The remote island of Madeira is actually closer to Morocco than it is to the Portuguese mainland.

It may be a small island, but there’s so much riding out there, and plenty of pros choose the setting as their winter hideout. The island has probably got some of the best trail variety in Europe – so it’s great to get out there if you want to experience a whole lot of different terrain.

The fact that you’ll be riding in about 20 degrees of sun in December shouldn’t hurt the reputation of the island either…

Approx. Dec temperature: Highs of 20c, lows of 15c.