Keen to kick off 2024 on a positive note we flew to Madeira early on New Years Eve, from Leeds too which made a nice change. 4 hours later and no time difference we landed around lunch, picked up the car and set off to Funchal and our hotel, The Vine which was right in the centre of town.
First stop was a cute pavement cafe for a quick lunch and our first Coral, the local beer. The food was average but a great people watching spot. We walked across town to jump on the cable car up to Monte, a suburb above Funchal. The main activity here is the Palace Gardens, and they are a beautiful place to wander for an hour or 2. They were also selling fresh Piña Coladas so of course we had one of those! You can slide back down the hill in a wooden toboggan which sounds fun, but was closed while we were in town so it was a round trip on the cable car, no bad thing as the view of the bay is lovely.
By now it was time to head back and get ready for the evening festivities. We were booked in to Sabor do Fardo for dinner, the food wasn’t amazing but the traditional singing and general atmosphere were great and we left rather giddy. We headed up to our hotel rooftop where they were handing out free champers and picked a spot to watch the fireworks – these were incredible! A huge display that went on a good 10min, the majority just off the coast but they synchronise with spots all round the bay so it’s quite the sight. A few more drinks and some fire breathing and we were ready to hit the hay.
New Year’s Day morning was very lazy, had a lovely brunch at the hotel and managed to get a couple of mimosas down. The weather was drizzle but keen to blow away the cobwebs we set out for a walk along the coast to the West of Funchal all the way to Praia Formosa. We popped to the casino on the way home to try our luck for 2024 which sadly didn’t pay off. That evening we went for a few drinks in Funchal including a stop at a Poncha bar for the traditional Madeiran cocktail, and dinner at Three Houses which was fusion and so good. We pottered home admiring the beautiful Christmas lights, they make so much effort although it does get a little tacky on the front where there’s a fairground, a circus and several cruise ships! And that was Funchal, enjoyed ourselves but a shame a lot of things were closed because of the public holiday, and keen to see the rest of the island.
The next day was an early start and a super steep drive up to Pico do Arieiro, the 3rd highest peak on the island for sunrise although the better view is just over the road at Miradouro do Junca and this was beautiful, you’re up above the clouds here. It’s also the start of the famous PR1 hike which would take you to Pico Ruivo but we didn’t have time to do the full route so just did the first mile or so to Miradouro Ninho da Manta and back, even so the views of the huge valley were spectacular as we walked along the ridge of the mountains.
Back in the car we drove through the valley and the mountain town of Ribeiro Frio to get the North coast and Miradouro do Guindaste which was our first look at the dramatic cliffs towering over the ocean, they were shrouded at the bottom with sea mist which made it all the more epic. Next stop was Ponta do São Lorenço which is the Eastern tip of the island and the PR8 hike. We only managed half of this because it was boiling and we had run out of food and water by now, oops. More gorgeous views from here too though! We stopped for lunch at Machico where Dan had the traditional Scabbard fish with banana and passion fruit, this town has one of the 2 imported golden sand beaches on the island, most are black sand as its volcanic. Then we set off to our next hotel, Saccharum in Calheta. This hotel is vast but super nice and our room looked straight over the ocean which was lovely. After exploring we had a pizza and a cocktail on the roof and shattered by this point decided to chill out and watch a movie – a glorious day.
Wednesday was very relaxed, featuring a potter to Calheta marina and beach, the second imported sand on the island, a trip to the gym and spa, a glorious sunset and a seafood dinner.
The following day we set off to walk one of the Levada paths, these are an amazing network of channels created to direct water from various sources across the island. We chose PR6/6.1 which starts at Rabacal, this takes you to Risco waterfall which is pretty huge and then to 25 Fontes which is beautiful pool with various waterfalls feeding into it. It only took a couple of hours so we were back at the hotel before lunch and the weather was glorious so we spent a happy afternoon on our sunbeds. Followed by a sundowner at the beach bar and a lovely dinner on the roof.
Friday we treated ourselves to a massage and then a late lunch at Câmara de Lobos, a charming town filled with street art on the coast close to Funchal. We ate at Vila do Peixe and picked out a freshly caught sea bream to share which was delicious – best meal of the trip. That evening we had a couple of drinks and played some cards at the hotel while watching the sunset, then went back to Spa before bed.
Last full day! We started by taking a section of the coastal road rather than the usual tunnel through the rock so we could drive under Cascata dos Anjos which is a waterfall onto the road, maybe not our best idea as it’s prone to landslides but then that’s a risk on most of the roads in Madeira, the driving definitely isn’t for the faint hearted. We drove up to the North coast and our first stop was Véu da Noiva where you can see a waterfall dropping straight into the sea, then another 10min to Seixal beach. This was sensational, a lovely black sand beach backed by huge green cliffs and the light was just gorgeous. We put our towels down, played some bat & ball and watched the waves for an hour or so. Eventually we carried on to Miradouro da Ribeira da Janela for a view of Ilheus da Rib which is essentially a massive rock jutting out from the sea. Then Porto Moniz for lunch and to explore the natural sea pools here which were created by lava. We drove back via the West of the island and the last stop was Paul do Mar which is meant to be a surf town and has some charming streets but the drizzle had rolled in so we didn’t linger, another awesome day.
Our last night we went back to the marina for a tasty pizza then watched some live music at the hotel, was it cheesy? A little. And Sunday morning it was time to head home. Madeira is a gorgeous island with stunning scenery and loads to do, weather was a bit mixed but to be expected in January and overall we were very lucky – a brilliant holiday and highly recommend, especially if you like walking.
If you like Piña Coladas... 