don’t NEED a car to get around Madeira.
But would we ever go to Madeira without renting a car? Absolutely not.
The main reason to visit Maderia is for the dramatic viewpoints, hiking trails, epic waterfalls, and other natural wonders.
But all of these places are pretty far from Funchal, the main city. So, if you don’t have your own car, you’ll be forced to choose between expensive tours/taxis or spending a lot of extra hours on the bus.
It’s just so much easier to have your own car.
We also experienced some of the worst jet lag of our lives in Madeira, so it was essential to stop back at our villa for mid-day naps.
What Do I need to rent a Car?
I wish that renting cars was a simpler process, but there are some legal requirements and other regulations put in place by the rental agencies that you will need to know about.
Here are some of the logistics to know before trying to book a rental car in Madeira.
Do you need an International Driver’s Permit?
Thanks to Portugal’s membership in the EU, citizens of other EU countries can simply use their national driver’s licenses in Madeira. So, if you’re from the EU, there’s no need for an International Driver’s License (IDL) or International Driver’s Permit (IDP).
However, visitors from non-EU countries like the U.S., Australia, or the U.K. will need an International Driver’s Permit (IDP) and their regular driver’s license. Both are mandatory, as rental agencies in Madeira will require them before releasing any vehicle to you.
I got my IDP from my local automobile association a few years back.
But if you are already overseas or don’t have one near you, you can actually get an IDP online these days, and it only takes about 10 minutes.
Do You Need Full Coverage Insurance?
Absolutely, yes.
Most rental places will offer basic liability insurance, but that only covers injuries and damage to the OTHER driver’s car if you’re in an accident.
Madeira’s roads are gorgeous but can also be dangerous.
Full coverage isn’t too pricey (our rate was about $6.30 per day to add on with our Discover Cars rental, and it covered literally everything.
When we had a flat tire, for instance, we didn’t have to pay a dime for repairs because of our full coverage. So, for us, it paid for itself. But either way, it’s a small price for peace of mind.
Do You Need a Credit Card?
You need a credit card to rent a car in Madeira. Every agency requires the driver to block their credit card as a security deposit.
This is typically somewhere between €800-2000.
So, not only are you required to have a credit card, but you also need to make sure that the limit is higher than this so that the block on the card will be accepted by your bank. Otherwise, your card will be declined.
Is there an Age Requirement?
The minimum age to rent a car in Madeira is typically 21. However, this doesn’t seem like a hard line, and it’s really up to what kind of risk the rental agencies are willing to assume.
There are some rental companies in Madeira that require drivers to be 23 years old or even 25.
We’ve also seen on Reddit and other forums that people are getting away with renting cars at 18 years old, but they often have to pay a lot more for a ‘young driver fee’ and still need a credit card to cover an even larger deposit.
How Much Does it Cost to Rent a Car?
We’ve always found that renting a car in Madeira is much more affordable than in other places.
It cost us less than €30/day ($32/day).
I remember how relieved we were to see these prices, especially after paying upwards of $500 for a week in Puerto Rico a couple of months beforehand.
However, the cost of car rental in Madeira depends on a couple of factors.
For starters, when are you traveling to Madeira? During high season (June – September), rental cars start around €30-40/day, but that price drops to €15-20/day in the off-season.
It also depends on what kind of car you want. We actually prefer a small car (easier parking and better gas mileage), but they’re also a lot cheaper. Last I looked, here was the difference in price for a week in September;
- Small Compact Car = €180
- Compact SUV = €213
- Medium Sedan = €273
- SUV or Minivan = €570
Surprisingly, the price seems to stay the same in Madeira, whether you reserve the car for 3 days or 3 weeks, which is great if you’re only spending a few days in Madiera.
This island is the only place I’ve ever seen that. When we rented a car in Crete, we got a huge discount for extending our car rental.
Most Reliable Car Rental Companies
We don’t think it really matters what agency you use, but after being scammed by a car rental agency before, we refuse to use any company without many solid reviews.
If you use DiscoverCars to search for the best prices, you’ll see user ratings next to every agency. We highly recommend only using companies with a score over 7/10.
Here are a few of the most well-known companies in Madeira.
7M Rent a Car
7M Rental Car is a newer agency that started back in 2018 and quickly became the largest rental agency in Madeira.
It’s also the company that we used when traveling to Madeira. We chose them because they offer 24-hour assistance and have a bunch of offices across the island, and we wanted the option to pick up our car in Calheta and drop it off at the airport. They also had some of the best prices at the time.
Way2Azores
As you can guess, Way2Azores started in the Azores, which is another island chain you can explore by car in Portugal (we didn’t love it as much as Madeira, but we still thought it was awesome to spend a couple of days there).
They have slightly cheaper prices than 7M or Cassianos and will also rent a car to anyone over 19 years old.
Cassianos Car Rental
Cassianos is another local provider that typically offers a range of vehicles and has incredible customer ratings on third-party sites.
Another reason you might want to use them is because they have the cheapest security deposit of all these companies (although it’s still pricey at €1,600)
What Type of Car Is Best For Madeira
A lot of people stress about choosing the right type of car for their trip to Madeira, but we always go for the most affordable option.
This will probably change whenever we have a family and need a more robust vehicle for safety, but for now, we like the perks of easier parking and better gas mileage in smaller cars.
You also don’t need a super powerful car to get around Madiera.
Yes, the roads are windy and mountainous, but even with a Mitsubishi Mirage (the smallest compact car they make), we never had any trouble getting around.
That said, if you want something a bit more powerful, all of the rental agencies across Madeira have compact SUVs, larger sedans, and even minivans for families.
We found street parking and finding a spot at the levada trailheads easier with our small car, but it’s still possible with a larger vehicle.
Funchal is full of parking garages, so you won’t have any issues there.
The one thing you need to be aware of is that almost all the cars in Madeira have a manual transmission. You will pay a premium for an automatic vehicle (if it’s even available during your travel dates).
But if you’ve never driven a manual vehicle (a lot of our friends in the U.S. haven’t), Madeira is not the place to learn. Just plan in advance and pay for a car with an automatic transmission.
Where to Pick up your car?
If there’s one thing we would change about our rental car experience in Madiera, it would be scheduling to pick up our rental car at the airport.
Our flight to Madeira was significantly delayed, meaning we didn’t arrive until 2 AM, and it was a pain trying to find a taxi to our hotel (there is no Uber in Madeira).
Instead of just picking up our car and driving to our hotel, we had to wait until the following day to pick it up in Machico. We paid nearly €50 for two taxis and spent our first morning in Madeira filling out our paperwork.
So, if you’re using a rental agency that offers pickup at the airport, use it. It will save you money and some extra time!
The only exception to this is if you’re not planning to rent a car for your entire trip. In that case, make sure that you are staying near Funchal (all rental agencies have an office there), making it easy to find taxis and take tours around the island.
Is it Safe to Drive in Madeira?
While driving in an unfamiliar area always carries a risk, moving to Madeira is not more dangerous than anywhere else in Europe.
So, yes, we would say it’s safe.
But if you are nervous about the island’s winding roads and steep drop-offs, check out our top tips for driving in Madeira.
Basically, you just need to be aware of your surroundings, follow the law, take certain precautions (like getting full-coverage insurance), and put both your emergency brake AND parking brake in while parking on hills, just in case one fails.
Closing Thoughts
As we’ve already mentioned a number of times, we’re so glad that we rented a car in Madeira. It really did make our experience significantly more enjoyable, and we had a lot of fun driving around the island.
Not only do you avoid having to take a taxi from the airport to Funchal, but figuring out how to get around Madeira without a car can be much more expensive than driving yourself.
Enjoy cruising around Madeira, and we highly encourage you to check DiscoverCars for the best prices.
If you’re nervous about them being a legit company, check out our full review explaining why we actually trust them.
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