Madeira Island Things to Do

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We were picked up from our hotel in Funchal at 9 am, we did not know what to expect of this tour but it was recommended by some British friends... Well, it happens to be the most beautiful landscapes we have seen in Madeira guided by a very amusing guy! We have started on the Southwest of Madeira visiting a place near the sea, then we went to the westermost tip of the Island where views are amazing. Included on the tour there is a delicious 3 course meal on the North part of Madeira and after lunch a short walk on the heart of Laurel Forest. It was simply the best day of our week holiday in Madeira, thanks to Madeira Wind Birds!

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Madeira Wine is quite unique. It seems that most of the rules that a wine-maker should follow to produce wine in general, are broken when it comes to the production of Madeira Wine !!!.

During production Madeira, Wine is oxidized & heated. Thus Madeira is almost indestructible: the wine inside a bottle already open, may last excellent tasting notes for several years !!

Anyway, while in the Island of Madeira, one should not miss the opportunity to taste some old "juices".

I was fortunate myself for on my November 2005 trip to Madeira I did visit a few Wine lodges and was given some very old juices, which I just got crazy about it !!! - That experience really turn me on into Madeira Wine. Now I'm a big fan. :)

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Cabo Girão [The Girão Cape] is located on the road from Funchal heading to Camara de Lobos and then the mountains.

With its 580 metres (or 1,900 fee) above sea level, it's the world's second biggest cape.

It seems the this cape got its name from João Gonçalves Zarco, the Portuguese navigator that found Madeira island in the year of 1418 and used this geographic point (later named Girão) as a reference to circumnavigate the island on the first day of the discovery.

As my pictures illustrates, the views from the Cape are really magnificent.

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Although there are markets in every town on Madeira, the market in Funchal is especially nice. Inside this building awaits a cornucopia of flavours, colours, sights and smells. In the main hall, there is a 2 story fruit and vegetable market, there is also a hall that sells touristy things like shirts and postcards, a few specialty wine stores that give tastings, wicker basket stalls, etc. In the back hall, you'll find the ever-so-tantalising fish market, where monstrous tuna are being chopped to bits and the famous scabbard fish hang from tables.

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It doesn't matter where you go, there are levadas and trails everywhere. You could conceivably spend your entire vacation hiking these trails. One option is to go on an organised levada tour. This is advantageous in that you don't have to worry about finding the levada trail on your own (which can quite honestly be half of the journey if you go to the less traversed levadas - little is signposted on this island). It's also nice because many of the trails are not circular, so you don't have to worry about hiking back to your point of origin as you would with a car. However, a car gives you freedom and the possibility to explore the island in a bit more solitude. If you prefer the latter, get a schedule of when the organised tours visit certain levadas and go on the days you know the busloads of walkers won't be at the levada you're doing. The sunflower series book on Madeira is the best for finding trails and levadas. Just be sure to know the map well and be prepared to get lost :)
Some of the better levadas, however, almost can't be missed because there are about 100 others just like you parking on the side of the road ready to go for a walk (Furtado and Risco come to mind though they are nice).

Open every day from 9:00 to 18:00
Entry: 3 EUR

With more than 35 000m2 of planted area, this garden has more than 2 000 plants from all the continents. It is also a centre for science in the preservation of endangered species of plants.

Sao Laurenco is one of the last nearly untouched places in Europe. It is located in the aestern part of island. You can climb up the rocks. There are excelent views over both the nothern and southern sides of the island. The great combination of rocks, sea and nature!

The Pico do Arieiro is with its altitude of 1818 meters the third highest peak on the island. Fortunately it can be reached by car. Views are spectacular up here and when there is very good weather, it is even possible to see Porto Santo, the neighbouring island, which is situated 30 nautical miles to the north.