Customer Blog: Madeira September 2026.

We were first recommended to Lucy by a friend. After an initial conversation of roughly what we wanted, she came up with a few hotels and even sorted out an idea of an extra night to work around trains to the airport and back. We settled on our hotel after Lucy made recommendations.  Our room had an amazing sea view.

On arrival we got to the hotel and went straight to the Lido Tavern; which we'd found on a YouTube vloggers site. The poncha as freshly made and although, strong at first, it tasted amazing. I also tried the steak with bacon and cheese in garlic bread sandwich (Prego no Bolo do Caco), which was equally as nice.

The following day we went into Funchal town using the complimentary bus from our  hotel and found one of two “NATA7” small cafes to sample the amazing  traditional pastel de nata with a coffee for only 1 euro 80. Always ask for a warm one!

We then ended up doing the infamous toboggan ride from the top which was reasonably priced and an amazing experience,  then returned back down via the cable car.

We took a day trip to sample  the famous “PR8 walk” including a boat trip back, with a private trip with pearl of the Atlantic. The guide was excellent and even catered for my wife with her bad back. Truly recommended with amazing views and actual  hot sunshine as on the south of the island.

Another day we went with Green Devils to do the North-west of the island with an excellent guide who was a botanist, showing us all kinds of interesting plants. The Fanal Forest was amazing, the swim in “Piscinas Naturais do Seixal” ( formed by black volcanic rocks and filled with crystal-clear seawater) we found this invigorating and well worth doing.

Another day we went back to the North west  with Nature Express tours. excellent again with swim in the volcanic pools of Porto Moniz. There are two of them, one totally natural and one "adapted”.

We also went on the new zipwire on this trip (the highest in Europe 2,713 feet!). This was amazing and well recommended!

Another trip at night was another recommended taxi ride to Talho do Canico in a village outside Funchal. It is very popular with the locals, so expect a queue, but you won't be disappointed. You queue in a butchers for your choice of meat. The butcher then prepares it for you, and puts it onto metal stakes ( please note, try not to have eyes bigger than your tummy, you wont go hungry!). You take it next door for a man to put it on an open wood burning oven. You then order your drinks, take your cooked meat to a table and eat an amazing meal . What a great experience!

We also went on a whale and dolphin trip. Highly recommended as they have spotters high up looking for these wonderful mammals. The speedboats get there quickly so you don’t miss out on seeing them, we really enjoyed this boat trip.