Author's tour to Madeira. The most beautiful places on the island

We meet the whole group at the airport. We will spend all our nights in Funchal, the main city of the island. We check into a hotel (4 stars), leave our luggage, rest after the flight, and explore the city.
Funchal has an ancient history, it is a city with beautiful old palaces, authentic streets, and picturesque gardens.
We will have plenty of time to explore the city slowly and try to understand its rhythm and soul.

We will definitely visit the local market, Mercado dos Lavradores, where all the island's gifts are sold, from a wide variety of fruits to sea creatures, such as black sablefish. Then we will walk along the city's most unusual street—Santa Maria—or rather, not a street but a huge open-air art gallery, where almost every wall, door, and window is a piece of art.

We will gradually discover Funchal, noticing new features and details every day.

In the evening we go to taste local wines in one of the oldest wineries on the island.

We have dinner in one of the delicious local restaurants and discuss upcoming plans :)

The Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço hike

• Distance: 7 km
• Difficulty: Easy

The Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço hike is one of the most epic hikes on the island of Madeira. This coastal path takes you along a narrow stretch of rugged coastline to the easternmost point of Madeira, well, at least the farthest point you can walk to. The hike is a leisurely seven-kilometer route with many stunning viewpoints that highlight millions of years of volcanic erosion along the entire coastline.

We will have lunch in an atmospheric oasis bar, and spend the rest of the day in a cozy enclosed lagoon, swimming and enjoying the warmth and salty ocean air. It will be a real reboot for our body and soul. In good weather, we can go kayaking and look at the lava sheer slopes from the water. Let's take a break from the hustle and bustle of the city and try to catch the very rhythm of Madeira.

We watch the sunset in a special place, on the observation deck - Miradouro do Cabo Girão, which is located on the highest cape in Europe, at an altitude of 538 meters.

We will have lunch in a wonderful restaurant, which is loved by locals, we also liked it, we will be able to try the most tender squid, grilled sardines, funny poncha (locals joke that after the third poncha, everyone starts speaking Portuguese) and other Madeiran delicacies.

After lunch, we will have the opportunity to swim in the ocean, and if the sea is rough, we will watch the surfers.

In the afternoon we will head to the cozy village of Santata. This small and very cute settlement is more like an illustration from a fairy tale book and is an open-air museum. We will see traditional wooden houses with pointed roofs, widely known as "Casas de Santana". They are often surrounded by flower gardens and framed by hedges. We will look into a shop with the products of craftsmen who create things from flax, and reed, and sell local wine and fruits.

The final location for today will be the famous half-timbered houses, which are incredibly photogenic and became famous thanks to Instagram posts. We will take cool photos, walk through the park and paths winding through the forest, more reminiscent of a jungle.

We will have dinner in a stylish restaurant on the ocean shore, where we will meet the sunset.

Levada 25 fountains and sunset on PICO DO ARIEIRO

• Distance: 7 km
• Difficulty: yeasy

Today we will walk through the jungle. Madeira is an amazing place, this island combines all possible types of landscapes: from lava deserts to humid and cool tropical forests. Levada das 25 Fontes (25 Fountains) is one of the most beautiful levadas on the island.

A Levada is a water channel through which spring and rainwater flow, thanks to which water is delivered from north to south for irrigation and filling reservoirs.

This simple but interesting hike will give us incredible views of green gorges, take us through forests that are more reminiscent of dinosaur habitats, and with a high beautiful waterfall hidden under the canopy of lush greenery.

We have lunch in an atmospheric restaurant with delicious espatada - fresh, tender meat cooked on skewers. We take a short break from the walk and head to PICO DO ARIEIRO. This place is a must-see. The road to the peak is a panoramic serpentine, with each turn of more and more epic views of green valleys, small villages, and the ocean will open up before us.

We will spend the rest of the day at the peak, walk part of the famous Pico to Pico route, which connects Pico Areiro and Pico Ruivo (the highest point in Madeira), walk along stone paths laid along steep ridges, and stand above the clouds.

Pico Areiro is one of the best places to meet the sunset, so let's not miss this opportunity.

The day will start with a visit to a unique and very atmospheric park - the Fanal Pond relic forest - one of the most beautiful and mysterious places in Madeira. It is part of the Laurissilva Paul da Serra forest. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is known for its mysterious and unusual landscape with trees up to 500 years old... We take beautiful things and go for a photo shoot. We leave early because we want to catch the fog that envelops these forests in the morning, and by 11-12 o'clock magically disappear. We take a lot of photos, walk, and feel the atmosphere and energy of this mysterious and charming place.

Closer to lunch, we descend from the heights to the coast, along the most beautiful mountain road we head to Seixal, where we will spend several hours walking along the famous black beach, enjoying the views of the ocean and green steep cliffs. After lunch in a magnificent local restaurant, we will visit natural lava pools.
The pools of Seixal and Porto Moniz are famous throughout the world. We will swim and relax in the warm water.

Closer to dinner, we will go to see the Cascata dos Anjos waterfall, falling from a high cliff directly onto the road. It is also called the Angels' Waterfall. At sunset, this place is especially magical.

We have breakfast and pack our things. Today is the final day of our trip to Madeira, and we will finish it brightly.
We are going on a sea safari in search of whales and dolphins. This will be a fascinating walk, in addition to watching incredible animals and birds, we will enjoy the views of Madeira from the water, and they are breathtaking, believe us.

After the boat trip, we continue to fall in love with Madeiran cuisine, share impressions of the trip and remember the most vivid moments.

After lunch, we will be transferred to the airport.