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Fees for tourist trails and levadas in Madeira
From 28 October 2024, the regional government of the Portuguese island of Madeira is introducing entry fees for certain popular tourist trails. The price is the same for all trails and amounts to 4,50 eur (the PR1 trail costs 10 eur).
The authorities are taking this step in response to the often enormous number of visitors on the hiking trails.
In addition to charging an entry fee for the trails, daily limits have also been set for the maximum number of visitors.
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Which hiking trails are subject to a charge?
From 1 January 2025,all official trailsmarked with the letters ‘PR’ and a number will be subject to a charge.
This applies to the vast majority of trails along the irrigation channels known as ‘levadas’, as well as most mountain trails.
We describe the most interesting hiking trails, as well as other places of interest, in our guide to Madeira:
Entrance fees and how to pay
There is an admission charge for each route of 4,50 eur.
The exception is the main PR1 route, where the fee is 10,50 eur.
If you are using more than one route, you must purchase a separate admission fee for each trail.
The fee can onlybe paid onlinevia the official website simplifica.madeira.gov.pt.
There will be no ticket offices or staff on the trails, so it is not possible to pay on the spot.
There are also discounted multi-day packages available (none of which, however, include the PR1 route):
- A daily fee for any combination of trails – 9 eur
- 3-day pass combining any number of routes – 22,50 eur
- 7-day pass for any combination of routes – 52,50 eur
These packages are only worth it if you really want to walk a lot (all day). If you don’t want to, you don’t have to buy a package; you can simply pay for each route separately.
Daily capacity limits
In addition to the fee, a maximum daily number of visitors will also be set for all routes.
Currently, the limit on all routes is 2,000 visitors per day.
Once the limit has been reached, it will not be possible to visit that particular walking trail.
How far in advance should you book?
Given the daily limits, we recommend making a booking on the official website simplifica.madeira.gov.pt a few days in advance.
During the winter months (roughly from October to March), it is usually not a problem to book even for the same day.
In summer, however, the daily quota for the most popular routes can sell out more than a week in advance.
Exemptions from payment
Children under 12 and residents of Madeira do not need to pay or book in advance.
Any questions left?
If you have any questions or comments about the article...
4 comments
mário
Translated from cestee.cz
I paid on PR 1, 8, 9....
Honza Fotograf
Translated from cestee.cz
We came back from Madeira and didn't pay a penny anywhere. If you don't go from the official parking lot and park somewhere on the side, you won't even see a sign. The exceptions where someone was standing during lunch were the PR8 Ponta de São Lourenço parking lot and then the parking lot at Pico Ruvio, where a person stood until about 3:00pm and was no longer there when we returned down. Whoever went from somewhere else missed him. I can't imagine, especially in high season, that anyone would check. So think of it more as a voluntary, recommended contribution to local development.
Jakub Langer
Translated from cestee.cz
Slowly it is beginning to remind me of that legendary ladder of Kotor, to the window of the fortress there.
Leoš Literák
How is it enforced? Is there some guide?
Blondie
Translated from cestee.cz
The reason is written in the article. It is true that some trails are incredibly crowded with tourists.
Leoš Literák
Translated from cestee.cz
I didn't ask about the reason, but about the guard (mea culpa - guard, not guide) and enforcement.
Azul
Translated from cestee.cz
And the translator cleaned it up nicely.
The price for a standard PR from the list is 4,5€. For PR1 special rate 10,5€ ...
Thanks for the info, I'll update the article.