Highlights

• Monte Cable Car
• Wicker basket down the Monte hill – I saw this though didn’t ride one. Looks a bit dangerous dodging through cars but quite organised
• Monte Palace Gardens
• Botanic Gardens
• Try the local cuisine including seafood, fruits, prego (steak sandwich), bolo de caco bread
• Statue of Cristiano Ronaldo at the harbour
• Baía de Câmara de Lobos
• Teleférico das Fajãs do Cabo Girão
• Girão sky walk
• Ponta do Sol Tunnel, Praia and Pier
• Praia da Calheta
• Centro das Artes – Casa das Mudas da Calheta
• Jardim do Mar town and beach walk
• Paul do Mar Praia and town
• Miradouro do Ponta da Ladeira
• Porto Moniz natural swimming pools
• Piscinas do Seixal
• Veu da Noiva viewpoint of a cliff waterfall
• Natural pools and Ruins of St. George
• Miradouro do Guindaste
• Ponta de São Lourenço to see the sunset
• Funchal Old Town
• Funchal Lido bathing complex
• Cristo Rei Cablecar and Praia do Garajau

Before you go

• Madeira is an archipelago of Portugal located in the Atlantic Ocean, west of Morocco
• Weather is temperate and slightly cooler in winter months
• Rain can appear unexpectedly and the weather can change quickly. Also, it can be very different at the beach compared to the mountains
• On Sundays, some restaurants are closed
• Credit cards are accepted almost everywhere except for some smaller attractions like the local cable cars
• Hiring a car is expensive, but the most convenient way to get around
• Roads in the mountains can be very steep and narrow
• People seem to park on the sides of roads even when there is no parking. Outside of the towns, that seemed to be allowable
• The island is in general very hilly so bring good shoes if you are going to walk
• Businesses can be open seasonally, so check opening hours during the winter months (off-peak). Also, some places like museums are closed on Sundays
• The nature is beautiful and there are lots of places to go hiking
• Beaches on Madeira are mostly with pebbles rather than sand

Transport

• The main airport, Madeira Cristiano Ronaldo Airport, is located in Santa Cruz, about 20 minutes drive from Funchal.
• Hiring a car is the easiest way to get around Madeira. However, it can be very expensive. The rental company recommended upgrading to an automatic, and I could see why while driving through the very steep and narrow streets in the mountains. I can drive manual but was glad to have an automatic when I had to back down a small road on a hill to let a car pass!
• Getting around Madeira is possible with buses if you have plenty of time.

Accommodation

• While in Madeira, I stayed at Vila Camacho Guesthouse. It was very friendly and cute, as well as comfortable.
• Although it was not in the centre of Funchal, it was easy to walk to the town. Walking back was a little tougher as it is uphill
• My room had plenty of space and a balcony. Breakfast was included each morning. And there was a swimming pool, sun deck and library
• As usual I recommend checking reviews on Booking.com or using AirBnB

Food

Madeira is part of Portugal, so the typical Portuguese foods and wines are available. In addition, there are specialties of the islands. Luckily, I also had some local recommendations on where to go from a friend of a friend who lives there. I truly enjoyed all of the food, wine and poncha!

Snacks

One of the local foods to try is a Prego, which is a steak sandwich on the local bread Bolo do Caco. I ordered this specialty from Pub Number 2 and picked it up to eat at the airport. It was delicious and the meat was very thin and tender. Interestingly, I had asked if they had chips (fries) as a side order and they said they don’t make those and only have crisps in a bag.

The Vila Camacho guesthouse has a restaurant and bar that serves simple meals and drinks. It’s especially nice to sit in the outdoor terrace. I had a tuna nicoise salad there, and also enjoyed the local puncha rum cocktail.

Restaurants

Casal da Penha is a quaint, traditional restaurant in Funchal. On a sunny day, dining on the rooftop terrace is amazing, with the view of the sea. Their specialties include a lot of seafood, and I had the mixed seafood platter.

Fontes do Horacio is a popular traditional restaurant in the hills above Calheta. I enjoyed fresh orange juice, local red wine, and the scabbard fish Madeirense style. The fish was grilled and served with a banana, potatoes and vegetables with a passion fruit sauce. Quite unusual to have fish in a sweet sauce, but it was delicious.

For fine dining, there is one two-Michelin star restaurant on Madeira, Il Gallo D’Oro. Fortunately, it was not too difficult to get a reservation in the off-peak season in January. From start to finish, the service, presentation and food were incredible! Even the bread box with oils, salt and butters on the side were impressive.

There are a number of sushi restaurants in Funchal, and 100% Sushi was recommended by a local as something good and experimental. I was not sure what this meant, but once I ordered I could see the mix of Japanese and local cuisine. Some of the sushi had mango and there were flowers to decorate the sushi. Very fresh and tasty, and I recommend the local lobster maki.

Desserts

Momentus Pastry and Bakery was a great find for desserts and snacks. It’s a cute café with a selection of sweet and savoury pastries.

Beverages

White, rose and red wines are grown and produced on Madeira. The sommelier at Il Gallo D’Oro told me that the vineyards are usually small, so the wines will sources grapes from multiple vineyards.

Poncha is a specialty of Madeira, and it consists of rum and another flavour. The original flavour is lemon, and I also liked the passion fruit. It’s available at almost all bars and restaurants, as well as in bottles at the markets.

Finally, the fresh orange juice was available in most places and was sweet and delicious.