Anyone been to Madeira?

Ironops

Ironops

Well-known member
Just booked a week in early August, staying in an apartment in Camara de Lobos. Id like to see a bit of the island, the hills, forests etc, is it easy to get around on public transport?

Any 'must do or 'must see' recommendations?

cheers!
 
Not been but apparently the runway is a bit tasty for the pilots to navigate.

Just got back from Skiathos, which is even worse, I thought we were going to ditch in the sea before a full emergency stop on the runway.

I know that doesnt help, sorry :censored:
 
Yes a few years back.
Lots of old people around the biggest drawback.
Good points ;
Funchal nice city, cable car ride to the mountain worth a go, just don't look down.
We hired a small electric car which was fun but the satnav kept taking us on the motorway, where it wasn't allowed !
Walking in the ancient forest is the big thing to do.
Don't be late at the airport on way back as they put everyone in one massive queue.
Enjoy
 
Borothruandthru said:
Yes a few years back.
Lots of old people around the biggest drawback.
Good points ;
Funchal nice city, cable car ride to the mountain worth a go, just don't look down.
We hired a small electric car which was fun but the satnav kept taking us on the motorway, where it wasn't allowed !
Walking in the ancient forest is the big thing to do.
Don't be late at the airport on way back as they put everyone in one massive queue.
Enjoy
Click to expand...
You hope to be an old person one day don’t you?

Will you be happy with younger people not wanting you around when you go on your holidays later in life? Ageism alive and well, some people are just thoughtless I guess.
 
Beautiful, green island.

Virtually no natural beaches, which is a small drawback if you're bothered by that.

We largely only went around Funchal and our hotel, but we thoroughly enjoyed it, didn't have much trouble with public transport whilst there.
Had some lovely food (I really enjoyed my octopus), and it was a very relaxing holiday.

The landing is interesting, it does feel like you're going to fall off back in to the sea as you get there.

We did go in May, and it was actually quite cloudy for most of the days, but we'd definitely go again.
I imagine that'll be less of a problem in August.
 
Went a good few yrs ago, lovely island.
Got a taxi from Funchal seafront to the top of one of the high peaks and followed mountain paths down to a shop/pub where our taxi driver was waiting.
When there we were woke early doors by cars hoofing past, unbeknown to us, it was the madeira rally so got to watch from the pool the cars dissappear up into the mountain.
Airport landing was fun but we'll worth it 😁
 
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Yes we went a few years ago and really enjoyed it. We stayed in a resport called Quinto do Lorde (which as now closed down) on the far east of the island in Canical which was a bit out of the way so we hired a Fiat 500 to get around which was fine, but struggled with some of the hills. Two biggest drawbacks for me were the lack of natural beaches and poor food - this will obviously depend on your preferecence though. We like trying different types of food, but the best restaurant we found was in our hotel. We might have just got unlucky with the places we went to eat, but it was generally just decent rather than anything special.

Other than that though it was perfect for what we wanted, really laid back and quiet. The climate is generally not that hot which again suited us. The toboggan run is great and the Christiano Ronaldo museum is worth a visit. If you like walking then there is a great walk near Canical with some beautiful sights of the coastline. As others have said Funchal is a cool city and if we went back we would probably spend more time there as I think we only spent a day there.

Enjoy.
 
I went in the 90’s when aboard RFA Argus.
It’s a beautiful island. Four of us clubbed together and hired a cab for the day to take us around the island. It was brilliant, the lad took us to places the tourists never see, to some really nice places, including driving under a waterfall. We had lunch at his local, at the other side, away from Funchal. Great nosh, and a day to remember.
 
Went there last year , loved the place .
Cable car ride Funchal, and do the wooden sledge ride back down ( Google it ).
Volcanic rocks pools on the North West of the island.
Cabo Girao Skywalk
Indian Palace Indian Restaurant
 
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Borothruandthru said:
Yes a few years back.
Lots of old people around the biggest drawback.
Good points ;
Funchal nice city, cable car ride to the mountain worth a go, just don't look down.
We hired a small electric car which was fun but the satnav kept taking us on the motorway, where it wasn't allowed !
Walking in the ancient forest is the big thing to do.
Don't be late at the airport on way back as they put everyone in one massive queue.
Enjoy
Click to expand...
😂😂😂

Went to Madeira and didn't expect old people?

It's like going to Newcastle and expecting everyone to have Cockney accents.
 
Went last June. Whilst the weather in June was warm, the highest point of the island was often covered in cloud and this generally reduced the sunlight hours. Our hotel was in Funchal but we hired a car and toured the island which is beautiful. The number of tunnels - Wow! And I must say, it seems an incredible amount has been spent on the major road system. I believe the Portuguese government budgets a substantial amount on infrastructure. For the nervous, the last half of the airport runway is actually supported by a viaduct to make it long enough. Landing there is entrusted to the more experienced pilots.
 
coluka said:
You hope to be an old person one day don’t you?

Will you be happy with younger people not wanting you around when you go on your holidays later in life? Ageism alive and well, some people are just thoughtless I guess.
Click to expand...
I am old but ;
I don't want an old fogey style holiday where they're doing Derby and Joan in every hotel and the pubs atmospheres are like a care home.
The food is bland even when you go for a curry.
I hate the fact that I have to explain this.
Wokeism comes to fmttm.
I have nothing against old people but don't expect raving on the beaches.
 
Cable cars are good in funchal but as someone said when you look down 🤢
The tobgans look really good but were not on the day we went -Sunday.
Sea food was really good.
Botanical Gardens are one to visit.
Loads of nice eating places in funchal.
Very picturesque place I'm sure you'll have a great time - we did
 
Borothruandthru said:
I am old but ;
I don't want an old fogey style holiday where they're doing Derby and Joan in every hotel and the pubs atmospheres are like a care home.
The food is bland even when you go for a curry.
I hate the fact that I have to explain this.
Wokeism comes to fmttm.
I have nothing against old people but don't expect raving on the beaches.
Click to expand...

I've been too, plenty of places to go with great atmospheres and the food I had was amazing. Though I do admit, I never tried a curry, because why would you in Madeira?

I had some of the best seafood I've ever had, though again, I didn't stick with the hotel pizza and chips.

If people like heights then the Cabo Girao glass floor on top of a massive cliff might be something to enjoy!
 
Went earlier this year for a short break. The airport can be interesting if it's windy due to a mandatory wind speed limit for landing to be allowed. We had 2 circuits for a look before the wind dropped just enough.
Really enjoyed it although we didn't get too far from Funchal. Would definitely go back for longer to explore more.
One tip. The local taxi drivers get upset if you tell them you don't like Ronaldo cos he's a cheating barsteward.
 
The old town, in Funchal, is great. There are hundreds of properties with hand-painted front doors, just about every design you could imagine. All done by local artists. You can spend half a day just walking round those, photographing them all. They’re brilliant.
 
Chris_Boro said:
I've been too, plenty of places to go with great atmospheres and the food I had was amazing. Though I do admit, I never tried a curry, because why would you in Madeira?

I had some of the best seafood I've ever had, though again, I didn't stick with the hotel pizza and chips.

If people like heights then the Cabo Girao glass floor on top of a massive cliff might be something to enjoy!
Click to expand...
I was recommended to go to the Indian Palace , so we thought we'd give it a go ,best Indian meal I've ever had , have a look at the reviews on TripAdvisor
 
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