Tourism is booming. In 2024, Madeira’s tourist accommodation logged around 11.8 million overnight stays, up 7.4 percent on the previous year and nearly 45 percent above 2019 levels. The available numbers for 2025 show a similar trajectory, with stays up nearly 10 percent halfway through the year compared to 2024. At the same time, the region has pushed hard into sustainability, from decarbonization targets and circular-economy strategies to a destination-wide certification process that started in 2023.
It’s one thing to set certification standards and make sustainability goals, it’s another thing entirely to maintain those commitments as more and more people come every year.
Madeira isn’t a utopia, and the archipelago as a whole is facing very real pressures from overtourism, as well as wildfires and coastal erosion made worse by the effects of climate change. The dedication to growing tourism while simultaneously making sustainability and conservation a top priority, however, is why Madeira is Matador Network’s Best Sustainable Destination 2025.
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Since 2023, the archipelago has been certified by EarthCheck as a Silver-level sustainable tourist destination — an audit-based process that measures everything from emissions and waste to social and cultural indicators. The region’s dedicated “Madeira Sustainable for All” platform pulls together the data, goals, and progress, including a 2022–2030 action plan and public sustainability reports, ensuring transparency and accountability.
The plan’s sustainability targets include sourcing 55 percent of electricity from renewable sources while cutting emissions by 55 percent and fossil fuel consumption by 45 percent by 2030. The target for waste — which travelers create a much higher amount of — is to reach a 35 percent recycling rate. Madeira has largely embraced the Green Key program that certifies tourism businesses that meet strict environmental and social criteria.
Where sustainability is perhaps most evident is the protected environment.
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Madeira Natural Park, established in 1982, covers about two-thirds of the main island, stitching together rugged mountains, coastal cliffs, and pockets of marine protection. Within that are the Desertas and Selvagens Islands reserves, the Garajau Marine Nature Reserve, and the Laurisilva of Madeira: the largest surviving laurel forest of its kind on Earth, believed to be about 90 percent primary forest and home to hundreds of endemic species.
On top of this, two areas are recognized globally as UNESCO biosphere reserves: Santana, on Madeira’s north coast, since 2011; and the entire island of Porto Santo since 2020, including its surrounding marine areas. The Selvagens Islands Natural Reserve has also been recognized by international marine conservation awards for its role as a refuge for seabirds and marine life.
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Funchal’s airport has direct connections to more than 50 airports in Europe and beyond. United Airlines connected Madeira to the United States for the first time in 2025.
The weather doesn’t get too far into the extremes on either end year-round. Spring and early summer are cooler with plenty of wildflowers for hikers who want to climb the mountains. September to November is most popular with warmer water and fresh produce from the island. Winter brings more rain and clouds, but also seasonal festivals and weather that is still more than comfortable for outdoor exploring.
Madeira’s levada paths — the narrow irrigation channels that double as walking routes — are one of the archipelago’s big draws. Trails like Caldeirão Verde, Rabaçal, and the ridge between Pico do Arieiro and Pico Ruivo lead hikers through laurel forest, high-mountain ridges, and misty ravines with big Atlantic views.
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This draw is also an opportunity to practice sustainable adventure: hiking with local guides, sticking to officially maintained paths, packing out waste, and choosing less-trafficked routes when the most popular options are saturated.
Other low-impact experiences abound. In Santana, the biosphere reserve is the place to take in rural walks, produce markets, and the coast. Marine protected areas have led to a thriving ecosystem under the surface ripe for snorkeling in areas like Garajau. Funchal is the largest city with just over 100,000 residents, and here you’ll find walkable neighborhoods, markets, and the base for many tour operators.
Nominations for the 2025 Matador Network Sustainable Destination Award were sourced from across the well-traveled Matador Network team. The nominees were judged based on accessibility, land stewardship, responsible tourism initiatives, overtourism management, sustainable accommodations, leave no trace principles, and future development plans.
Our other top nominees, in no particular order: