Santana Day Trips from Madeira

Santana, on Madeira's green north coast, is famous for its palheiros, the little A-framed houses with steep thatched roofs painted in bright reds, blues and whites. A handful are preserved as the village's calling card, and around them the landscape opens into some of the island's lushest country, between the laurel forest and the high peaks.

The Santana tours on this page are ones we picked by hand, the routes that pair the thatched houses with the best of the north and east. Most are full-day island tours that fold Santana in with the Pico do Arieiro heights, the Ribeiro Frio levada walks, and coastal viewpoints like Sao Vicente. Some run as open-top island days, others as 4x4 trips up the back roads. A private tour lets you linger at the houses and the viewpoints; a small-group tour keeps the cost down, with hotel pickup from Funchal on most.

Santana works best as one stop on a wider north-and-east loop rather than a destination alone, since the drive there is half the scenery. Go on a clear day so the mountain stretches deliver.

5 Santana tours from EUR 40. Handpicked guides, thatched houses with the north coast and peaks, free cancellation on most - easy to book online.