Madeira in February: Weather, Sea Temperature, Crowds and Levada Fees

MADEIRA · FEBRUARY · STATION 522 FUNCHAL

Madeira in February means an average afternoon of 67.8°F in Funchal, a sea within a degree of the air, and a harbor where the port authority’s latest chart counts 44 cruise calls in the month. It is a trip for levadas, gardens and a glass of Madeira wine at a lodge on Avenida Arriaga, with the sun setting near 18:53 and time left for a long lunch.

The big change for a 2026 trip sits in the hills. Since January 1, 2026, every classified walking trail on the island charges an access fee and needs an online booking, with entry times sold in 30-minute slots from sunrise to sunset. February’s light decides how many of those slots a day holds. At EUR 4.50 per person per trail, the fee is modest, and the booking runs only through SIMplifica, the regional government’s portal.

On this page

• Madeira weather in FebruaryHighs, lows, rain days and daylight in Funchal
• Can you swim in Madeira in February?Sea at 67.2°F and the Porto Moniz pools
• Crowds and prices in FebruaryCruise calls, the EUR 2 tax and levada passes
• Things to do in Madeira in FebruaryLevadas, Monte, Blandy’s and Cabo Girão
• A two-day Madeira itineraryFunchal and Monte, then a booked trail
• February vs January and MarchAir, rain and sea for three months
• Is February a good time to visit Madeira?Yes for walkers, March for less rain

Every weather figure here comes from one thermometer: IPMA station 522 in Funchal, 58 meters above the south coast. High ground on the island is colder and far wetter, and the far end of a coast keeps its own weather, so a Funchal reading says little about PR1, the mountain crossing that runs between 1,857 and 1,491 meters. Read the normals below as coastal, and pack a warm layer and a shell for any trail above town.

Madeira weather in February: average highs, lows and rain days

IPMA, Portugal’s national weather service, publishes 1991–2020 normals for station 522 in Funchal, and those are the figures we use: a February average high of 67.8°F, an average low of 57.0°F and 2.85 inches of precipitation. The station is a real thermometer at 58 meters, not a model grid cell, so the numbers describe the harbor city where most visitors sleep. February’s rainfall is the heaviest of January, February and March.

Rain falls on 5.5 days in an average February at IPMA’s threshold of 1 mm (0.04 inch), roughly one day in five. Heavier rain, 10 mm (0.39 inch) or more, comes on 2.1 days, so 3.4 of the wet days stay light and a two-week trip meets about one real soaking. US tables count from 0.10 inch, a higher bar, and their day counts do not line up with these. Keep one indoor plan ready for the heavy days, such as the Blandy’s lodge or the Monte Palace sculpture museum.

Between the 57.0°F average low and the 67.8°F average high lies a spread of 10.8°F in Funchal. Dress for it in layers: a T-shirt at noon on the waterfront, a sweater or light jacket for dinner, and a rain shell in the daypack. A cable car ride up to Monte or a trail into the mountains calls for more, since high ground runs colder than the harbor station. Our Portugal packing list covers the layering.

On February 15 the sun rises at 07:49 and sets at 18:53 local time, about 11 hours 04 minutes of daylight. The useful cutoffs arrive before dark: the Funchal-Monte cable car stops running at 17:45, and the Monte Palace garden shuts at 18:00 from October to March. In February the Cabo Girão skywalk closes at 19:00, seven minutes after sunset on the 15th, so a clear evening there catches the last light.

Can you swim in Madeira in February? Madeira sea temperature

The sea off Madeira averages 67.2°F in February, according to Open-Meteo’s Marine API over 2015–2024. That figure is a mean of daily maxima, the warmest reading of each day, so it runs a shade above a 24-hour average, and tables built on full-day means will print something a little lower. Across our three months the water cools steadily: 68.6°F in January, 67.2°F in February, 66.9°F in March.

Water at 67.2°F against an air high of 67.8°F offers no warm cushion when you climb out, so plan a short dip with a towel and a layer waiting. The natural volcanic pools at Porto Moniz, on the north coast, charge EUR 3 for the serviced complex with changing rooms, a children’s pool, a bar and a first-aid post, open 09:00 to 17:00 in winter. The north coast keeps its own weather, apart from the Funchal readings.

Our sources carry no wind or swell figures for February, so we give no wave forecast. Check the sea state on the day, and on a rough one stay inside the serviced Porto Moniz complex, where the first-aid post keeps winter hours. The emergency number across Madeira, as across Portugal and the European Union, is 112.

How busy is Madeira in February? Crowds and prices

We found no monthly hotel-rate or occupancy series for Madeira, so we rank no month cheap or dear. The port authority, APRAM, does count ships. Its latest chart puts 44 cruise calls and 113,839 cruise passengers in Funchal in February, against 3 calls and 4,071 passengers in July: roughly twenty-five people off a ship in February for every one in July. APRAM plots 2025 and 2026 side by side, we give the higher, more recent series, and the winter-heavy shape is identical in both years.

A winter morning can put four ships alongside in Funchal, so buy what can be bought ahead. Cable car e-tickets stay valid for 60 days after purchase and can be paid for before the flight. Blandy’s advises booking its tours ahead and allows free cancellation up to 24 hours before. The Monte sledges cannot be booked at all: tickets sell on site, for the same day only. We found no lead-time data for hotels, so we give no number of weeks.

Funchal charges a Taxa Municipal Turística of EUR 2 per person per night, capped at seven consecutive nights, so EUR 14 per guest at most. A couple staying a week pays EUR 28. The tax applies to every paid overnight stay in the municipality whatever the booking channel, and it starts again after an interrupted stay. Children 12 and under are exempt on showing ID, as are people with a disability of 60 percent or more and residents of the region.

A single classified trail costs EUR 4.50 per person, and the pass ladder above it buys room to work around the rain: EUR 9.00 for a day covering two trails or more, EUR 22.50 for three days, EUR 52.50 for seven. PR1 is excluded from the day pass and costs EUR 10.50 on its own. Walk two trails a day on three dry days and the three-day pass costs EUR 22.50 against EUR 27 in day passes. Each entry still needs its 30-minute slot on SIMplifica.

Things to do in Madeira in February

Of January, February and March, February has the fewest rain days in Funchal at 5.5, and its 07:49 to 18:53 window on the 15th holds about 22 half-hour trail slots. On September 8, 2026, Visit Madeira listed PR1 Vereda do Areeiro, PR 1.2 Vereda do Pico Ruivo, PR 6 Levada das 25 Fontes, PR 6.1 Levada do Risco and PR 3.1 Caminho Real do Monte as open, with PR 1.3 Vereda da Encumeada and PR 4 Levada do Barreiro restricted. Status changes trail by trail with weather and works, so check it the week you fly.

At the top of the Funchal-Monte cable car (EUR 22 return, EUR 16 one way, 08:45 to 17:45 daily) sits the Monte Palace Tropical Garden on Caminho das Babosas: 70,000 square meters, about 17 acres, of exotic planting, tile panels and a sculpture museum, at EUR 18 for adults. Monte’s wicker sledges, the carros de cesto, go with two carreiros in white for EUR 30 alone, EUR 40 for two or EUR 60 for three. In town, Blandy’s Wine Lodge on Avenida Arriaga runs a 45-minute Premium Tour at EUR 23 with three Madeira wines, and the Botanical Garden Eng. Rui Vieira holds more than 2,000 exotic species.

From October to March the Monte Palace garden closes at 18:00, an hour earlier than in summer, and its museum shuts at 17:00 all year. Sledges run Monday to Saturday, 09:00 to 18:00, and their office can close early when the queue grows or the weather turns. No three-person ride runs in rain or on wet ground, so a February shower can cancel the family run. Porto Moniz keeps winter hours, 09:00 to 17:00. On PR1, the route turns one-way past the Pedra Rija viewpoint toward Pico Ruivo, so a walker beyond it finishes the 6.1 km, three-hour crossing whatever the sky does.

The Cachalote pools beside the Porto Moniz complex cost nothing and stay open at all hours. Children up to 14 enter the Monte Palace garden free with an adult, children up to 6 ride the cable car free, and children of 12 and under walk PR1 free. On the Cabo Girão skywalk above Câmara de Lobos, kids 12 and under go free and adults pay EUR 3, a price our sources agree on but that we could not confirm with an official page. Browsing the Mercado dos Lavradores is free, 07:00 to 19:00 on weekdays and 07:00 to 14:00 on Saturday.

Madeira in February: a two-day itinerary

Day one, a weekday: reach the Mercado dos Lavradores after it opens at 07:00, before the 07:49 sunrise. Board the cable car to Monte when it starts at 08:45 and give the Monte Palace garden the morning, taking the museum before its 17:00 close. Take a sledge before lunch (EUR 30 solo), then join the 14:00 or 15:00 English Premium Tour at Blandy’s on Avenida Arriaga. End on the Cabo Girão skywalk for the 18:53 sunset, with its 19:00 closing right behind.

Day two goes to a booked trail: PR 6 Levada das 25 Fontes, or PR1 from Pico do Areeiro if you can commit to 6.1 km one way and a plan for leaving from the Pico Ruivo end. Book the slot on SIMplifica before you fly, and on a three-day pass keep a spare day to shift the walk. If rain sets in, move indoors to Blandy’s, whose English tours add Sunday slots. On a Sunday, Lavradores is shut and the Mercado da Penteada opens 07:00 to 13:00. Save 112 in your phone before any trail.

Madeira in February vs January and March

At 67.8°F, February’s average high trails January’s 68.0°F and March’s 69.1°F, and its 57.0°F low sits 0.7°F under both neighbors at 57.7°F, all from the same IPMA station and 1991–2020 period. February carries the most rain by volume, 2.85 inches against 2.64 and 2.45, yet the fewest wet days, 5.5 against 6.2 and 5.8. The sea slides from 68.6°F to 67.2°F to 66.9°F, so March pairs the warmest air with the coolest water of the three.

Shifting four weeks earlier to January adds 0.7 wet day but gives a sea 1.4°F warmer, nights 0.7°F milder and 41 cruise calls instead of 44. Shifting four weeks later to March buys 1.3°F on the afternoon high and 0.40 inch less rain, at the cost of 0.3 more wet day and water 0.3°F cooler, with 44 calls again at the port.

Is February a good time to visit Madeira?

Yes for walkers, garden lovers and anyone after a mild city break with wine and viewpoints: Funchal averages 67.8°F in the afternoon, and 3.4 of its 5.5 wet days stay under 10 mm. No for a beach-and-swim vacation, since the sea averages 67.2°F even at its daily peak. Families set on the three-person sledge ride should keep a flexible day, because it stops on wet ground.

If the sea is the problem, none of the three winter months solves it: January’s 68.6°F is the warmest of them and still a cool swim, and our month-by-month verdict for Portugal weighs the warmer seasons. If rain or chill is the worry, pick March, with a 69.1°F high, 2.45 inches of rain and a low back at 57.7°F.

Among the three winter months we compare, February brings Funchal the fewest rain days, 5.5, while APRAM’s chart gives it the highest cruise passenger count of January to August, 113,839.

The last word

Book the trail slots before the hotel upgrade: the fee is EUR 4.50, and a February day only holds as many 30-minute windows as it has light. Then fly in (our US flights guide covers the routing) and take the Aerobus, which leaves the airport from 08:30 to 22:00 and takes 50 minutes to Praia Formosa through central Funchal. Its fare is not printed on the regional timetable, so call the operator on 291 201 151, and skip stop 9, Terminal SAM, marked disabled.

Sources & data for this guide

• February, January and March normals, rain days · IPMA 1991–2020, station 522 Funchal, 58 m · checked Sep 24, 2026
• Sea surface, mean of daily maxima · Open-Meteo Marine API, 2015–2024 · checked Sep 24, 2026
• Sunrise, sunset and daylight on the 15th · sunrise-sunset.org · checked Sep 24, 2026
• Trail fees, booking, passes, trail status and PR1 · Visit Madeira (official) · checked Sep 8 and Sep 10, 2026
• Cable car fares and hours · Teleférico do Funchal (madeiracablecar.com) · checked Sep 24, 2026
• Sledge prices and rules · Carreiros do Monte (official) · checked Sep 24, 2026
• Monte Palace Tropical Garden · official site · checked Sep 24, 2026 · several aggregators print EUR 12.50, the garden’s own site says EUR 18
• Blandy’s Wine Lodge tours · official site · checked Sep 24, 2026 · several aggregators print EUR 18, the lodge says EUR 23
• Botanical Garden · Teleférico do Funchal official map · checked Sep 24, 2026
• Taxa Municipal Turística · Câmara Municipal do Funchal FAQ · checked Sep 24, 2026
• Cabo Girão skywalk price and hours · concordant secondary sources, we reached no official page · checked Sep 24, 2026 · confirm on site
• Porto Moniz pools · Visit Madeira and concordant guides · checked Sep 24, 2026
• Cruise calls and passengers · APRAM charts, 2025 and 2026 plotted together · checked Sep 24, 2026 · read from charts, the seasonal shape is the reliable part
• Markets · Câmara Municipal do Funchal, Divisão de Mercados · checked Sep 24, 2026
• Aerobus stops, times and disabled stop 9 · SIGA Madeira official timetable · checked Sep 24, 2026 · no fare printed
• We found no wind, swell, hotel-rate or occupancy data for February, so we estimate none of them.

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

Nearby places

• Lagos, Algarve: The Walled Town, the Beaches and Getting Around Without a Car
• Ponta da Piedade: Cliff Walkways, Grotto Boats and the Best Time of Day
• Sagres, Portugal: Wind, the Beaches on Both Sides and Cabo de São Vicente