My wife and I are planning to spend a week in Madeira this September/October and we were wondering what type of weather to expect. I've read it could be anywhere from high 60's to mid 80's but wanted to see if anyone had any first had knowledge. We are also looking for any advice on tours, restaurants, bars. etc.
Thanks!
Madeira is really lovely.
Both my trips to Madeira were pre-climate change so not terribly helpful, besides which a report from one or two people isn't going to tell you much. You can go to Wunderground.com and find actual day-by-day weather data for Funchal going back years. Choose History > Monthly and look at stats for your travel dates in 2017, 2016, 2015, etc. That should give you a good idea of the range of weather you might encounter.
In my (not-recent) experience Madeira can be cooler than one would expect based on its latitude. I've also been rained on quite a bit there.
My top recommendation is that you take a walk along one of the levadas. There's at least one company that does guided walks. You don't necessarily need a guide, but it's great to have the transportation to and from the area of the hike. The walks are basically level but with beautiful views. Some would not be recommended for folks who have trouble with heights, but the tour company can provide guidance on that score.
There's public bus service that will get you to a lot of spots on the island, including the inland Curral das Freiras, without the expense of a tour.
