Funchal & Santana: Full-Day Accessible Tour with Off-Road Chair

Free cancellation

1/49

Duration6h–7h

GroupUp to 6

LanguagesEN · PT

PickupAt your hotel

Madeira's North Coast & Mountain Villages on an Off-Road Wheelchair

You spend a full day touring Funchal and Santana with a specialized off-road wheelchair that opens mountain trails and levadas to you, visit the Whale Museum with elevator access and three coastal viewpoints, taste seasonal fruit at the Santana market, and return in an air-conditioned vehicle with water and snacks included. The company confirms equipment compatibility before you book, so you know exactly what terrain you can reach.

6h–7h

Step-by-step itinerary

Accessible East Madeira Full Day Tour

Visit gazebo with views over Funchal
Explore belvedere with north and south sea views
Tour Whale Museum in Caniçal
See mills producing Madeira brandy and rum
Visit Faial Fortlet viewpoint
Explore traditional houses and market in Santana

The Experience

The sound of gravel crunching under the wheels of an off-road chair is the first thing that changes. Most wheelchair tours stick to paved city routes, but this one in Funchal and Santana takes you onto mountain trails and levadas — the narrow irrigation paths that cut through Madeira's interior — using specialized equipment designed to handle terrain that standard chairs cannot. You start the day in an air-conditioned vehicle with a driver who knows which stops work best for your equipment, and the route itself is built around what you can actually access, not what the brochure claims.

The itinerary moves through several distinct stops. You'll see the gazebo overlooking Funchal and Caniço — a viewpoint with accessible facilities — and then head to a belvedere on the north coast where the off-road chair lets you move beyond the standard lookout point. The Whale Museum in Caniçal (opened in 1989, redesigned in 2011) has elevator access and houses life-size whale models and 3D films about Madeira's whaling history. After that, you visit the rum and brandy mills of the north, then the Faial Fortlet, an 18th-century coastal defense structure now used as a viewpoint. The day ends in Santana, where you can see the traditional A-frame houses and visit the local market to taste seasonal fruit. Each stop accounts for the actual accessibility of the ground and the equipment — the company doesn't pretend every location works the same way.

What matters most here is honesty about limitations. The company provides manual wheelchairs, electric wheelchairs, and electric scooters, but not every location accepts every type of equipment; some terrain (gravel, uneven ground, steep slopes) will restrict access to certain areas. They ask you to contact them before booking to confirm which equipment works for your specific itinerary. Bottled water and traditional snacks (with options for children and diabetic-friendly products) are included, and you travel in a vehicle with WiFi and air conditioning. The day is full, but the pace is set by what your chair can handle, not by a fixed schedule that assumes everyone moves the same way.

What’s included

Hotel pickup and drop-off.
air-conditioned, wheelchair-accessible vehicle.
specialized off-road wheelchair for mountain trails and levadas.
entry to the Whale Museum.
visits to three viewpoints (Funchal-Caniço gazebo, north coast belvedere, Faial Fortlet).
rum and brandy mill visit.
Santana traditional village and market.
bottled water.
traditional snacks (with children's and diabetic-friendly options available).
WiFi on board.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller friendlyPets welcome

Operated by Madeira Acessivel By Wheelchair

Is this one for you?This tour is built for wheelchair users who want to reach mountain trails and coastal viewpoints beyond standard city routes, and who need the company to confirm equipment access before the day starts so there are no surprises at each stop.

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