Early October 1 October
78°F
Typical afternoon high
12% historical wet-day frequency
Portugal · Beach
Madeira
in October.
Is October a good time?
Warm days.
A steady visitor season.
October averages 75°F afternoons and 74°F seas, with about 9 rain days. Later October is typically cooler.
- Afternoons
- 75°F
- Sea
- 74°F
- Visitor demand
- 87%of August peak
Historical Região Autónoma da Madeira regional averages, not a forecast or a measure of queues. Overnight demand compares average stays per day. Covers Funchal and Porto Santo; conditions vary within the region.
Overall match
7.9/10 · scores & prioritiesWhat matters most?
Weather 50% · Crowds 30% · Cost 20%
#5 of 12 months here · Balanced mix
Weather8.4/10Very good
CrowdsSteady all yearsimilar all year; overnight stays do not measure queuesFor its size, one of Europe's busiest this month
CostCheapfor Europe
Overall combines weather, overnight demand and cost. It does not include sea temperature.
Plan your October
What to expect.
What should I pack?
Afternoons around 75°F (24°C): T-shirt weather; nights around 62°F (17°C): light layers. Bring rain gear: about 9 days with at least 1 mm of rain. About 11 hours of daylight.
Can I swim in October?
The sea averages 74°F. Our swimming guide: comfortable for a swim. Your comfort will vary. This is open water near the coast, not a beach-specific reading.
Monthly coastal averages from NOAA, 2011–2025. Sea temperature is separate from the weather and Overall scores.
A typical day: temperatures & daylightAfternoons, nights, sea temperature & daylight Show detailsHide details
About 11 hours of daylight.
The sun rises about 08:11 and sets about 19:36 (local time, mid-month). Mornings start around 62°F (17°C); afternoons reach about 75°F (24°C). Expect rain on about 9 days in a typical October.
Typical afternoon
75°F (24°C)
average daily high, 15 recent Octobers
Night low
62°F (17°C)
average daily minimum
Sea
74°F (23°C)
comfortable; open water near the coast, NOAA satellite record 2011–2025
Daylight
11h 25m
on the 15th, computed from latitude
Early, middle or late?
Early or late October?
Early October is typically warmer. The afternoon high averages 78°F on the 1st, versus 72°F on the 31st. Historical wet-day frequency rises from 12% to 35% between those dates.
Mid October 15 October
75°F
Typical afternoon high
30% historical wet-day frequency
Late October 31 October
72°F
Typical afternoon high
35% historical wet-day frequency
Historical daily averages from 2011–2025, smoothed over two weeks. A seasonal pattern, not a forecast. This does not establish which week has the lowest prices or fewest visitors.
Public holidays · 2026: 5 Oct Republic Day.
Daily calendar & holiday datesOctober 2026 · historical weather & dated holidays Show calendarHide calendar
October 2026 calendar
Weather shows historical patterns, not a forecast. Holidays and events use the dates shown for 2026.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 178° | 277° | 377° | 477° | |||
| 577° | 677° | 777° | 877° | 977° | 1077° | 1176° |
| 1276° | 1376° | 1476° | 1575° | 1675° | 1775° | 1875° |
| 1974° | 2074° | 2174° | 2274° | 2374° | 2474° | 2573° |
| 2673° | 2773° | 2873° | 2972° | 3072° | 3172° |
Afternoon high rain likely (25%+) local school holidays public holiday event
Afternoons cool from about 77°F (25°C) in the first week to 73°F (23°C) in the last. The chance of a wet day runs 12–43%.
No school holidays here in October 2026. Public holidays: 5 Oct Republic Day. Elsewhere in October 2026, the share of people living where schools are out on a typical day: France 45%, Germany 33%, Netherlands 39%, Switzerland 32%. (School holidays: OpenHolidays, ODbL.)
Crowds and cost
Visitor season
Will it be busy?
Steady all year. October averages 87% of August's overnight stays per day. Overnight demand varies little across the year.
Overnight stays across Região Autónoma da Madeira do not measure queues, day visitors or congestion at individual sights. For its size, one of Europe's busiest this month.
Hotel price season
Will it be cheaper?
About usual. Historical regional hotel revenue (2024–2025 monthly average): €62 per guest-night. An average, not a booking quote.
Fewer overnight stays do not automatically mean cheaper rooms. Check actual quotes for your trip.
Historical hotel average
€62
2024–2025 monthly average; hotel revenue per guest-night; not a current booking quote. +2% vs this region's usual month.
Portugal as a whole
Well below EU average
2024 restaurants and hotels price level: 76 where the EU average is 100. A relative index, not a room rate.
The historical regional amount comes from INE Portugal, Inquérito à Permanência de Hóspedes: hotel room revenue per guest-night; the country price level is national. Hotel averages are not live booking quotes.
Year-to-year variation
How much does October vary?
Across the recorded years
In the 15 years from 2011 to 2025, the month's afternoons averaged between 73°F (23°C) and 80°F (27°C); in 14 of them they were within 3°F (1.5°C) of the typical 75°F (24°C). Rain days ranged from 2 to 17; half the years had 5–13.
Rain days in each October
Rain days
9
at least 1 mm, typical year; about 15 in a wet year
Mostly sunny days
4 of 31
cloud cover under 30%
Years with a 95°F+ day
0 of 15
no October in the last 15 years had a day at or above 95°F (35°C)
Good weather days
24 of 31
rated very good or better
See every recorded OctoberHistorical monthly averages, year by year Show detailsHide details
| Year | Afternoon high | Rain days |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 76°F | 5 |
| 2012 | 74°F | 15 |
| 2013 | 74°F | 6 |
| 2014 | 76°F | 9 |
| 2015 | 73°F | 17 |
| 2016 | 74°F | 13 |
| 2017 | 77°F | 4 |
| 2018 | 73°F | 14 |
| 2019 | 75°F | 3 |
| 2020 | 73°F | 11 |
| 2021 | 76°F | 2 |
| 2022 | 75°F | 9 |
| 2023 | 80°F | 8 |
| 2024 | 76°F | 9 |
| 2025 | 75°F | 11 |
Checked against official climate averages for Funchal (Observatorio). How we check
Compare dates
September, October
or November?
| Typical conditions | Sep | Oct | Nov |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoons | 78°F | 75°F | 69°F |
| Sea | 75°F | 74°F | 71°F |
| Rain days | 4 | 9 | 10 |
| Overnight demand | 92% | 87% | 75% |
September: Warmer afternoons and fewer rain days than October. September guide →
November: Cooler afternoons and cooler sea than October. November guide →
Overnight demand measures accommodation stays, not queues. Sea temperatures are monthly coastal averages.
Compare any of the 12 monthsChoose another month and compare it with October Show comparisonHide comparison
Yellow marks the top three months on the Balanced mix. October stays as your reference.
Hotel stays vary little through the year. June to September have a Weather score at least 1.0 point higher than October.
Your comparison
October or September?
Overnight stays vary little through the year.
Historical regional hotel revenue (2024–2025 monthly average): €69 per guest-night. An average, not a booking quote.
Read the September guide →| Typical conditions | October | September |
|---|---|---|
| Afternoons | 75°F | 78°F |
| Nights | 62°F | 64°F |
| Sea | 74°F | 75°F |
| Rain days | 9 | 4 |
| Visitor season | Steady all year | Steady all year |
| Overall / 10 | 7.9 | 8.5 |
| Month rank | #5 | #3 |
Every month, in detail Show detailsHide details
| Month | Overall | Rank | High | Low | Sea | Rain days | Weather | Visitor season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.8 | #11 | 64°F | 53°F | 67°F | 7 | 6.0 | Steady all year |
| February | 6.8 | #12 | 64°F | 52°F | 65°F | 6 | 6.0 | Steady all year |
| March | 6.9 | #9 | 66°F | 53°F | 65°F | 6 | 6.3 | Steady all year |
| April | 7.2 | #8 | 68°F | 54°F | 66°F | 6 | 7.0 | Steady all year |
| May | 7.7 | #6 | 71°F | 56°F | 68°F | 3 | 8.1 | Steady all year |
| June | 8.4 | #4 | 75°F | 59°F | 70°F | 1 | 9.4 | Steady all year |
| July | 8.6 | #1 | 79°F | 62°F | 72°F | 0 | 10.0 | Steady all year |
| August | 8.6 | #2 | 81°F | 64°F | 74°F | 1 | 10.0 | Steady all year |
| September | 8.5 | #3 | 78°F | 64°F | 75°F | 4 | 9.8 | Steady all year |
| October | 7.9 | #5 | 75°F | 62°F | 74°F | 9 | 8.4 | Steady all year |
| November | 7.3 | #7 | 69°F | 58°F | 71°F | 10 | 7.1 | Steady all year |
| December | 6.8 | #10 | 66°F | 55°F | 69°F | 9 | 6.4 | Steady all year |
Elsewhere in Europe
Better October weather than Madeira
Madeira's weather ranks 22 of 77 beach regions this month. These beach regions outside Portugal have clearly better weather on your dates, nearest first, each compared with Madeira.
Canary IslandsSpain · about 310 miles
Excellent weather (10.0): 3°F warmer afternoons, pricier
MelillaSpain · about 820 miles
Excellent weather (9.9): 7°F warmer afternoons, 7 fewer rain days
MurciaSpain · about 940 miles
Excellent weather (9.5): 3°F warmer afternoons, 6 fewer rain days
Mallorca & the BalearicsSpain · about 1200 miles
Excellent weather (9.4): about as warm, 4 fewer rain days, pricier
Maltaabout 1800 miles
Excellent weather (10.0): 3°F warmer afternoons, pricier
How we knowSources, regional scope & scoring method Show detailsHide details
Hotel stays are steady all year here: this month is 87% of the busiest and about average. That counts overnight stays, not how busy the sights are. That means about 28,000 overnight visitors on a typical October night across the region, 16% of them from Portugal itself. Rentals booked through Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and Tripadvisor add up to 14,000 more: 50 for every 100 counted above. Some are the same properties counted twice.
| Climate suitability (HCI:Beach, 0–100) | 77 |
| How our weather was checked | Official climate averages for Funchal (Observatorio) from the national weather service, every month: afternoon highs typically within 2°F (1.2°C), night lows within 3°F (1.8°C). |
| Tourist nights per 1,000 residents per day | 110 |
| Busiest month here | August · 127 |
| Visitors as share of people present | 9.9% |
| Rank among Europe's regions this month | 97th percentile |
| Domestic share of nights | 16% |
| Platform rental nights per 100 counted nights | 50 |
| Visitor share if every platform night were extra | 14.2% |
| Population used | 259,000 |
| Statistical region | PT30 · Região Autónoma da Madeira |
Crowds: Eurostat nights spent at tourist accommodation, by month and NUTS 2 region, 2024–2025 average. Overnight visitors per night is the month's nights divided by its days; the per-1,000 figure is Eurostat's, against each year's population. Platform rentals: Eurostat nights booked via Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and Tripadvisor, 2024–2025 average, shown separately because some properties are in both counts. Weather: Holiday Climate Index computed from ERA5 reanalysis with daily highs, night lows and rain days corrected from open national weather-service station records, 2011–2025, population-weighted to the region; day-by-day figures are the same data averaged by date. Heat and rain odds are counted across those years. Sunrise and sunset: NOAA solar equations, local time. Prices: Eurostat price level index and HICP, national; the first figure is regional (INE Portugal, Inquérito à Permanência de Hóspedes: hotel room revenue per guest-night). Full method · this region's data.