February keeps January's cold, wet pattern and adds Madeira's biggest street party. Funchal's daily high averages 19.9°C, the overnight low 13.9°C, and 72.4mm of rain falls over 5.5 days – IPMA's Funchal average, and the wettest reading of any month. The sea sits at 18.1°C, the coldest of the year.
Carnival runs 11–22 February 2026, filling central Funchal with parades and costumes for a week and a half. Outside those dates, February is as quiet and cheap as January – a walking, Carnival and whale-watching month rather than a beach one.
What's the weather like in Madeira in February?
February is the wettest month on IPMA's Funchal record: 19.9°C by day, 13.9°C by night, and 72.4mm of rain spread across 5.5 days. Sunshine holds at 5 hours a day, and daylight stretches slightly to 11 hours as the days lengthen towards spring.
The same rule applies as in January: Funchal and the south coast stay the brightest, driest side of the island, while the north coast and the high peaks catch more cloud and rain. A dry Carnival afternoon on the seafront can sit alongside a wet one at Ribeiro Frio the same day.
Don't bank on clear peaks for Carnival week itself. Cloud often sits on the mountains even when the parades go ahead in full sun on the coast, so check conditions by altitude rather than by the city forecast before planning anything at height.
Is February a good time to visit Madeira?
Yes, for Carnival, or for a quiet, cheap trip either side of it. February sits outside Madeira's busiest stretch – April to June and September to October, plus the Christmas and New Year fireworks week – so beyond the ten Carnival days, prices and crowds stay at January's low levels.
Carnival itself is the exception. Hotels near Funchal's Avenida do Mar fill up once the year's dates are confirmed, so book centrally and early if the festival is your reason for coming – the rest of the island barely notices the extra visitors.
If Carnival doesn't interest you, treat February as a slightly milder, equally cheap version of January – the same wet weather and empty trails, minus the parade crowds downtown.
What's the sea temperature in Madeira in February?
At 18.1°C, February has the coldest sea of the year, just below January's. It's too cool for most swimmers without a wetsuit, so treat any time on the water as sightseeing – a boat trip, a stroll past the sea pools – rather than a swim. The water won't turn genuinely comfortable until well into summer.
What should you pack for Madeira in February?
Pack as you would for January: layers and a proper waterproof rather than a winter coat, plus sturdy shoes for wet pavements and muddy trails alike. February's rain is as persistent as January's, even with Carnival's colour to distract from it.
If Carnival is on the itinerary, add comfortable shoes for standing on the seafront for hours and a light layer for the evening parades, which run after dark and cool quickly once the sun drops. Daylight runs to about 11 hours, a little longer than January's.
Things to do in February
Carnival is Madeira's biggest street festival, running 11–22 February 2026 in downtown Funchal. The children's and solidarity parade falls on 13 February, the main allegorical parade – costumed samba groups along Avenida do Mar – on 14 February, and the satirical Trapalhão parade, looser and funnier, on 17 February.
There's no tour or ticketed product behind Carnival – it's a free street festival, so the only planning that matters is where you stand and where you sleep. Outside the parades, February plays out like January: levada walks on the clear days, and whale and dolphin watching running year-round off the south coast for those who don't mind a cooler crossing.
Build a February trip around the Carnival dates if the parades are the draw, and around the clear mornings if they aren't.
For how the month compares with the rest of the year, see when to visit Madeira.
Featured image: muffinn from Worcester, UK / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0
