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Original poster

Madeira in oct/nov

15 replies

seennothinglikeit · 04/08/2023 17:34

Looking for a mini break end of oct/start of nov.
Has anyone been around this time? Wondering about weather and if places are still open.

OP posts:
Georgyporky · 04/08/2023 17:45

It's a year-round destination, places are open.
It can rain any time of year, but that's the price of it being so green & beautiful !

We've been 3 times, & last December was the sort of weather you wonder whether to wear a jacket.

Blondeissimo · 04/08/2023 17:52

Go! It's a beautiful island and warm all year round. I go twice a year - June and January - and the weather is fab. It was a tad hot this June at 38° but still a fab holiday. In Jan the temp is usually around 20°.

GiddyGladys · 04/08/2023 20:44

We went in October and the weather was lovely. I had wanted to go there for years but we didn't really like it. Not sure what was missing for us, but we won't be returning. Funchal was nice enough and the hotel was good but not for us.

ginislife · 04/08/2023 21:08

It's usually between 20-25 degrees all year round and can be cloudy in a morning. Beautiful island and quite a bit to do. Enjoy !

IggyAce · 04/08/2023 21:15

It’s a beautiful island I went for my honeymoon in November and it was warm, we didn’t swim as the pool wasn’t heated at our hotel.

cherryassam · 04/08/2023 21:18

It’s a lovely time of year to go - if you want to do the pool / sunbathing thing you will probably want a heated pool

MissCordeliaPreston · 04/08/2023 21:26

Oh it's a magical place. Enjoy! My favourite ever holiday. I want to go back so much. It has everything - glorious scenery, mountains and sea, fab people and amazing food.

NCTDN · 04/08/2023 21:50

I'm debating there for October half term. We've been to Majorca and it's very hit and miss at that time - wondering if Madeira is more predictable?

Jellybean23 · 04/08/2023 22:02

We went in April one year. It didn't feel as warm as the thermometer said it was. And it could well rain, October, November and January are their wettest months.

cherryassam · 04/08/2023 22:07

It can be rainy, we have definitely found Madeira rainier in October generally than say Majorca.

It can also be very changeable across the island though we have found.

Simplelobsterhat · 04/08/2023 22:34

We went for our honeymoon last week of October. Warm but it rained quite a lot. Beautiful place though! And the rain didn't bother us too much as warm and sunshine in between. Saw so many rainbows! Wasn't really a sunbathing holiday though. And we did have a few drives to places with supposedly incredible views only to find rain or fog got in the way!

Don't do what my DH did and insist he doesn't need a coat, or anything more than a t shirt for a day out because it's sunny when you leave, or you too will have many photos of you looking like a drowned rat in beautiful gardens!

Barleysugar86 · 04/08/2023 22:36

We went in November. It was pleasant but not sunbathing or swimming weather. Didn't need a jacket most days at sea level on one side of the island but definitely did into the mountains and on the other side. Got a great deal on staying at the savoy though and was relatively empty tourist wise which was nice.

RampantIvy · 04/08/2023 22:42

GiddyGladys · 04/08/2023 20:44

We went in October and the weather was lovely. I had wanted to go there for years but we didn't really like it. Not sure what was missing for us, but we won't be returning. Funchal was nice enough and the hotel was good but not for us.

I guess you don't like exploring the town, taking cable cars, visiting beautiful gardens, hiring a taxi to take you to beautiful parts of the island, taking a whale watching boat trip, walking along a levada or eating great food.

What do you like doing on holiday?

GiddyGladys · 05/08/2023 10:16

@RampantIvy the whale watching was good and we enjoyed that morning, I'm an ex travel agent and have been lucky enough to travel extensively but Madeira just didn't do it for me at all.

I found the food disappointing too. I am a huge seafood fan and am very fussy on it being cooked correctly. The taxi drivers were a mix of nice and then moany fuckers, traffic was bad though in town so fair enough. The gardens were nice but seen one seen them all Grin

Funchal struggled with the huge cruise ship visitors, wall to wall on some of the days. The Center is nice if you ignore the beggars shaking their cups at you every few steps. The cafes in that area weren't great.

I know I'm in the minority and I'm disappointed that it was one of our least favourite destinations too.

RampantIvy · 05/08/2023 11:04

Oh, that's a shame. I found the gardens up in Monte utterly beautiful, and the cafe there did lovely food. We could see the cruise ships from our hotel so we avoided going into town or using the cable car when they were in.

Also, I'm not a big fan of seafood. We were lucky with the taxi drivers, thank goodness.

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