The go-to Madeira travel guide for over 35 years. 

Strap on your boots and discover Madeira on foot with the Sunflower Madeira travel guide. And on the days when your feet may have had enough, enjoy some spectacular scenery on one of our legendary car tours. 

The Sunflower Madeira guide is indispensable for hiking in Madeira or seeing Madeira by car. This 15th edition was updated just after the authors’ latest trip, but things move fast on this island - so Sunflower’s free Update service with users’ comments makes the guide as up-to-the-minute as possible. The maps are annotated with waypoints, and there are free downloadable GPS tracks for all the walks.

While dedicated hikers will revel in the island’s mountainous terrain (Madeira is one of Europe’s top destinations for mountain walks), walking the ‘levada’ paths is one of the most popular activities with visitors. Levadas are watercourses that carry rainfall from the mountains to irrigate the cultivated terraces. Whatever your age or ability we’ve got some glorious walks and car tours to ensure you have a memorable Madeira holiday.

Inside the Sunflower Madeira guide book you’ll find:

• 100 long and short walks for all ages and abilities - each walk is graded so you can easily match your ability to the level of walk
• Topographical walking maps - give you a clear sense of the surrounding terrain
• Free downloadable gps tracks - for the techies
• Satnav guidance to walk starting points for motorists 
• 6 car tours and fold-out touring map - for easy reference on your tour 
• Strolls to idyllic picnic spots - enjoy our recommendations for where to picnic along the way
• Timetables for public transport - ideal if you want to link two walks or avoid hiring a car on your holiday
• Online update service for the latest information 
• Includes Funchal town plan and coastal walk

Whether you tour the island by car or explore on foot, this book – which first introduced levada-walking to a large audience – has been the guide to Madeira’s countryside for more than 35 years. We look forward to showing you around. 

Quotes

"A remarkable paperback that may have done more than any other to change the way its readers spend their holidays… this book single-handedly turned levada-walking into something approaching a craze"

The Sunday Times

A remarkable paperback that may have done more than any other to change the way its readers spend their holidays… this book single-handedly turned levada-walking into something approaching a craze -- Sunday Times

Since 1983 people out walking in sunny climes have been relying on our ‘little blue books’ to follow the trails – and to make friends with other walkers. Sunflower started by exploring the Atlantic Islands, but has branched out: we still love islands – from the Azores to Zakynthos – but we cover many mainland destinations too, like land-locked Switzerland and the coastal Basque Country. All our guides have the familiar mix of car tours, walks and picnics. More recently, we introduced restaurants and recipes in our ‘Walk & Eat’ series, which explores around cities from Stockholm to Avignon.