With its irresistible oceanside setting, the vibrant city of Funchal has been attracting tourists for centuries. Set against a splendid backdrop of craggy volcanic mountains, it is the capital of a lush, subtropical island affectionately known as the Atlantic's Floating Garden. Downtown Funchal is full of tourist interest, particularly amidst the winding cobbled streets of the Old Town where many colonial-style buildings and impressive state buildings can be seen. Built between 1486 and 1514, Funchal Cathedral is worth seeing for its marvellous mudejar ceiling of Madeira cedar wood and many other fine features. A prerequisite for wine lovers is a visit to the ever-popular Blandy’s Wine Lodge next door to the tourist office in the centre of town. Housed in a 17th-century former Franciscan friary, visitors can enjoy a tour of the premises comprising a wine-making museum and cellars before tasting and buying the different wines. With a car hire in Funchal you'll have all the flexibility you'll need to tour the area and see some of the local attractions, including the beautiful Botanical Gardens a short drive to the east of the city. Also within easy reach of Funchal are the deep valley location of Curral das Freiras (meaning Refuge of the Nuns) in the centre of the island and the pretty fishing village of Câmara de Lobos to the west, a favourite spot for Sir Winston Churchill in the 1950s, both easily accessible by car.
With over 65 years of international car hire experience, Auto Europe is by far the best company to offer you the cheapest rates and best level of service for your next car hire in Funchal, whether you plan to pick it up at a convenient downtown location or from Madeira International Airport. By working with all the world’s leading car hire suppliers, including Hertz, Avis, Europcar and many other national and local rental companies on Madeira, we are able to provide our customers with the widest selection of cars, whether it's for a long weekend of sightseeing in Funchal or a two-week road-trip around the island. Check out the car hire reviews in Funchal section below for an overview of how reliable and efficient Auto Europe's products and services are in the city and elsewhere on the Atlantic's Floating Garden.
" All good as usual. "
" Problem with car brakes after 3 days. Car quickly and easily replaced. "
Overall Value: 10 Efficiency of Counter Staff: 10 Expediency of Drop-off: 10 Condition of the Vehicle: 10
" Used Auto Europe for the 4th time for Funchal hire and all went smoothly. For some reason the quotations came in much higher this year, possibly due to a later booking. "
" Thank you. Hired for the fourth time from Funchal and all went smoothly. New electronic sign in works well. "
Overall Value: 10 Efficiency of Counter Staff: 10 Expediency of Drop-off: 10 Condition of the Vehicle: 10
" Superb. "
" Excellent and brand new car. Superb. "
Overall Value: 10 Efficiency of Counter Staff: 10 Expediency of Drop-off: 10 Condition of the Vehicle: 10
" Fair price, good car and customer return "
" Quite pushy on customer desk for an upgrade (to gain commission), incorrectly implying that the car I had selected would struggle on the hills. "
Overall Value: 10 Efficiency of Counter Staff: 7 Expediency of Drop-off: 10 Condition of the Vehicle: 10
" Good choices and competitive prices - plus ability t cancel up to 48 hours beforehand - which is pretty good in the current climate. "
" Cheap rental & unlike some other rental companies Avis do not hard sell insurance or upgrades, plus they don't make false claims of damage or the tank not being full. "
Overall Value: 9 Efficiency of Counter Staff: 8 Expediency of Drop-off: 10 Condition of the Vehicle: 5
" Good price and service, got what I ordered at a good price. "
" Felt very safe with the Covid precautions used in dropping off the car. "
Overall Value: 10 Efficiency of Counter Staff: 10 Expediency of Drop-off: 10 Condition of the Vehicle: 10
" Smooth "
" Very happy, as usual. "
Overall Value: 10 Efficiency of Counter Staff: 10 Expediency of Drop-off: 10 Condition of the Vehicle: 10
" Only thing that wasn't made clear on the booking was that if i had any accidents or scrapes, the extra insurance i paid for would not pay out immediately,i would have to pay with my card and then claim the money back. "
" Easy experience to pick up car "
Overall Value: 10 Efficiency of Counter Staff: 10 Expediency of Drop-off: 10 Condition of the Vehicle: 10
" Easy to do business with. "
" Queue was a little slow, but staff very helpful. "
Overall Value: 10 Efficiency of Counter Staff: 10 Expediency of Drop-off: 10 Condition of the Vehicle: 10
" Great price, great service "
" Very good! "
Overall Value: 10 Efficiency of Counter Staff: 10 Expediency of Drop-off: 10 Condition of the Vehicle: 10
" Always a good service, good cars and never any hidden extras "
" We always use Europcar As we always get a good experience "
Overall Value: 10 Efficiency of Counter Staff: 10 Expediency of Drop-off: 10 Condition of the Vehicle: 10
" Obtained the best price for a rental I use regularly. "
" Regular user, always satisfied. Condition of a tyre was a concern this time. "
Overall Value: 10 Efficiency of Counter Staff: 10 Expediency of Drop-off: 10 Condition of the Vehicle: 8
" Better than booking direct with Hire Car company as it gives you flexibility and better rates. "
" So impressed with Autoeurope as I was Able to modify my booking and secured an excellent deal. "
Overall Value: 10 Efficiency of Counter Staff: 10 Expediency of Drop-off: 10 Condition of the Vehicle: 10
" Happy with the service and price "
" Very courteous and efficient "
Overall Value: 10 Efficiency of Counter Staff: 10 Expediency of Drop-off: 10 Condition of the Vehicle: 10
" Efficient and affective from start to finish. "
" The whole process was handled efficiently and politely.Staff were knowledgeable,courteous and helpful. A hassle-free experience. "
Overall Value: 10 Efficiency of Counter Staff: 10 Expediency of Drop-off: 10 Condition of the Vehicle: 10
" Good advice given on type of car for our holiday use on this stunning island. Staff were very genuine and friendly. "
" Efficient and friendly service. "
Overall Value: 10 Efficiency of Counter Staff: 10 Expediency of Drop-off: 9 Condition of the Vehicle: 10
" Auto-Europe was very efficient "
" The parcel shelf was broken when we picked up the car and this was both an annoyance every time we opened the boot and we felt that there was nowhere out-of-view to put things in the car. There was a long wait to drop off the car. "
Overall Value: 9 Efficiency of Counter Staff: 10 Expediency of Drop-off: 8 Condition of the Vehicle: 9
" Excellent as always "
" Excellent service recommended "
Overall Value: 10 Efficiency of Counter Staff: 10 Expediency of Drop-off: 10 Condition of the Vehicle: 10
" Stress free "
" Very easy and efficient "
Overall Value: 10 Efficiency of Counter Staff: 10 Expediency of Drop-off: 10 Condition of the Vehicle: 10
" Simple and effective booking. Clear website, easy to understand terms and will use again. "
" As this is serviced by Europcar, it is very good service. We damaged a tyre and suffered small damage to the replacement car and they dealt with everything really quickly and the damage charges were very reasonable. "
Overall Value: 10 Efficiency of Counter Staff: 10 Expediency of Drop-off: 10 Condition of the Vehicle: 8
" Very efficient service. "
" Very good, efficient, and friendly service. Car nice and clean, with full tank of fuel. "
" All online systems performed well - easy to make booking and crucially your site has a fuel filter ! Booking all present and correct when I arrived at the Hertz desk. "
" Superb reception by the lady who dealt with my booking plus comments From "Mr Toberlone Man " !! Supplied with brand new Nissan Note which exceeded expectations !! "
" Car well worn and not in showroom condition but this was reflected in the price "
" Need A/c in waiting room "
" We have used Auto Europe several times and never been unhappy. This time Guerin car Hire (about whom we have read a lot of adverse comments) was superb. Even though they had up graded us ... the Audi was sporty not spacious. We requested a larger station wagon "No problem tomorrow". Ok, we exchanged cars tomorrow and have had a brilliant time. Excellent service and understanding, thank you. "
" We wavered before hiring the car having read several adverse comments on the 'net about Geurin. No problem ... as above, the upgrade they supplied was sporty not spacious for 5 "mature" adults. I was the main driver @ 71 and had to "climb" out of the drivers seat. We requested a larger more suitable car and bingo tomorrow we had it. No problem, lots of smiles and a car that was perfect for our group. THANK YOU, I hope this can be printed everwhere !! "
" very easy process , liked the fact that i only had to pay for fuel used and not purchase a whole tank.great rates and a nice car. "
" nice people to deal with. "
" Auto Europe were very good, when I had a problem it was dealt with very quickly. It was easy to book the car I wanted. "
" The first car I was given did not have working AC, I was told by BRAVACAR I had not ordered a car with AC, when I showed them the paperwork, I was told Auto Europe had made a mistake, but this car does have AC, it did not work & the fan only worked on setting 4, it was very hot & humid & only blowed out hot air. The place where we got the car from was 10 minutes drive away from the airport & we were taken there by Minibus. We returned the car early & had to wait 40 minutes until the Mini bus was full so they could take us back to the airport which meant that when we got to the check in, we were at the back of a very long que which took ages. I was not happy that the cars were not collected & returned to the Airport. "
" NO COMPLAINTS "
" CAR WAS A LITTLE OLD, BEAT UP AND NOISY BUT OVERALL IT WAS GOOD VALUE FOR MONEY. FRIENDLY AND EFFICIENT STAFF AT BRAVACAR "
" Better information about extras from car hire companies would be appreciated. I came away with the feeling that I got 'stung' "
" A complete disaster! Only one booking clerk on arrival who took 45 minutes to serve two customers in front of me. The CDW premium was ridiculous. I was seriously mis-informed about the best way to deal with fuel. I ended up paying well over the odds for a partial fill up as well as a filling fee! "
" Excellent service and price. "
" Hertz charged me 200Euros because of a minor paint scratch on the plastic bumper that I did not cause. I trusted them so did not inspect the car carefully. I've raised a formal complaint supported by photos that show the very minor nature of the scratch which you cannot see unless you are on your knees! Hopefully, the charge will be refunded? "
" Excellent service and price. "
" Hertz charged me 200Euros because of a minor paint scratch on the plastic bumper that I did not cause. I trusted them so did not inspect the car carefully. I've raised a formal complaint supported by photos that show the very minor nature of the scratch which you cannot see unless you are on your knees! Hopefully, the charge will be refunded? "
" Excellent, helpful advice and service for a novice hirer "
" Excellent, helpful advice and service for a novice hirer abroad "
" Range of insurance options should have been available and chosen at the time of booking, not at the end of a long flight. e.g. reduced CDW, extra drivers etc. I fortunately went for the reduced CDW option and consequently benefited due to an attempted breaking in to the car. "
" Car was underpowered and therefore should not have been offered as an option in such a hilly country. "
" Hi, would suggest the insurance cover to be explained a bit better to the hire companies at arrival. "
" All ok no issues there "
" booking via the internet was easy and straight forward, with confirmation received in minutes "
" Totally UNsatisfied with service received on arrival in Funchal. not allowed to take hire car as i had forgotten my husbands credit card, (car was booked in his name,) although i had my own credit card , the young man said i would have to change the booking details and put the my name on the revised booking,this meant getting in touch with Auto Europe, as it was late afternoon/early evening and had no change for the pay phone, hertz representative wouldnt let us use his phone, we therefore had to leave car at airport and take a taxi to hotel at a cost of 37Euro, Eventually got car the next day , The young lady at the local office changed details , why couldnt the rep at the airport do this, not happy, will not use Hertz again "
" The first free additional driver is a great deal, thanks! "
" Good car, kind staff. "
" Lot of roads are very narrow in Madeira smaller cars are much more practical diesel cars are better for Madeiras very hllly areas having extra torque. "
" Staff very helpfull "
" All good..... "
" All good... "