Same week.
Two islands.
One big yes.
Sun, surf, mountain roads, and deliciously slow mornings. A little four-question quiz for each of you to find the escape that fits both your hearts.
What kind of escape
makes your heart go ooooh?
Four quick choices each. You'll get a combined match percentage for each hotel and destination. It’s a playful preference score, not a scientific probability!
Your perfect little escape
Scores average both people's choices equally. Scores are subjective fit estimates, not odds of a good holiday.
Four ways to run away ☀
Actual 23–30 October package listings, with per-person prices and what the week could feel like.
🏄 A little surfing secret
For beginner wave surfing on Tenerife, look for lessons in Playa de las Américas. The two priced southern hotels below are in El Médano—a gorgeous, breezy beach town better known for windsurfing and kitesurfing. Expect a 25–30 minute drive to wave-surf schools. We haven't verified an in-budget, nonstop, exact-date package in Playa de las Américas itself, so we haven't invented a price for one. On Madeira, the beginner surf beach is Porto da Cruz (about 35–50 minutes from Funchal).
From arrivals to aperitivo 🍹
Both islands have nonstop flights from Prague on your dates. Here's how the airport transfer works, and when to rent a car.
Funchal hotels
- 🚌 Aerobus 500
- €6.70 per person when bought aboard. Around 35–45 minutes to the Lido hotel district; stops near hotels, though Dorisol is uphill from the coast. Fare/timetable from 2026 SIGA information.
- 🚕 Taxi / prebooked transfer
- About 25–35 minutes to Funchal hotel areas. Allow roughly €30–45 per car, depending on meter, hotel and traffic (planning estimate). Taxi stand directly outside Arrivals.
- 🚗 Rental car
- Useful for Porto da Cruz surf lessons (~35–50 minutes each way), highland walks, mountain roads and west coast. Parking and steep roads make a car less attractive for Funchal-only days. VidaMar lists paid on-site parking (€1/hour).
- 📦 Package transfers
- Ask at checkout whether hotel-airport transfers are included. If included, use them and hire a car only for sightseeing.
See airport → hotel area on Maps ↗
El Médano & south
- 🚕 Taxi to El Médano
- Roughly 10–15 minutes. Allow about €15–25 per car (metered estimate). Nice and simple with luggage.
- 🚌 Bus to El Médano
- There is no convenient direct airport bus. Take TITSA 415 toward San Isidro, then 408 toward El Médano. Not my favorite with bags.
- 🚌 Bus to Playa de las Américas instead
- Direct TITSA 40 via Los Cristianos, about 30–40 minutes; roughly €3–4 per person. Night service: 711. Great if you choose a hotel closer to the surf schools.
- 🚗 Rental car
- El Médano → Playa de las Américas for beginner surf lessons: ~25–30 minutes. Also helpful for Teide National Park, Masca, and smaller beaches.
See airport → El Médano on Maps ↗
Madeira: €100 per two-hour group lesson. Tenerife: roughly €70–80. Budget for 2–3 lessons, and book flexible days around the swell.
As a planning allowance, set aside €150–300 for several days of rental plus fuel/parking. Real quotes depend on vehicle, insurance and pickup.
Southern Tenerife is usually the warmer, sunnier choice. Madeira is lush, greener and more changeable, especially in the mountains.