MadeiraNow & Other Madeira discount cards [2020]

UPDATED 22-03-2020 ◊ ZMIEŃ JĘZYK NA: POLSKI

Looking for a discount card for your upcoming Madeira trip? There is one card we have used, loved, and always recommend to others:

Discount Card: Madeira Now
Discount Card: Funchal Card [suspended]
Discount Card: Cultural Passport – exploring Madeira
Discount App: The Fork

Discount Card: Madeira Now

This is the card I got before my latest 5-weeks long Madeira adventure. I am sure that it helped me save probably around EUR 100 on food alone. BUT – I wasn’t a typical tourist – I have not rented any vehicles and I have not purchased even one organized tour. If I did, and If I did not travel solo, I would have saved much, much more…

I have frequently eaten out, sometimes even twice a day and I frequently invited others. Whenever I could, I was choosing places accepting the Madeira Now card. This is an example of savings you can get on just one lunch for two:

Taking into consideration the fact that the Madeira Now card costs only 9-12 euro including postage (Portugal– €9; UK/Europe – €10; other countries– €12) the card can pay itself off even in one day. The card is valid for one year.

Sometimes special deals are available and just like me, you can get it even cheaper. Follow Madeira Now on FB to stay up to date with special deals.

As I said, there are many discounts which I did not use, since I have already done and visited most of the attractions, but will be extremely useful especially to first-time visitors. Anything from paragliding flights, different dolphin and whale watching tours, diving, jeep tours, extreme sports, hikes, old-timer & sidecar tours, handicraft stores, car, bike to scooter rentals.

EXPLORE: ORGANIZED TOURS

There are over 300 discounts for different activities, tours and restaurants. The discounts range from 10% to 25% and the card is valid for the entire year. More than that – one card can give you discounts for 2 adults and up to 2 children!

During my 5-week stay, I have not been rejected even once. At some restaurants, some waiters weren’t entirely sure and had to double-check with their managers, but ultimately, I always received a discounted bill. Big thumbs up for the rooftop restaurant at the Madeira Story Centre- I ate there over 4 times, and my card was always accepted without any slightest problems.

Together with the card, you will receive a useful guide with information about events, attractions, routes, maps and a list of participating companies.

Here is a handy map of all participating restaurants:

And here you will find tours and attractions:

For more info please visit: Official website Madeira now

Discount Card: Funchal Card [suspended]

Some of you probably came across a tourist discount card called Funchal Card. Funchal Card is, unfortunately, no longer an option and as I heard from its publishers, it is not certain if it will ever be available again.

Discount Card: Cultural Passport – exploring Madeira

Around the same time that Funchal Card got suspended, a new initiative was introduced.

Cultural Passport – Official website

Cultural passport costs 3 euro and is for sale at [these points]. As confirmed by the organizers in June 2019, Cultural passport was still valid in 2019 and the price was still 3 euro.

However, during my entire 5-week stay on Madeira, I have not encountered the logo/banner in any establishment, nor I have seen anyone using it. I am therefore not able to confirm how well it works or recommend this card personally. This is not the case with Madeira Now – that card is clearly present in multiple places and I have never had any situation with restaurants declining a discount.

The only thing I can say is that the idea is nice: Cultural passport looks like, well, a pretty souvenir passport and is designed for all tourists, as well as residents who want to explore the island from a different perspective. Everyone can collect stamps from various interesting and important places in Madeira, and additionally, some of them offer very good discounts. All partner places have a stamp with a specially designed logo, and these stamps can be collected as a souvenir.

On the official website, we find the entire list of places where we can get our commemorative stamp. The partners of the campaign are shops, museums, bathing complexes, tour operators, cultural institutions and parks. However, as I said, I don’t think it is a popular card and personally I doubt I would purchase it.

Discount App: The Fork

Not a physical card, but a nice app which is still worth mentioning. The Fork can help you save a lot of restaurants, and some of them are really, really good ones. For more info, please check our post:

MADEIRA ON A BUDGET – CHEAP EATS

Madeira Now works, and works well. I got it, I tried it, I recommend it.

What is your experience with discount cards on Madeira Island? Help others – leave a comment below.

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