If you are looking at this one week holiday why not make your stay two weeks by joining us on Complete Madeira.
If you enjoy walking, have a good head for heights, and have never visited Madeira before, then one of your best holidays still lies ahead of you. Madeira in Portuguese means wood, rightly named after its vast forests stretching across the island. It is the perfect walker’s island, with an extensive network of well maintained footpaths through very varied terrain. The famous levada footpaths run beside water channels which cut through the mountains, linking the relatively wet north half of the island with the reasonably dry south, bringing water to the most populated parts of Madeira.
Down by the coast is the subtropical vegetation of banana palms and custard apples. On the lush terraced slopes agapanthus and an array of colourful flowers like hydrangeas and bird of paradise plants brighten the way. Higher up there are forests of laurisilva before the peaks pushing towards 2000m offer panoramic views across the island and beyond to the Atlantic. Madeira has a comfortable all year-round climate, making it the ideal walkers paradise.
Funchal, with its dramatic mountainous lush green backdrop, is decorated with white and black mosaic footpaths, picturesque colourful squares filled with history and terracotta roofed houses dot the mountainside, making for an attractive city. Its indoor market is a must see, along with its pretty little narrow backstreets filled with shops and restaurants. The cable car whisks you high above Funchal for fantastic panoramic views of the rolling city. Funchal is the ideal centre for exploring the more challenging walks of Madeira.
The hotel could not be in a better location in Funchal, just a stone's throw from exuberant streets filled with restaurants, shops, fish and flower markets, and the cable car up to Monte. This 1960's themed hotel is a real gem and gives you the ability to explore Funchal further. It's close enough for you to enjoy evening strolls into the main streets where you will be immersed in the friendly local atmosphere and sample local cuisine in traditional restaurants. Funchal really is a truly splendid place to be as the sun goes down over the harbour!
It’s difficult to choose the best walk. Is it the high level walk between the island’s two highest peaks, Pico Arieiro and Pico Ruivo, sometimes above the clouds? Or how about the high-level traverse from Boca do Risco along the North Coast path, finishing in the seaside town of Porto da Cruz? Every walk in Eastern Madeira offers dramatic scenery and unique panoramic views!
Although this holiday is Grade 5, some of the walks from Funchal could also be described as Grade 6 due to some longer descents. Please see our Holiday Information Sheet for more details.