Fanal Forest 4WD Jeep Tour in Madeira (2026 Guide)

Fanal Forest is one of the few places in Madeira that genuinely doesn't look like the rest of the island. Up on the Paúl da Serra plateau in the northwest, the ancient laurel trees twist and lean at odd angles, draped in moss and often half-buried in cloud, with cows roaming freely through the undergrowth. The quickest and most stress-free way to reach it – along with Porto Moniz, the Cabo Girão Skywalk and the sea cliffs at Seixal – is on a full-day 4WD jeep tour from Funchal. These tours take around 8 hours, run year-round and are among the most reviewed day trips on the island.

The route: a full loop of west Madeira

Most jeep tours run a clockwise loop from Funchal, tackling the south-coast highlights first and saving the plateau and forest for mid-tour when the mist is most likely to be settled in the trees. A typical sequence starts with the Cabo Girão Skywalk – a glass-floor viewpoint cantilevered 580 metres above the Atlantic on one of the highest sea cliffs in Europe – before the route climbs to the Paúl da Serra plateau and heads northwest to Fanal.

From Fanal the tour descends the north coast, stopping at Seixal to take in the sea cliffs and the narrow black-sand beach below, then arriving at Porto Moniz in time for lunch and a walk around the volcanic lava pools at the far tip of the island. The return runs along the south coast back to Funchal, usually reaching town by late afternoon.

The exact stop order and timing vary by operator. If you want all four main highlights in a single day – Fanal, Paúl da Serra, Porto Moniz and Cabo Girão – check the tour description before booking to confirm they are all included. Some shorter versions cut one stop.

Fanal Forest: the trees, the mist and the laurisilva

Fanal is the part of the tour most people talk about afterwards, and it takes a moment to understand why. The trees – mostly Madeira laurels and til – are old enough to have grown into improbable shapes: bent and twisted by decades of wind off the plateau, with every surface covered in thick moss and the upper branches vanishing into low cloud. Some are several centuries old. The effect is less "forest" and more "old illustration of a forest."

The forest sits within Madeira's Laurissilva, a UNESCO World Heritage site covering roughly a fifth of the island. Laurisilva is a type of subtropical laurel forest that once covered much of southern Europe before the last ice age; Madeira holds one of the largest and best-preserved remnants of it anywhere in the world. Fanal is the most accessible corner, which is why the jeep tours come here rather than to the deeper, less reachable interior.

The cows that wander through are a local fixture – they graze the plateau pastures and move freely among the trees. Nobody herds them out. They have been here longer than the tourists, and they add to the general sense that Fanal is operating on its own schedule.

The north coast leg: Seixal and Porto Moniz

The north coast between Fanal and Porto Moniz runs below dramatic sea cliffs with waterfalls dropping directly onto the road in several places. It is a short stretch but a striking one – darker rock, rougher sea and a more immediate sense of exposure to the Atlantic than anything on the south coast. Seixal is the main stop along this section, a small fishing village with a black-sand beach accessible when conditions allow.

Porto Moniz, at the far northwestern tip of the island, is the most visited point on any west Madeira circuit. The natural lava pools at the water's edge fill and flush with the tide, forming calm sea-water swimming areas right at the foot of the cliffs. Most tours allow enough time here for lunch and a walk around the pools before turning back towards Funchal.

What to know before you book

Shared group tours typically carry 8–12 people and move at a set pace. Private tours give you control over timing at each stop and are worth considering if you want to linger – at Fanal, an extra 20 minutes makes a real difference. Prices for shared tours start from ~€64 per person; private options cost more and vary by group size.

Most tours include transport and a local guide; lunch and individual entrance fees are generally at your own expense unless stated otherwise in the listing. Confirm the specific inclusions before paying, as descriptions differ across operators.

Bring comfortable shoes you don't mind getting muddy at Fanal if the ground is wet, a warm layer for the plateau, sunscreen and water for the Porto Moniz section, and a rain layer as a precaution. The plateau can be cold and windy even when Funchal is warm. Many jeep tours use open-sided or door-free vehicles, which makes for better photography and also means you feel the weather.