Madeira or the Azores? How about the Canary Islands?

Madeira or the Azores? Wondering where to spend your next vacation? We have gathered for you a handful of information about these two archipelagos and added an alternative for those who need lots of sun, nice beaches and high temperatures :) Spoiler: remember that we will not make the decision for you! ;)

Active, natural, spectacular, but also windy – that’s how we would describe trips to Madeira and the Azores in a nutshell. The trips, thanks to which we got to know two interesting destinations, where you can feel the peace and quiet without a flurry of tourists.

Some travel agencies have tours that include both archipelagos, and this can be an alternative approach if you can’t or don’t want to decide on just one destination. In our opinion, it is worth spending at least a week on each, and then such a combination makes sense. In this post, we focus on the similarities and differences between Madeira and the Azores, and add another alternative: the Canary Islands.

What do Madeira, the Azores and the Canary Islands have in common? Quite a few – they are all in the Atlantic Ocean, are islands of volcanic origin and are part of what is known as Macaronesia (along with Cape Verde). However, Madeira and the Azores have the most in common, so we will focus on them.

Madeira

Madeira is an achipelago of islands with the largest island of the same name. In the rest of the post we will refer specifically to this main island of the archipelago.

There was a lot about Madeira, among others, here, and we wrote like this:

A paradise for hikers, drivers who enjoy road challenges, and those without a fear of heights – that’s a brief description of who Madeira might be a good choice for a vacation destination.

The weather here is almost ideal – consistently around 20 degrees Celsius (16-24 degrees), light cloud cover, little rain during the summer. During our stay of more than a week, there were occasional clouds, but we did not experience rain once. For that, in the period from October to March, it can already be seen a little here.

It is a destination ideal for those who enjoy active recreation, in pleasant temperatures. There are a lot of hiking trails in Madeira, including the very popular trails along the levadas, which we have written quite a bit about here. There are many routes to choose from, some easier and some requiring no small amount of acrobatics when it comes to passing other people.

Fans of the mountains will not be disappointed either, as the routes lead to, among other things. On Pico Ruivo (1862 meters above sea level). On the route it is in vain to look for shelters or stores, so it is essential to take drink and food with you. Especially since in the higher parts of the mountains or, for example, the São Lourenço peninsula, you will not experience shade and it can be very windy.

Even if longer routes are not for you, beautiful scenery awaits, as many viewpoints can be reached by car (e.g. Cabo Girão or Pico do Arieiro). However, it is important to keep in mind that it is best to travel around Madeira in your own car, and the roads are often very winding (for example. road in the Nunnery Valley) – so it’s worth including a rental car in your budget.

A car gives you the opportunity to see much more, and just driving between the green hills and miniature fields scattered all over the slopes is unforgettable :)

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If you want to see the tallest and most impressive cliffs in Europe, Madeira is the perfect place for you – the tallest is 580 meters! An additional attraction can be a ride in special carriages or a glass terrace on the aforementioned Cabo Girão.

For those who would like to see the Madeira towns, we recommend the capital Funchal and Santana. In Funchal you can go sledding (yes! you read that right), see the old town, the farmers’ market,

We should also add that Madeira is the island of eternal spring and it is incredibly…. green! From the famous laurel forests, through numerous tropical species, to the familiar orchids, hydrangeas or azaleas that grow along roadsides, in parks and gardens. You can also take a look at the Tropical Garden (Jardim Tropical Monte Palace) located in Funchal.

It is also worth mentioning that the island is often windy. We were generally not bothered by this on a daily basis. However, the wind gave us a hard time on the São Lourenço peninsula, where it made it quite difficult for us to walk the entire route. Pilots landing in Madeira also have a difficult task, because after all, here is one of the most dangerous airports in the world:)

For whom is Madeira not a good choice? For people who prioritize relaxation, who like hot climates and swimming in the sea. Here you can forget about it, because the beaches here are scarce, and the water is icy. The only chance for beachcombing is a trip to the neighboring island of Porto Santo.

Azores

złtime for a competitor: The Azores is an archipelago of 9 islands, the largest of which is São Miguel (where we were).

Based on our experience, the Azores are a little less predictable when it comes to weather. It is warm, but the temperature fluctuates and one day the perceptible temperature is about 20 degrees and the next day 30 degrees. However, it is still quite stable throughout the year :)

The Azores are stunning in their views, especially the calderas. Unfortunately, you have to be a bit lucky to hit favorable weather conditions. The hills stop the clouds and you may find that the entire crater is filled with clouds, and these are not going anywhere in a hurry. You need to keep this in mind when planning to go out on hiking trails – some lead around craters, and what fun is it to walk in full cloud cover? However, if the weather suits you, you will see the most beautiful places: Sete Cidades and Lagoa do Fogo.

As with Madeira, here the more we recommend a car. Dynamically changing weather conditions mean that there may be a need to move quickly. Fortunately, the roads are less winding than in Madeira.

In addition to the many trekking routes in the Azores, you can take advantage of hot springs (such as in Furnas, or Caldeira Velha) or natural pools heated by hot areas (more here). While in Madeira we swam only once and that was in the hotel pool (heated!), in the Azores we always had swimsuits, flip-flops and towels in our luggage, because there are plenty of places for warm baths.

What we particularly liked about the Azores was the peace, quiet, space and fresh air. Unlike Madeira, the land is more amenable to growing crops and raising animals, so there is no struggle for every inch of land here. On the contrary, driving around the island we passed few farms, there was even minimal traffic on the roads, and the only signs of life were grazing cows.

More cars (more i.e. several or a dozen) meant that we were just approaching some tourist attraction, i.e. either a viewpoint or the beginning of a hiking route. The Azores is not yet a very popular destination, and this is evident at every turn.

If Madeira passes for a green island, then the Azores are extremely green! Lots of flowers, trees, lush vegetation, humid air – at times we could feel like we were in the tropics. If there aren’t any trees at the time, green hills and pastures with happy cows spread around (it’s said that you can eat the best steaks in the Azores – we wrote about our attempts here).

The vegetation is stunning – we are not very familiar with botany, but we were still intimidated by how many species of trees, colorful flowers (including azaleas or hydrangeas just off the roads) grow at every turn. Many plant species can be admired in the Parque Terra Nostra park in Furnas.

Also worth noting is the pineapple and tea plantation, which you can visit for free and learn something interesting in the process.

There aren’t many sights in the Azores, but Ponta Delgada and Ribeira Grande, the two largest towns on the island, are worth a look.

What to choose?

Well, and the most important question: which direction to choose? Unfortunately, we won’t give you a clear answer here that you should only fly to Madeira or only to the Azores.

According to us, the archipelagos, although similar, differ a lot. Which one is more attractive to you, as always, depends on many factors, including but not limited to your interests, available time, physical and financial capabilities, etc.

It should be remembered that the Azores are less touristy, here you won’t see full coaches traversing the island length and breadth, while in Madeira tourism is flourishing at its best.

However, we were tempted to make a short list of in what respect which islands are winning:

• Views – Azores (Azores are beautiful calderas, hills; Madeira are mostly high cliffs).
• Weather – Madeira (after all, the weather here is more predictable).
• Trekking routes – Madeira (in the Azores you will also find interesting trekking routes with beautiful views, but there are definitely more in Madeira).
• Water attractions – Azores (keep swimsuits and flip-flops in your trunk at all times! :-))
• Cities and monuments – Madeira (although Madeira is mainly nature, you will also find some interesting monuments and towns here).
• Getting there – Madeira (thanks to cheap lines, it’s easier and cheaper to get to Madeira; the Azores are even less “infected” by tourism, but this too is already changing…).
• Tourists – Azores (relatively few tourists still arrive in the Azores, so you will not complain about crowds).

Another alternative

What if you find that neither the Azores nor Madeira suits you? If you’re looking for a place where it’s hot, there are beautiful sandy beaches, warm water and numerous, water activities? Add to that the possibilities of hiking trails (including the summit at more than 3,700 meters above sea level), picturesque scenery and at the same time the access (or more precisely, the flight) is direct and affordable?

In that case, we recommend looking at the Canary Islands. Our comparison of the 4 islands (Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote), can be found in this post.

We are writing about this because we realize that not everyone will find Madeira and the Azores to their liking, and also for financial reasons they may not fare well enough.

However, if you want to see something more unusual, less affected by tourism, you should consider Madeira or the Azores.

The choice, as always, is up to you!

What would you choose or have chosen? Let us know in the comments! :)