Lisbon to Madeira: Flights and Airport Transfers

By The Travel Fieldbook October 7, 2026 October 7, 2026

Funchal, Madeira’s main arrival point, viewed from above. (Anita Kieseler · Pexels License · Edited)

Getting from Rossio Square in Lisbon to Municipal Square in Funchal means a flight and an airport transfer at each end. The main choice is how you make those ground journeys: Lisbon’s metro and Madeira’s Aerobus keep the cost down for a solo traveller, while taxis reduce boarding steps and take you straight to the centre.

Your departure terminal and landing time matter as much as the airfare. An early flight can rule out the metro, and an evening arrival needs enough time for baggage collection before the last bus leaves.

Choosing your airport transfers

Criterion	Flight + metro + Aerobus	Flight + taxis
Ground-travel subtotal	—	About 44 minutes driving; excludes waits
Lisbon one-way ground fare	€2.40/person with new card; €1.92 contactlessBest	Estimated €15–25/vehicle
Madeira one-way ground fare	€6.70/adult on board; €5.55 GIROBest	Estimated €30–45/vehicle
Boarding and changes	Metro change at Alameda; flight; bus; walk	Taxi; flight; taxiBest
Best fit	Lower per-person cost; manageable luggage	Bulky bags, children, out-of-hours travel

Both choices connect Rossio Square with Municipal Square through Lisbon and Madeira airports. Choose public transport when its departures suit your flight, or choose taxis when simpler boarding matters more. Sharing taxis spreads the vehicle fare across your group.

The taxi subtotal covers only the two drives. Your elapsed journey also includes airport preparation, the flight, baggage collection and any taxi wait. With public transport, allow for both metro trains and the Aerobus departure, and Ryanair passengers also need to reach the separate departure terminal.

Rossio to the departure terminal

Metro single ticket: €1.90/person
New navegante occasional card: €0.50
Contactless bank-card journey: €1.92/person
Daily metro opening: 06:30, including weekends and public holidays; operating-hours start, not a Rossio train departure
Green Line average waits: Weekdays: approximately 5 min 5 sec–9 min 20 sec; weekends/public holidays: 7 min 55 sec–9 min 15 sec
Red Line average waits: Weekdays: approximately 6 min–9 min 45 sec; weekends/public holidays: 7 min–9 min 45 sec

From Rossio Square, Rossio metro station is about 50 metres away, about 1 minute on foot. Take Metropolitano de Lisboa’s Green Line towards Telheiras to Alameda, then the Red Line towards Aeroporto. The first train leg takes about 7 minutes and the second about 18 minutes. The access route totals about 25 minutes. Add train waits and time to find your departure area. Average waits vary through the day and can lengthen during disruption.

At a metro vending machine or ticket office, buy a single ticket loaded onto a Viva Viagem or navegante occasional card. Alternatively, use an active contactless bank card at the gate.
Tap or swipe your card at Rossio’s entry gate. Change lines at Alameda, following signs for Aeroporto.
Use the same card at the airport station’s exit gate and keep it until you have left the station.

A taxi from Rossio to Lisbon Airport Terminal 1 takes about 24 minutes. Expect the metered fare to fall within the comparison’s range under ordinary conditions, but congested roads and luggage charges can push it upwards. A taxi avoids the interchange and carrying bags through station gates.

TAP Air Portugal and easyJet departures use Terminal 1, while Ryanair uses Terminal 2. The metro brings you to Terminal 1, so a Ryanair journey continues by shuttle. The free Terminal 1–Terminal 2 shuttle runs daily from 03:30 to 00:30 the following day, every 12 minutes. Allow for its wait and transfer before the airport arrival allowance, rather than treating arrival at Terminal 1 as arrival at your departure terminal. For taxi access, name your airline’s terminal when you get in.

Flights and airport preparation

Nonstop Lisbon–Madeira operators: TAP Air Portugal; Ryanair
Lisbon Airport arrival allowance: At least 2 hours before departure for domestic flights

Once you have reached the right Lisbon departure terminal, the flight takes you to Madeira Airport near Santa Cruz, east of Funchal. Budget roughly €40–180 per person one way for the flight, with popular dates and late purchases potentially costing more. Advance purchase and travelling with only the included baggage usually keep the price lower, so compare the total with the bags you intend to take.

Madeira Airport has wind operating limits: when these are exceeded, air traffic control can withhold landing clearance and instruct a go-around. Leave room before a fixed onward commitment, especially if a missed connection would disrupt the rest of your trip.

The Porto Santo Line passenger ferry connects Madeira and Porto Santo, sailing between Funchal and Porto Santo. It is an inter-island journey, not the sea leg of a Lisbon-to-Madeira connection.

Afternoon and evening airport transfers

After landing at Madeira Airport, you can take CAM’s Aerobus towards Praia Formosa, serving central Funchal. CAM is Companhia de Autocarros da Madeira, the Madeira bus company. For an afternoon or evening arrival, choose the bus if its departure suits you and you can manage the final walk. Boarding is in the airport Arrivals area. Look for the Aerobus airport stop.

Aerobus one-way adult fare on board: €6.70
Pre-purchased GIRO adult fare: €5.55

Buy from the driver when boarding, paying cash only, because bank cards are not accepted. Alternatively, buy an Aerobus ticket loaded onto a GIRO card at a SIGA operator service desk or participating Payshop agent. Validate the GIRO card or ticket when you board. Each ticket covers one Aerobus journey.

Weekdays, Saturdays, and Sundays/public holidays have separate departure patterns. These are individually scheduled services rather than a fixed interval, so a bus may not be waiting when you emerge with your bags.

The official taxi rank is in Arrivals on the ground floor (0). The drive to Municipal Square takes about 20 minutes. The comparison’s estimated metered fare applies to a central destination, but traffic, luggage and time-of-day charges can increase the cost.

From the Avenida do Mar airport bus stop, the waterfront approach to Municipal Square (Praça do Município) is about 700 metres, about 10 minutes on foot. The square is a central landmark beside Funchal’s town hall. Accommodation in the hotel districts farther west needs an onward journey rather than this central walk.

Sources & fact-checking

Checks against the sources below cover: services and fares and charges.