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You are on the "MADEIRA" page.
Madeira Island is located in the Atlantic Ocean about 450 miles southwest of the Portuguese coast and belongs with Porto Santo and the more southern islands of the Madeira archipelago Desertas Ilhas.
The islands form an autonomous region of Portugal. The residents are very friendly and speak Portuguese but usually also English. The largest town on the island of Madeira is the touristy town Funchal, beautifully set against the mountainside and at night beautifully illuminated.
The beautiful nature of the islands, combined with the pleasant weather make the Madeira archipelago into a magnificent sailingarea.
Madeira's climate is very moderate and comparable to that of the Canary Islands, with an average temperature of 16° in the winter and 28° C in summer.
The warm Gulf Stream makes the water an average temperature of 20°C.
The coastline of Madeira consists mainly of steep cliffs and only a few small sandy beaches.
The island has a volcanic origin and has two peaks of almost 2000 meters high.
Besides the many mountains and forests, the island of Madeira is characterized by the numerous exotic flowers which grow wild.
It is therefore not surprising that Madeira is also called the "flower island".
The big difference between Madeira and Porto Santo is Madeira is mainly mountanious, while Porto Santo is generally much flatter and has a drier climate.
The island of Porto Santo also has a beautiful sandy beach from nine kilometers long and is therefore a tourist spot.
The crossing from Portugal to Madeira is a beautiful sailing on the ocean from about six days with usually half or downwind.
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