Madeira Holiday Tips
Madiera is an island that's one big tropical garden, with stunning mountains, chasms and gorges suitable for walks or touring, and a near-perfect climate all year round
The best way to enjoy Madeira is to stroll round the gardens and take levada walks and drives to admire the spectacular scenery of the interior and the north coast.
Best Bases: Funchal, Caniço
Easiest Walks: Ribeiro Frio, Rabaçal
Unmissable Scenery: Paúl da Serra, Pico do Arieiro, Penha de Aguia, Curral das Freiras
Best Gardens: Botanical Gardens, Funchal; Monte Palace Tropical Garden
Around Funchal
Botanical Gardens
Enraptured amateur botanists will be amazed by the range of plants in Funchal's best gardens: Egyptian papyrus, fern-lined pools and giant cacti all happily cohabit alongside impressive displays of the multi-coloured strelitzia, or bird-of-paradise flowers. The setting, on a steeply terraced hillside above the town, is magnificent.
Câmara de Lobos and Cabo Girão
The fishing village where Winston Churchill came to paint retains its workaday gritty quality, with fishermen hauling boats ashore or standing around playing cards to the sound of hammering from the boat-yard.
From the western edge of the village you get a good view of misty Cabo Girão, one of the highest sea-cliffs in the world. The terraced farmland here goes right to the edge, like a dangerous staircase without any banisters. From the top, the white horses crashing on the rocks below are the size of your fingernail, and there's hardly a sound.
Monte
A strikingly simple twin-towered church hovers above this elegant town where many of Madeira's well-to-do have sought the cooler air. Of the various formal gardens, the extensive Monte Palace Tropical Garden is the best, but you might be happy just to wander round the modest but free Jardim do Monte, beneath the arches of the defunct funicular railway.
The biggest tourist attraction is the famous toboggan ride in huge wicker baskets. Young men wearing what look like cricket whites and boaters offer to push you down the steep hill into Funchal. Don't be tempted - it's expensive and pretty tame.
Caniço
This resort in the making lies only 30 minutes from Funchal. There are several restaurants and bars, but the focal point is the pretty square with a whitewashed church and attractive clock-tower. In season a lovely cock's comb coral tree showers the ground in deep red blooms.
Curral das Freiras
After a steep climb you pass through a long rock tunnel to emerge in dazzling sunlight into a bowl of mountains surrounding a tiny village, founded by nuns as a refuge against pirates. Only in the 1950s did the tunnel connect this secret valley with the outside world.
Best Places to Stay
Some of our favourite hotels are shown below. Madeira also offers a good selection of luxury apartments, often attached to hotels. There are also many villas to rent. This can be a much lower cost option for many holiday-makers, especially if two or more are travelling together. The cost of an apartment or villa is not offered on a "per person" basis - so the cost is usually much lower than package tour and hotel prices. For example, a week in a luxury apartment which can sleep between 2 and 12 people costs £150 - £400. Even after adding on the cost of flights and transfers, this represents a considerable saving. A good source of affordable apartments and villas can be found through HolidaySense.com
Some hotels we like are listed here. The prices are per person sharing the cheapest double room on a 7-day package in November 2004 on a bed and breakfast basis:
CANICO OASIS ATLANTIC Cheery sea-front hotel £329
QUINTA SPLENDIDA Upmarket, romantic village hotel in lush grounds £459
FUNCHAL ALBERGARIA DIAS Welcoming, family run B&B in old town. £409
PORTO MARE New, stylish and family friendly. £489
PORTO SANTA MARIA Elegant, modern and spacious. Near old town seafront fort. £435
QUINTA DA CASSA BRANCA Slick, low-rise hotel with trendy rooms in lovely tranquil gardens. £549
QUINTA DA PENHA DA FRANCA Good value, peaceful with chinzy, cheery rooms. £357
QUINTA PERES TRELLO Intimate, charming, convivial house. Some traffic noise. £418
REID'S PALACE 5 star, victorian splenda in cliff top position. £845
SAVOY Elegant 5star, with plenty amenities. £499
PONTA DO SOL ESTALAGEM DA PONTA DO SOL Trendy and minimalist decor. Great cliff top views. £365
PORTO SANTO PORTO SANTO Neat, if dated, hotel with beach front lawns. Near town. £497
SANTANA QUINTA DO FURAO Smart vineyard hotel with superb coastal views. £645
Typical Annual Weather Pattern:
Temp Rain Sun
deg C deg F mm inch hours
January 16 61 100 4 5
February 16 61 100 4 6
March 16 61 95 4 6
April 17 63 70 3 7
May 18 64 35 1 7
June 21 70 20 1 7
July 23 73 5 0 8
August 24 75 5 0 8
September 23 73 35 1 8
October 21 70 90 4 7
November 18 64 100 4 5
December 17 63 100 4 5
The best way to enjoy Madeira is to stroll round the gardens and take levada walks and drives to admire the spectacular scenery of the interior and the north coast.
Best Bases: Funchal, Caniço
Easiest Walks: Ribeiro Frio, Rabaçal
Unmissable Scenery: Paúl da Serra, Pico do Arieiro, Penha de Aguia, Curral das Freiras
Best Gardens: Botanical Gardens, Funchal; Monte Palace Tropical Garden
Around Funchal
Botanical Gardens
Enraptured amateur botanists will be amazed by the range of plants in Funchal's best gardens: Egyptian papyrus, fern-lined pools and giant cacti all happily cohabit alongside impressive displays of the multi-coloured strelitzia, or bird-of-paradise flowers. The setting, on a steeply terraced hillside above the town, is magnificent.
Câmara de Lobos and Cabo Girão
The fishing village where Winston Churchill came to paint retains its workaday gritty quality, with fishermen hauling boats ashore or standing around playing cards to the sound of hammering from the boat-yard.
From the western edge of the village you get a good view of misty Cabo Girão, one of the highest sea-cliffs in the world. The terraced farmland here goes right to the edge, like a dangerous staircase without any banisters. From the top, the white horses crashing on the rocks below are the size of your fingernail, and there's hardly a sound.
Monte
A strikingly simple twin-towered church hovers above this elegant town where many of Madeira's well-to-do have sought the cooler air. Of the various formal gardens, the extensive Monte Palace Tropical Garden is the best, but you might be happy just to wander round the modest but free Jardim do Monte, beneath the arches of the defunct funicular railway.
The biggest tourist attraction is the famous toboggan ride in huge wicker baskets. Young men wearing what look like cricket whites and boaters offer to push you down the steep hill into Funchal. Don't be tempted - it's expensive and pretty tame.
Caniço
This resort in the making lies only 30 minutes from Funchal. There are several restaurants and bars, but the focal point is the pretty square with a whitewashed church and attractive clock-tower. In season a lovely cock's comb coral tree showers the ground in deep red blooms.
Curral das Freiras
After a steep climb you pass through a long rock tunnel to emerge in dazzling sunlight into a bowl of mountains surrounding a tiny village, founded by nuns as a refuge against pirates. Only in the 1950s did the tunnel connect this secret valley with the outside world.
Best Places to Stay
Some of our favourite hotels are shown below. Madeira also offers a good selection of luxury apartments, often attached to hotels. There are also many villas to rent. This can be a much lower cost option for many holiday-makers, especially if two or more are travelling together. The cost of an apartment or villa is not offered on a "per person" basis - so the cost is usually much lower than package tour and hotel prices. For example, a week in a luxury apartment which can sleep between 2 and 12 people costs £150 - £400. Even after adding on the cost of flights and transfers, this represents a considerable saving. A good source of affordable apartments and villas can be found through HolidaySense.com
Some hotels we like are listed here. The prices are per person sharing the cheapest double room on a 7-day package in November 2004 on a bed and breakfast basis:
CANICO OASIS ATLANTIC Cheery sea-front hotel £329
QUINTA SPLENDIDA Upmarket, romantic village hotel in lush grounds £459
FUNCHAL ALBERGARIA DIAS Welcoming, family run B&B in old town. £409
PORTO MARE New, stylish and family friendly. £489
PORTO SANTA MARIA Elegant, modern and spacious. Near old town seafront fort. £435
QUINTA DA CASSA BRANCA Slick, low-rise hotel with trendy rooms in lovely tranquil gardens. £549
QUINTA DA PENHA DA FRANCA Good value, peaceful with chinzy, cheery rooms. £357
QUINTA PERES TRELLO Intimate, charming, convivial house. Some traffic noise. £418
REID'S PALACE 5 star, victorian splenda in cliff top position. £845
SAVOY Elegant 5star, with plenty amenities. £499
PONTA DO SOL ESTALAGEM DA PONTA DO SOL Trendy and minimalist decor. Great cliff top views. £365
PORTO SANTO PORTO SANTO Neat, if dated, hotel with beach front lawns. Near town. £497
SANTANA QUINTA DO FURAO Smart vineyard hotel with superb coastal views. £645
Typical Annual Weather Pattern:
Temp Rain Sun
deg C deg F mm inch hours
January 16 61 100 4 5
February 16 61 100 4 6
March 16 61 95 4 6
April 17 63 70 3 7
May 18 64 35 1 7
June 21 70 20 1 7
July 23 73 5 0 8
August 24 75 5 0 8
September 23 73 35 1 8
October 21 70 90 4 7
November 18 64 100 4 5
December 17 63 100 4 5
posted by Paul Denham at 2:22 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home