MADEIRA · MARCH · FUNCHAL · SOUTH COAST
Madeira in March means Funchal afternoons near 69°F, a sea just under 67°F and twelve hours of daylight for the levadas, the island’s famous channel-side trails. You will share the old town with cruise passengers. The port authority’s latest March count, read from its 2025-2026 charts, is 108,699 people ashore from 44 ship calls.
Since January 1, 2026, every classified walk in Madeira, every PR-numbered levada and vereda, charges an access fee and needs a booking. Most visitors pay EUR 4.50 per trail, or EUR 3 through a tour company with an IFCN protocol, and residents walk free. Bookings are made only online, through SIMplifica, the regional government’s portal. Entry comes in 30-minute slots from sunrise to sunset, so a mid-March day holds about 24 of them per trail.
MADEIRA IN MARCH · AT A GLANCE
March suits walkers and garden lovers who want mild 69°F afternoons in Funchal and days long enough for a levada, as long as they book trail slots online and accept a sea near 67°F.
FUNCHAL NORMALS 69.1°F / 57.7°F · SEA 66.9°F · TRAIL BOOKING MANDATORY SINCE 2026
Go for: levada walks with twelve hours of light, the Monte cable car and gardens, a Blandy’s tasting, and a Cabo Girão sunset inside opening hours.
Think twice before: planning a beach week. The sea sits near 67°F, and high ground runs colder and far wetter than Funchal’s coastal station.
Climate: IPMA station 522 Funchal · Sea: Open-Meteo Marine · Trails: Visit Madeira · Cruises: APRAM · full sources at the end
On this page
- Madeira weather in March69.1°F highs and 5.8 rain days in Funchal
- Can you swim in Madeira in March?A 66.9°F sea and the Porto Moniz pools
- How busy is Madeira in March?44 cruise calls and a EUR 2 nightly tax
- Things to do in Madeira in MarchCabo Girão, Monte, Blandy’s and the markets
- Two days in Madeira in MarchFunchal and Monte, then the PR1 crossing
- Madeira in February or April insteadApril runs 0.7°F warmer and drier
- Is March a good time to visit Madeira?Yes for walkers, April for swimmers
For where to sleep and what the island holds all year, start with our Madeira guide. The best time to visit Portugal weighs March against the mainland, and flights from the US covers the crossing. Once you land, the Aerobus leaves the airport between 8:30 am and 10 pm and reaches Praia Formosa, through central Funchal, in 50 minutes. Call the operator on 291 201 151 for the fare.
Madeira weather in March: average highs, lows and rain days
| Funchal in March | Normal |
|---|---|
| Average high | 69.1°F |
| Average low | 57.7°F |
| Precipitation | 2.45 in |
| Days with 1 mm (0.04 in) or more | 5.8 |
| Days with 10 mm (0.39 in) or more | 2.2 |
| Daylight on March 15 | 12 h 01 min |
| Sunrise / sunset, March 15 | 7:15 am / 7:16 pm |
Every figure here comes from IPMA, Portugal’s national weather service, and its 1991-2020 normals for station 522 in Funchal: a real thermometer at 58 meters on the south coast, not a model grid cell. An average March day there peaks at 69.1°F and dips to 57.7°F, with 2.45 inches of precipitation over the month. Up on the peaks the air is colder and far wetter, and the far end of a coast keeps its own weather. Read Funchal’s normals as a harbor reading before you pack for a mountain trail.
IPMA logs 5.8 March days with at least 1 mm (0.04 inch) of rain, roughly one day in five, and 2.2 days with 10 mm (0.39 inch) or more, the kind that soaks a walk. Over a week in Funchal, count on one wet day and sometimes two, most of them light. US tables start counting at 0.10 inch, so these tallies do not line up with the ones you know from home.
From the 69.1°F afternoon to the 57.7°F night, the temperature swings 11.4°F. A T-shirt handles the waterfront at lunch, but dinner outdoors needs a fleece or a light sweater, plus a rain shell for the wet day. Anyone booked on PR1, the crossing that runs between 1,491 and 1,857 meters (about 4,890 to 6,090 feet), should pack warmer layers than Funchal suggests. Our Portugal packing list covers the rest.
On March 15 the sun rises over Madeira at 7:15 am and sets at 7:16 pm local time, 12 hours 01 minutes of daylight. Trail entry slots follow that clock, running every 30 minutes from sunrise to sunset. Start PR1’s three-hour crossing by 3 pm and you keep an hour in hand before dark.
Can you swim in Madeira in March? Sea temperature and what it feels like
Open-Meteo’s marine data puts the sea off Madeira at 66.9°F in March, averaged over 2015-2024. That number is the mean of each day’s warmest reading, so the water over a full 24 hours runs a shade cooler. It sits 2.2°F below Funchal’s average air high, and March water comes in fractionally cooler than February’s 67.2°F.
For a confident swimmer, water around 66.9°F feels brisk on entry and fine after a few minutes of steady strokes. Anyone who chills easily will keep it short. The easiest dip is at Porto Moniz on the north coast, where the serviced volcanic pools charge EUR 3 for changing rooms, a children’s pool, a bar and a first-aid post. The complex keeps 9 am to 5 pm in winter and 9 am to 7 pm in summer, and we could not confirm which timetable covers March, so plan on 5 pm.
Our sources carry no March wind or swell data for Madeira, so we cannot say how often the open sea turns rough. Check the marine forecast on the morning of a swim, and keep to the rock pools on any day the ocean looks lively.
How busy is Madeira in March? Crowds and prices
Funchal’s cruise season runs through winter. The port authority’s charts put 108,699 cruise passengers ashore in March from 44 calls, against 4,071 in July from 3, and a winter morning can see four ships alongside. We found no hotel occupancy or room-rate series, so we crown no month cheap or expensive. The Portugal trip cost guide gives spending tiers.
We hold no data on how many weeks ahead Funchal fills in March, so plan around the bookings that are fixed. Trail slots must be reserved on SIMplifica before you walk. Blandy’s advises booking its tours ahead and allows free cancellation up to 24 hours before. The Monte sledges work the opposite way: tickets are sold on site, for the same day only.
Funchal adds a Taxa Municipal Turística of EUR 2 per person per night, capped at 7 consecutive nights, so EUR 14 per guest at most. It applies to every paid overnight stay in the municipality whatever site you booked on, and the count restarts after an interrupted stay. Children 12 and under (with ID), people with a disability of 60 percent or more and Madeira residents are exempt.
Levada fees climb in steps: EUR 4.50 for a single classified trail, EUR 9.00 for a day pass covering two trails or more, EUR 22.50 for three days and EUR 52.50 for seven. On the three-day pass each day works out at EUR 7.50, under the price of a day pass. PR1 stays outside the day pass at EUR 10.50 for anyone over 12, so price it separately.
Things to do in Madeira in March
From March to October the Cabo Girão skywalk, a glass platform on the sea cliff above Câmara de Lobos, stays open 8:30 am to 8 pm, where November to February it shuts at 7 pm. With the sun setting at 7:16 pm in mid-March, you can watch it go down from the glass and still have 44 minutes before the gate closes. Entry is EUR 3, free for children 12 and under. We could only confirm that price through third-party sources, so check it on site.
The Funchal-Monte cable car costs EUR 22 return or EUR 16 one way and runs 8:45 am to 5:45 pm, with children 6 and under free and ages 7 to 14 at half fare. At the top station waits the Monte Palace Tropical Garden: 70,000 square meters (about 17 acres) of exotic planting, tile panels and a sculpture museum, EUR 18 for adults and free for children up to 14 with an adult. Back in town, Blandy’s Wine Lodge on Avenida Arriaga runs a 45-minute Premium Tour at EUR 23 ending with three Madeira wines. The Botanical Garden at Bom Sucesso holds more than 2,000 exotic species.
From February to April the sea moves just 1.1°F while Funchal’s afternoon high climbs 2°F, so the season shows up in opening hours more than in the water. Monte Palace keeps its October-to-March timetable and closes at 6 pm, an hour before April’s 7 pm. The wicker sledges (EUR 30 for one, EUR 40 for two, EUR 60 for three) run Monday to Saturday, 9 am to 6 pm. No three-person ride goes out in rain or on wet ground, so keep a dry weekday for it.
Next to the paid pools at Porto Moniz, the Cachalote pools are free and open at all hours. Wandering the Mercado dos Lavradores costs nothing either: it opens 7 am to 7 pm Monday to Friday and 7 am to 2 pm on Saturday, closed Sundays and public holidays. Saturday morning is its busiest and best time of the week, and by Saturday afternoon the doors are locked.
Madeira in March: a two-day itinerary
Spend day one in Funchal, ideally a weekday. Take the cable car at its 8:45 am opening and walk into Monte Palace when it opens at 9, seeing the museum before its 5 pm close. Ride a sledge down if the ground is dry, then reach the Mercado dos Lavradores before lunch. At 3 pm, join Blandy’s English Premium Tour. Finish by car or taxi at the Cabo Girão skywalk for the 7:16 pm sunset, with the gate open until 8.
Day two goes high. Book a morning slot for PR1 Vereda do Areeiro, 6.1 km (3.8 miles) one way in about 3 hours, and arrange a pickup at Pico Ruivo. Past the Pedra Rija viewpoint the path runs one way only, and a late turnaround means finishing the route. Trail status changes with weather and works, so check it the evening before. If cloud or rain closes in, switch to the EUR 4.50 out-and-back to Pedra Rija or drop to Funchal and the Botanical Garden. In an emergency, dial 112.
Madeira in March vs February and April
| Funchal | February | March | April |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average high | 67.8°F | 69.1°F | 69.8°F |
| Average low | 57.0°F | 57.7°F | 58.8°F |
| Precipitation | 2.85 in | 2.45 in | 1.78 in |
| Days with 1 mm or more | 5.5 | 5.8 | 4.7 |
| Sea surface (daily maxima) | 67.2°F | 66.9°F | 68.0°F |
| Cruise passengers | 113,839 | 108,699 | 88,918 |
| Cruise calls | 44 | 44 | 44 |
Afternoon highs step from 67.8°F in February to 69.1°F in March and 69.8°F in April, and nights from 57.0°F to 57.7°F to 58.8°F. February carries the most rain, 2.85 inches over 5.5 days. March drops to 2.45 inches yet spreads it across 5.8 days, and April is driest at 1.78 inches on 4.7 days. At sea, February runs 67.2°F, March 66.9°F and April 68.0°F.
Going four weeks earlier, to February, costs you 1.3°F on the afternoon high and adds 0.4 inch of rain, for water only 0.3°F warmer and 113,839 cruise passengers. Waiting until April gains 0.7°F, 0.67 inch less rain, a sea 1.1°F warmer and Monte Palace open until 7 pm, with 88,918 cruise passengers. Our Madeira in February and Madeira in April guides go further.
Is March a good time to visit Madeira?
Yes, for walkers, garden visitors and anyone happy with 69.1°F afternoons and a sweater at night. March leaves room for a levada in the morning and a cliff-top sunset in the evening. Skip it if the trip hangs on long swims or a quiet harbor, since the sea sits near 67°F and 44 ship calls land in Funchal over the month.
If March falls short for you, pick April. Its sea reaches 68.0°F, rain drops to 4.7 days, and the Cabo Girão skywalk keeps the same 8 pm closing. Families can read our Portugal with kids guide before choosing.
Of the three months, only March pairs the skywalk’s 8 pm closing with Monte Palace’s 6 pm one, so a garden afternoon and a Cabo Girão sunset fit into the same day.
The last word
Book your trail slots first, then build the Funchal days around them, because a March levada starts on SIMplifica long before it starts at a trailhead. The cable car can be settled from home as well: its e-ticket stays valid for 60 days after purchase. And when a Sunday shuts the Mercado dos Lavradores, the Mercado da Penteada opens from 7 am to 1 pm that morning.
Sources & data for this guide
- March normals, rain days and thresholds, 1991-2020 · IPMA, station 522 Funchal, 58 m · checked Sep 24, 2026
- February and April normals · IPMA, station 522 Funchal, same period · checked Sep 24, 2026
- Sea surface, mean of daily maxima, 2015-2024 · Open-Meteo Marine API · checked Sep 24, 2026
- Sunrise, sunset and daylight on March 15 · sunrise-sunset.org · checked Sep 24, 2026
- Trail fees, passes, SIMplifica booking, trail status and PR1 · Visit Madeira (official) · checked Sep 8 and Sep 10, 2026
- Cable car fares and hours · Teleférico do Funchal (official) · checked Sep 24, 2026
- Monte Palace prices and hours · garden’s official site · checked Sep 24, 2026 · several aggregators list EUR 12.50, we follow the garden’s EUR 18
- Sledge prices and rules · Carreiros do Monte (official) · checked Sep 24, 2026
- Blandy’s tours · Blandy’s Wine Lodge (official) · checked Sep 24, 2026 · aggregators quoting EUR 18 differ, we follow the lodge’s EUR 23
- Tourist tax · Câmara Municipal do Funchal, Taxa Municipal Turística FAQ · checked Sep 24, 2026
- Cabo Girão skywalk price and hours · several concordant sources, no institutional page reachable · checked Sep 24, 2026 · confirm on site
- Porto Moniz pools · Visit Madeira and concordant guides · checked Sep 24, 2026
- Cruise passengers and calls · APRAM charts, January to August 2025/2026 · checked Sep 24, 2026 · read from bar charts, we give the more recent, higher series, and the winter-heavy shape is the same in both years
- Markets · Câmara Municipal do Funchal, Divisão de Mercados · checked Sep 24, 2026
- Aerobus route and hours · SIGA Madeira official timetable · checked Sep 24, 2026 · no fare printed
- We found no March wind or swell data, no hotel rate series and no booking lead-time data, so we give none. Trail status, hours and prices change · check operators when you book.
To plan your stay
- Things to Do in Madeira: Trail Fees, Cable Car Prices and Opening Hours
- Where to Stay in Madeira: Funchal, Monte, the North Coast and the Levada Trailheads
- Madeira Airport to Funchal: Aerobus Stops, Timetable, Taxi Cases and When to Leave
- Things to Know Before Going to Madeira: Trail Bookings, Mountain Driving and Late Dinners