Canyoning in Madeira Island, Portugal
World-class canyoning adventures in tropical Madeira, Portugal. A must do bucketlist activity!
Canyoning is one of the adventures everybody needs to try at least once in their lives! As an activity it is the perfect harmony between nature and adventure. Complete with fun jumps, natural slides, exploring waterfalls and taking on heart pumping abseils – canyoning is a well-rounded activity experience. And while you’re in Madeira it would just be rude not to go, as the island has fast become a world-renowned destination for the outdoor activity. Sub-tropical Madeira with big dramatic mountains, beautiful nature, natural forests and stunning waterways is the perfect backdrop for us. We have something for everyone and have adapted routes for all levels from beginners to the more experienced canyoning adventurers. Safety, fun and quality is paramount to us and you’ll good hands with our awesome, local canyoning guides.
Big Blue Adventures specialises in group adventure travel including outdoor activities, adventure day tours or multi-night breaks across Portugal. So, whether you just need to the book your canyoning activity only, a fun day out or multi-activity holiday, please contact us via the quote button, the website chat or call us today.
Canyoning Madeira Level 1
Beginner Level
15m abseil & much more
Small to large groups
Our level 1 canyoning is really good for beginners and for those with lower or medium levels of confidence. It offers the perfect mix of bigger sections to push some boundaries and sections lower in the gnarly adventure scale to ease you into activity. Flexible and fun level offering something for everyone!
Features:
- 3 -4 hours length
- Natural slides
- 6 waterfall sections
- Various abseils incl. a 15m abseil
- Small – medium jumps (all optional)
- Pictures included
- All kit included – just bring swimwear / spare underwear
- Transfers available
- Location: Ribeira das Cales / Ribeiro Frio
Canyoning Madeira Level 2
Intermediate Level
30m abseil & much more
Small to large groups
Have you been canyoning before? Or, maybe you’re feeling confident as you have done similar outdoor activities before? The level 2 canyoning adventure is a step up on the level 1 with bigger jumps, abseils and a more testing longer course. You don’t need to be super adventurous and experienced to enjoy this though. Just more ready & committed to a bigger adventure than level 1.
Features:
- Roughly 5 – 6 hours in length
- Up to 10 waterfall sections
- Fun jumps (all optional)
- Slides and fun sections
- Abseils with the largest being 30m
- Pictures included
- All kit included – just bring swimwear / spare underwear
- Transfers available
Canyoning Madeira Level 3
Advanced Level
More abseil than jumps
Smaller groups are best
The level 3 canyoning is the zone of ‘all in or nothing commitment’ for a big adventure! Not to take anything away from the level 1 and 2 as they are also fantastic, but level 3 is more technical and requires certain confidence levels and previous experiences. Level 3 is more focused on epic abseils and exploring with just a few sections of jumps. Takes place on the famous northern section near to Seixal. It’s best to contact us if you wish to push yourselves to this level in canyoning adventures.
Features:
- Must complete canyoning Level 1 or 2 first, before being able to participate in level 3
- 5 hours
- Up to 10 awesome waterfall section
- 2 jumps
- 50 metre abseil and more canyoning fun
- Amazing landscape within the middle of a laurel forest finishing at the coast
- Pictures included
- All kit included – just bring swimwear / spare underwear
- Transfers available
- Location: Ribeira da Pedra Branca
Activity Only Canyoning
Transfers optional
Pictures only & no video
Activity only sale
Just looking to book your Madeira canyoning activity with us only without any tour extras? That’s no issue at all. Transfers depending on your accommodation location can be free of charge. Or you are of course welcome to meet us at the start point.
Prices are dependant on group numbers and by levels and seasons – so please contact us through the website chat, get a quote or call us today!
Canyoning Day Tour
Transfers & exploring
Food & drinks
Pictures & highlights video
Fancy enhancing the canyoning adventure even further? On our day tours we can add on fantastic food and drink stops such as a typical Madeira BBQ in the hills. After the canyoning we can take the scenic route with extra sightseeing like stopping at miradouros to enjoy the views, visiting a local rum factory, or enjoy some swimming at the natural pools. There are so many awesome options we can add on, it does of course depend on how much time we have you for, the location of the activity and how much of a budget you guys have. This is for groups typically from 4 or 6 people + or again budget depending!
Breakdown:
- 4×4 jeeps to small busses and coaches depending on group sizes
- Food & drinks from meals to packed lunches
- Pictures and a personal highlights video
- Hosted canyoning adventure with a door to door day out service and local friendly guide
- Private tailor-made tours just for your group
- Extra sightseeing and exploring from visiting tourism attractions, a poncha making experience to a sunset on the west coast
- Add on a secondary activity! From coasteering, surfing to boat tours – we have many suitable options to add on
Multi-night Adventures
Multi-activity & extra canyoning
Group accommodation
Package extras
Big Blue Adventures are specialists in package adventure travel across Madeira Island for groups, providing tailor-made getaways with canyoning and other outdoor experiences at the heart of your trip!
Whether you want a weekend break on a stag or hen do, an active company retreat or a family holiday in Madeira – we offer an award winning service with quality package travel options. With so many options it’s always best to get in contact with us so we can send a quote made just for you!
Breakdown:
- Weekends and holidays
- Canyoning including making your way through more levels as as well as a range of other outdoor adventures
- Cultural sightseeing and exploring including hiking, jeep tours & much more
- Range of quality group accommodation for all budgets
- Transfers
- Food & drink
- Friendly local host team
- Pics & highlights video
- Great for stag & hen weekends, company retreats, kids camps, media & press trips, families and more!
Pictures and Video
What better way to capture those special canyoning moments than having us there as your very own adventure media crew? We can include pictures and a personalised highlights video on our hosted activity tours or holiday packages. It’s a love of our job seeing all the happy faces back on the videos and sharing them with you after the trip.
Photos and video are typically included in the day tours and multi-night trips only, but we can include pictures in an activity only sale.
How much will canyoning in Madeira Island cost?
All our day and multi-night packages are 100% tailor-made for you! So, we can create a Big Blue Adventure to suit specific budgets and what you would like to include for the perfect activity experience. The more surfs or activities and package elements you include the more that package will cost. It also depends on your final numbers in the group: generally larger groups have a cheaper per person rate over smaller groups as there are more people to split the core package costs between. Best thing to do is request a quote – it costs you nothing to start the ball rolling and say hello, we can send a great package your way from there.
Payments
When you’re ready to book your canyoning tour we simply start with a 30% non-refundable deposit to confirm it all. The final balance is typically required no later than 3 weeks before your activity date for activity sales or day tours, but 6 – 8 weeks for multi-night packages; including accommodation. Most customers pay by bank transfer, but we can also accept debit and credit card transaction upon request. We do accept USD, GBP and EUR.
We can also make some changes between the deposit and the final balance payment. Such as amending a few dropouts / attendee increases, or making some package changes within reason. For further information please do see our terms and conditions.
What to bring
To take part in a Madeira canyoning adventure all you need is:
- Swimwear or spare underwear for under the wetsuit. Try and avoid boardies as anything baggy can be very uncomfortable under a wetsuit
- A towel
- Spare socks
- Sun cream
- Water (please try and avoid throw away single use plastic!)
- Any medication you need to keep on you, such as an asthma pump
All the essential kit is included; wetsuits, safety and climbing kit. We also provide canyoning boots.
Are meals & drinks included?
We can include lunch, a packed lunch or dinner after the canyoning session. It all depends on what type of meal you want, how much budget you have for the meal and free time. We work with some amazing local places with a variety of cuisine types from surfy vibes with a sunset finish on the west coast to mountain BBQs with Poncha. We can work on this to fit the itinerary and plans!
Group Sizes
We welcome all groups with 10+ people in Madeira.
While we can accept larger group bookings, please note we do have to work safely with the risk factors and the environment we operate in, meaning ratios must be adhered to. Larger groups may be split into smaller teams and staggered slightly by start times. Contact us if you have any questions regarding your group size.
Why Adventure With Us…


Our Big Blue destinations offer great group accommodation options, good travel links, quality facilities and world-class adventures. We spend a lot of time at our locations and know what works well for groups.

Specialists in hosted group adventure travel, with numbers between 10-200+ people. BBA offers an award winning service; we’ll always go the extra mile to ensure our packages are perfect for your crew.

The best way to remember your canyoning activity? A highlights video that captures all the best moments of your adventure. Video & pictures are included in all of our multi-night packages and day tours.

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Why We Love This…
“If you love adventure then canyoning in Madeira Island has to be on your bucketlist. With a variety of difficulty levels there is something for all types of adventurers. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced outdoor enthusiast, canyoning is just spectacular. I love being out there in nature, seeing all the tropical plants and trees Madeira is famous for, whilst playing around in the water and getting a proper adrenaline hit. It ticks all the boxes for an unforgettable day out!”
Heleen – Co-Owner