Madeira · Portugal
August
Wine Festival in September is worth waiting for — August is peak pricing and maximum crowds.
Strong option
#11 of 12 months
There are better months for Madeira — see the full ranking below.
See when to go instead →Climate
High
28°C
Low
21°C
Rain
5mm
Sun
8.8hrs/day
30-year climate normals · Open Meteo ERA5
How August scores in Madeira
Weather
Very good
Value
Below average
Crowds
Below average
Events
Excellent
Atmosphere
Excellent
What you gain in August
- ↑The Madeira Wine Festival takes place in early September, but August is when the grape harvest begins in the island's terraced vineyards above Câmara de Lobos and Estreito de Câmara de Lobos. Visiting the Henriques & Henriques or Blandy's wine lodges in Funchal in late August captures this harvest energy, and the Wine Lodge Blandy's (est. 1811) offers tours of its Funchal cellars with tastings of vintage Madeira that can be 50+ years old.
- ↑Nossa Senhora do Monte Festival (August 15, Feast of the Assumption) is Madeira's most important religious event — pilgrims crawl on their knees up the steps to the Church of Our Lady of Monte, and the toboggan ride down from Monte (operated by carrinhos do Monte, traditional wicker sledges steered by men in white linen) is at its most atmospheric in the festival context.
- ↑The sea in August is at its warmest (23–24°C) and the Atlantic swell at its calmest — catamaran day trips around the island's coastline, including the dramatic sea cliffs of the northwest (reachable only by boat), are at their most comfortable and frequently scheduled.
What you sacrifice
- ↓August is definitively Madeira's peak tourism month — the combination of Portuguese national holidays, European summer vacations, and British summer travel creates the island's highest visitor density. Funchal's cable car (Teleférico da Madeira) queues can reach 1.5 hours on the busiest days, and popular restaurants require reservations made several days in advance.
- ↓Prices reach their annual maximum in August — accommodation costs 70–80% above the January baseline, and flight prices from London and Lisbon reflect peak demand. The value proposition of Madeira, so strong in winter and spring, largely disappears in August.
How August compares to September (best month)
| Factor | August | September ★ |
|---|---|---|
| Weather | 7 | 9 |
| Value | 3 | 6 |
| Crowds | 3 | 6 |
August in other destinations
Lisbon (26.5°C)Barcelona (28.6°C)Tokyo (32.1°C)Bali (29.9°C)Santorini (26°C)Paris (24.3°C)New York (27.7°C)Marrakech (35.8°C)Amsterdam (21.4°C)Maldives (30.3°C)Rome (30.4°C)Bangkok (31.5°C)Istanbul (28°C)Vienna (25.9°C)Seoul (29°C)Dubrovnik (28.5°C)Rio de Janeiro (25.9°C)Kyoto (33.7°C)Phuket (31.3°C)Cape Town (17.2°C)Prague (26°C)Amalfi Coast (31°C)Mexico City (23°C)Medellín (29°C)Fiji (26°C)London (24°C)Sydney (18°C)Iceland (14°C)Tulum (33°C)Dubai (42°C)Singapore (32°C)Hoi An (33°C)Chiang Mai (31°C)Miami (33.3°C)Florence (31.8°C)Queenstown (9°C)Madrid (35.2°C)Porto (27°C)Edinburgh (19°C)Copenhagen (22°C)Budapest (28°C)Kraków (24°C)Tbilisi (31°C)Palawan (30°C)Hanoi (32°C)Osaka (34°C)Goa (30°C)Cusco (20°C)Buenos Aires (15°C)Mykonos (30°C)Zanzibar (26°C)Sri Lanka (30°C)Costa Rica (25°C)Cancun (32°C)Krabi (32°C)Athens (33°C)Seville (36°C)Cartagena (31°C)Siem Reap (31°C)Havana (32°C)Split (30°C)Taipei (34°C)Kuala Lumpur (32°C)Valletta (32°C)Ho Chi Minh City (32°C)Hawaii (31°C)Cappadocia (32°C)Dominican Republic (32°C)Jamaica (33°C)Tanzania (23°C)Seychelles (26°C)Nepal (27°C)Jordan (36°C)Azores (27°C)Bora Bora (26°C)Los Angeles (28.5°C)Cairo (38.2°C)Kenya (24°C)Jaipur (32.8°C)Las Vegas (40.1°C)San Francisco (18°C)Vancouver (23.3°C)Muscat (38.5°C)Lima (17.2°C)Cinque Terre (29°C)Kotor (32°C)Tel Aviv (32°C)Santiago (15°C)Bogotá (19°C)Bruges (22.4°C)Penang (32.3°C)Lombok (30.4°C)Cape Verde (29.5°C)Fez (37.2°C)Kerala (29°C)Kigali (26°C)Hong Kong (31°C)Oslo (23°C)Auckland (14°C)
Climate data: 30-year normals (1991–2020) from Open Meteo ERA5 reanalysis. Scores compare months within Madeira, not across destinations. Methodology →