Madeira · Portugal
February
Carnival week transforms Funchal — parades, costumes, and still well below peak prices.
Best match
#4 of 12 months
There are better months for Madeira — see the full ranking below.
See when to go instead →Climate
High
19.8°C
Low
14°C
Rain
78mm
Sun
5.8hrs/day
30-year climate normals · Open Meteo ERA5
How February scores in Madeira
Weather
Good
Value
Excellent
Crowds
Excellent
Events
Excellent
Atmosphere
Excellent
What you gain in February
- ↑Madeira Carnival (dates vary by Easter, typically February) is one of the most characterful carnival celebrations in the Portuguese world — the main Saturday parade through central Funchal features elaborate floats and costumes comparable in ambition if not scale to Rio. The Allegorical Parade and the Traje à Vontade (come-as-you-please) parade on Tuesday give the whole city a festive atmosphere for an entire week. Hotel prices spike for Carnival week itself but remain below summer peak.
- ↑February's improving sunshine (5.8 hours daily vs. January's 5.2) and slightly lower rainfall make it a meaningfully better month for outdoor activities than January. The almond trees in the Jardim da Serra area above Câmara de Lobos bloom white and pink in February — a spectacle specific to this microclimate that is one of the island's most beautiful seasonal events.
- ↑Whale watching season is excellent year-round in Madeira, but February sees Bryde's whales and sperm whales regularly spotted on 3-hour boat tours departing Funchal marina (around €55 per person). The calmer winter seas of the south-coast shelter mean dolphin encounters — common striped and bottlenose — are almost guaranteed.
What you sacrifice
- ↓Rainfall remains meaningful at 78mm — March is the transition month, and February still delivers regular wet spells. The northern and mountain areas of the island are significantly wetter than the south coast figures suggest, and cloud can settle in the Rabacal plateau for days at a time.
- ↓Carnival week accommodation needs booking 2–3 months in advance for central Funchal, and the immediate post-Carnival period can feel anticlimactic as the island quietens suddenly after the festivities.
How February compares to September (best month)
| Factor | February | September ★ |
|---|---|---|
| Weather | 6 | 9 |
| Value | 8 | 6 |
| Crowds | 8 | 6 |
February in other destinations
Lisbon (14.3°C)Barcelona (14°C)Tokyo (10.4°C)Bali (30.1°C)Santorini (13.2°C)Paris (8°C)New York (4.5°C)Marrakech (19.1°C)Amsterdam (6°C)Maldives (30.2°C)Rome (11.9°C)Bangkok (33°C)Istanbul (8.6°C)Vienna (4.9°C)Seoul (4°C)Dubrovnik (11.1°C)Rio de Janeiro (31°C)Kyoto (10.1°C)Phuket (32.1°C)Cape Town (26.9°C)Prague (4°C)Amalfi Coast (13°C)Mexico City (23°C)Medellín (29°C)Fiji (31°C)London (9°C)Sydney (26°C)Iceland (3°C)Tulum (29°C)Dubai (26°C)Singapore (31°C)Hoi An (26°C)Chiang Mai (31.5°C)Miami (24.8°C)Florence (11.4°C)Queenstown (22.2°C)Madrid (11.2°C)Porto (15°C)Edinburgh (7°C)Copenhagen (4°C)Budapest (6°C)Kraków (4°C)Tbilisi (8°C)Palawan (30°C)Hanoi (19°C)Osaka (10°C)Goa (33°C)Cusco (19°C)Buenos Aires (29°C)Mykonos (13°C)Zanzibar (32°C)Sri Lanka (31°C)Costa Rica (26°C)Cancun (29°C)Krabi (33°C)Athens (14°C)Seville (17°C)Cartagena (31°C)Siem Reap (31°C)Havana (27°C)Split (11°C)Taipei (19°C)Kuala Lumpur (33°C)Valletta (15°C)Ho Chi Minh City (34°C)Hawaii (27°C)Cappadocia (6°C)Dominican Republic (28°C)Jamaica (30°C)Tanzania (29°C)Seychelles (30°C)Nepal (20°C)Jordan (13°C)Azores (17°C)Bora Bora (30°C)Los Angeles (20.3°C)Cairo (21.2°C)Kenya (28°C)Jaipur (25.1°C)Las Vegas (17.2°C)San Francisco (14°C)Vancouver (8.4°C)Muscat (27.8°C)Lima (27°C)Cinque Terre (12°C)Kotor (11°C)Tel Aviv (18°C)Santiago (29°C)Bogotá (19°C)Bruges (6.5°C)Penang (32.2°C)Lombok (30.9°C)Cape Verde (25.8°C)Fez (15.8°C)Kerala (32°C)Kigali (26°C)Hong Kong (18°C)Oslo (0°C)Auckland (24°C)
Climate data: 30-year normals (1991–2020) from Open Meteo ERA5 reanalysis. Scores compare months within Madeira, not across destinations. Methodology →