A month in Madeira

Madeira follows Portugal's national rules. A month in a registered Alojamento Local is still an AL stay: the AL number stays on the listing, the lodging files the guest registration form, and the municipal tax stops after 7 nights. At EUR 2 a night, that makes EUR 14 per taxable guest for a month in one place in Funchal, Calheta, Câmara de Lobos, Ponta do Sol, Ribeira Brava or São Vicente, and under Santa Cruz's 2022 ecotax amendment in Caniço.

The resident exemptions do not help a visitor on a month: Funchal and Calheta exempt residents of the Autonomous Region of Madeira, and a monthly guest pays like any other. A lease is the other route. Under the Civil Code a fixed-term residential lease runs at least a year, but that minimum does not apply to contracts for special transitory purposes such as work, study or tourism, as long as the purpose is written into the contract. Only one transitory lease for tourist purposes may be signed per unit per calendar year.

The Lido and São Martinho work well with a car: the two municipal Lido car parks sell monthly cards at EUR 45 in the surface car park and EUR 55 in the covered one, plus EUR 10 for the card. Funchal centre suits a month without a car, since street stays are capped at 61 to 364 minutes by zone.

Ponta do Sol suits remote workers. Startup Madeira's Digital Nomads Madeira Islands project, running since February 2021, keeps a free working space in the town and lists community locations in Funchal, Machico and Santa Cruz. Caniço sits between the airport and the city for a month of day trips, and Câmara de Lobos, about 9 km by road from Funchal cathedral, gives a month of local life close to the capital. Calheta suits a villa month in the west, about 48 km from the airport, where the car does most of the work. This ranking is editorial.

Deposit: on a lease, the deposit may not exceed two months' rent, and rent may be paid in advance for no more than two months, with written agreement. A platform booking is not a lease, so the platform's terms apply instead.

Registration at the lodging: the host or hotel files a registration form for every foreign guest, EU nationals included.

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens staying longer than three months request a Certificado de Registo from the Câmara Municipal where they live, within 30 days after the first three months.

Visitors from outside the EU may stay 90 days in any 180-day period across the Schengen area; longer stays need a national visa. The EU Entry/Exit System, which registers non-EU nationals on short stays in 29 European countries, has been in full operation since 10 April 2026.

Airbnb calls a reservation of 28 nights or more a monthly stay. It charges the first month up front and releases it to the host 24 hours after check-in, then charges each later month 10 days in advance at the price fixed at booking. A long-term cancellation policy applies to these stays, and Airbnb's help page describes a 30-day notice for changes.

The legal status comes from the listing, whatever the platform calls it: an AL number means an AL stay, and a direct contract for a transitory purpose means a lease.

Planning on the street for a car. Funchal meters cap a stay at 61 to 364 minutes by zone, so a month with a car needs a garage, a private space or a monthly card at the Lido.

A listing without an AL number, or a lease that does not state its transitory purpose.

A deposit above two months' rent on a lease, which the Civil Code does not allow.

Counting on today's Funchal rate for a booking far ahead. The council opened a review in January 2026 that may raise it.

Miscounting Schengen days. The 90 in 180 limit covers the whole Schengen area.

A villa on the slopes without asking about the access road. Visit Madeira warns that a sat nav can choose impractical, steep roads, and the car going downhill has priority where only one fits.

Assuming utilities are included. No reliable source on typical practice was found, so ask before paying.