frappant

Just doing some initial research.

It sounds like there are a lot of local car rental companies as options, maybe not as many international chains like Europcar or Sixt.

Some recommendations to get smaller cars to navigate the winding roads there but also maybe something with power or torque because of the steep hills.

It doesn't seem like Chase Sapphire Preferred coverage specifically excludes Madeira. It is a part of Portugal but OTOH, it's some kind of autonomous region so maybe it's not the same legally in the eyes of Visa or whichever company provides this coverage for CSP cardholders?


Has anyone been and rented cards there?

Palal

Yes. The older roads are narrow, windy and hilly. The newer tunnels are fine. You'll drive on both. You don't want the smallest cars, as it'll be a pain to drive on the hills, but don't get anything above a ford fiesta sedan, or it will also be a pain to drive or park.

On rental agencies - I like to check rental-cars dot com, economycarrentals and doyouspain. They are all aggregators and include some of the smaller agencies that won't come up on the big international OTAs. Do check provider reviews though - some are shady, but others are perfectly fine.

Madeira is an autonomous region of Portugal, but it is Portugal, so if your CC covers Portugal, it will cover Madeira.

enelym1978

I went to Madeira in May 2023 and loved it. Scuba diving, hiking, sailing... I rented a car from "7M Rent A Car", which has several agencies on the island. It was quick and easy. their agencies are in small shops, you even wonder how they can fit cars in there I got a Fiat 500c electric and it was perfectly fine to drive and park in the narrow streets and good enough to go up some mountain roads. I used the Carmo shop, which was walking distance from my Airbnb.

frappant

There can't be many charging stations can there?

enelym1978

I stayed in the city center, I didn't have issues finding one with the help of the onboard GPS navigator showing the stations. The island is not that big, just need to plan accordingly.

Palal

Actually with all the hills, an electric car on Madeira would be awesome with all the torque it provides.

enelym1978

Just as a reference point, I paid EUR 74 for a Fiat 500cc electric for 24h at 7M Rent a Car Carmo. You just book online, you pay when you pick up the car. Right before returning it, I charged it in the street between the Museum of Electricity and the parking garage Almirante Reis, right next to the bus terminal. Plugged it in, went for coffee and picked it up to return it.
Used the car to drive to Sao Lourenço for an early morning hike, then up to Santana using the old windy road and back to Funchal.

frappant

One of the flight options I'm considering is France to FNC and back.

I have to return to Paris because I'm flying out of CDG to return to the US. Outbound is SFO-CDG-NCE.

Transavia has a direct FNC-ORY flight every morning. There are other direct flights but they appear to depart in the afternoon so you get into Paris in the evening and it's only some days for RyanAir and EasyJet.

Other option is TAP which connects through LIS.

Has anyone flown Transavia? It lists a 737, economy-only flight.

On the outbound the early-morning departures for MRS-LIS-FNC or NCE-LIS-FNC are more than double the price of departing in the evening. TAP has departures at 6:05 and 18:35.

enelym1978

Just a word of warning about return flights out of FNC... if you have connecting flights, I strongly advise leaving enough time for the transit or even flying a day early. It's quit common to have flights delayed or canceled in and out of FNC. I went there through LIS in May last year and my return flight to LIS was canceled but luckily, I got so early to the airport that I managed to make them put me in the earlier flight (which was delayed). I was flying TAP.

frappant

Why are they canceled?

Weather? Strikes?

Does it happen more often in one part of the year than other parts?

Palal

When FNC has weather issues, expect cancellations. Do a youtube search for crosswind landings at FNC

frappant

Hmm, I see Youtube videos of crosswind landings.

So if a plane arriving from Europe mainland encounters wind, what do they do, circle for awhile before landing to see if winds die down?

Or is it more often planes won't take off?

How often are cancellations? Do the strong winds occur more often in certain parts of the year?

And I imagine the "Hawaii of Portugal" gets windy all over the island, so it would affect what you could do, not just flights being cancelled?

Palal

They'll hold until they are at a critical point for fuel, then they'll divert (likely to LIS).
If they can't fly in, they can't take off

Not very often. You may get the bad weather 2-4x/year for a day or two. It can happen in any season.

If it's just wind, then the only thing that will close is the cable car in Funchal. If there's rain - then it depends how heavy the rain is

enelym1978

I think it happens more often than 2-4x a year
It's a combination of the winds and how the airport is built. It's right flanked to the hill, on stilts so it limits maneuvers. At least that's what I read. But it provides some very nice spotting places very near to the airport, I did 3 of them and it was just amazing to see them land in cross-winds.
When I flew in May, just a few days before, lots of diversions and cancellations took place and it's not just a specific day. It can mess up the schedules just during an hour or two of the day, and the rest of the day is perfectly fine. My friend who was in Madeira a week before me was stuck there 4 days for his return flight because I think he was on Ryanair and trying to fly back to Lyon, which limits the options.

But diversions during the week I was there were varying from Porto Santo (a neighbor island), Canary islands, or back to continental Europe.
FNC is one of the airports with the most tracked flights on FlightRadar24

It's just to say that one should avoid having a tight connection time, flying out of FNC, if ever these don't happen every day.

I was there for a week and booked a few guided hikes and only 1 or 2 were re-scheduled due to bad weather but it was perfectly nice and sunny in Funchal so there's always something else to do.

frappant

If the crosswinds are mostly for an hour or two during the day, why wouldn't departing flights just be pushed back instead of canceled?

I guess the strategy would be to book with extra days arriving and departing and hope for the best?