From my airplane window, Madeira’s rugged shoreline and dramatic sea cliffs got here into view. I watched as an expanse of terra-cotta-tiled roofs dotted the panorama. Madeira, a semi-autonomous Portuguese island off the coast of Morocco, is thought for its year-round temperate local weather and pure variety. Mountains, ocean, inexperienced forests, and waterfalls are all simple to entry throughout the island.
It’s no shock, then, that vacationers—particularly Europeans—are discovering Madeira in droves. People are lastly catching on to the attract, too. In actual fact, the variety of U.S. vacationers arriving on the archipelago has doubled since 2019. Add new direct air entry to the combo, and Madeira has all of the makings of being the following journey scorching spot. (Regardless of this, once I informed buddies in Los Angeles that I used to be flying to Madeira, the response was “The place’s that?”)
On June 8, 2025, United Airways turned the primary U.S. provider to fly nonstop from the USA to Madeira, with three flights per week between New Jersey’s Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport (EWR) and Cristiano Ronaldo Worldwide Airport (FNC). The seasonal route, operated on a single-aisle Boeing 737 MAX 8, builds on United’s current service to 4 different cities in Portugal: Lisbon, Porto, Faro, and Ponta Delgada within the Azores.
United’s new Madeira flight
The nonstop flight to Madeira is about comfort above all else. “You’re speaking about chopping off three hours with a connection in Lisbon, or 5 hours with a connection in London,” stated Matt Stevens, vice chairman, worldwide community at United. “It was simply actually exhausting to get there earlier than . . . and we expect progress to Madeira has been underrepresented due to that.”
United operates a Boeing 737 MAX 8 on this route, with room for as much as 166 passengers (16 recliner seats bought as “Premium Plus,” 54 extra-legroom financial system seats, and 96 customary financial system seats). The narrow-body aircraft, usually flown on shorter U.S. home routes, is indicative of the airline’s broader technique of discovering cost-efficient methods to attach cities throughout the Atlantic which have much less passenger demand.
What’s the catch? Properly, the passenger expertise isn’t fairly to the long-haul customary of United’s different European-bound flights, say to Lisbon or Porto. The 737 MAX 8 lacks lie-flat seats. A real business-class Polaris service isn’t an choice. And on the MAX, there’s much less area to maneuver in regards to the cabin and stretch your legs. “We wished to begin with a smaller plane and a shorter season, see the way it goes, and construct it out from there,” Stevens stated.
The seasonal flight—which runs by means of September 24—operates as a red-eye service eastbound from EWR to FNC on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. From FNC to EWR, it’s a daytime service on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. The flight from Newark to Funchal is just below 7 hours, and the flight from Funchal to Newark is round 7 hours, half-hour.
Why fly to Madeira
Madeira, also referred to as “the island of everlasting spring,” has a good year-round local weather alongside the Gulf Stream. The tropical climate is paying homage to the Hawaiian archipelago—in truth, native Madeirans who immigrated there within the late nineteenth century to work the sugarcane plantations launched the instrument now referred to as the ukulele.
Whereas the volcanic island is simply 35 miles lengthy and 14 miles huge, it presents quite a lot of issues to do. The capital, Funchal, has a superb botanical backyard, Jardim Monte Palace Madeira. Thrill seekers can journey a touristy-but-still-fun toboggan within the heart of city. (Over a century in the past, locals used a glorified wicker basket to go downhill.) Now, guests, guided by two males with straw hats and wearing white, can do the identical.
However don’t spend an excessive amount of time within the capital. Hire a automobile and head north to the silky comfortable black-sand seaside of Seixal and lava rock swimming swimming pools of Porto Moniz. One other main draw of Madeira is a wealthy number of scenic climbing trails of various issue and terrain. I spent one afternoon trekking the coastal path of São Lourenço with jaw-dropping seascapes. The next morning, I used to be within the inside, traversing to a waterfall alongside levadas, irrigation channels that date again greater than 600 years. (Tip: To keep away from a majority of the crowds, hike within the late afternoon or early night, if doable.)
The place to remain
Whether or not it’s Outdated World allure or glossy European luxurious, Madeira has lodging to swimsuit most vacationers. Nearly all of inns are centered round Funchal, corresponding to Reid’s Palace, a pink-hued, 125-year outdated cliffside property run by Belmond. (It was a favourite of Winston Churchill.)
Close by, the domestically owned Savoy Palace is among the latest luxurious inns on the island, with a contemporary, gold, and glimmery design. Savoy Palace additionally homes the Reserve, a boutique lodge inside a lodge; friends right here get a private butler, entry to a personal lounge, and devoted rooftop infinity pool. The Pestana Carlton Madeira is the one devoted PADI (Skilled Affiliation of Divers) dive resort on the island.