About Madeira

The archipelago of Madeira is located approx 620 miles from mainland Portugal and 310 miles off the African coast – around a 3 ½ hour flight from the UK.  Made up of the islands of Madeira, Porto Santo and the uninhabited isles of Desertas and Selvagens, the archipelago enjoys a permanent subtropical climate with temperatures averaging between 17 and 19°C in the winter and 20 to 26°C in the summer.

Madeira was officially discovered on 1^st July 1419 by a group of Portuguese explorers working for Prince Henry the Navigator.  The explorers first sighted Porto Santo (meaning Sacred Port) and sought formal permission by the Prince to return a year later to claim the island for the Crown of Portugal.  The archipelago has been Portuguese ever since. 

Population:              

Madeira – 265,000

Porto Santo – 5,000

Size:                                 

Madeira – 797 km²

Porto Santo – 42.17 km²

Capital:                            

Funchal

Getting to us:

From London

Fly with TAP Portugal (five times weekly)

Fly with easyJet (daily)

Fly with Thompsonfly (twice weekly)

From Manchester

Fly with Thompsonfly (twice weekly)

From Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, Glasgow, London Luton and Newcastle

Fly with Thompsonfly (once a week)

Time difference:

There is no time difference between the UK and Madeira.