WHAT TO DO IN MADEIRA IN WINTER?
On this post I will highlight what we did while visiting Madeira in a short break in winter. To follow the whole trip, read my previous posts Madeira Day 1 and Madeira Day 2.
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After another agitated night, because of the storm with strong thunders and lightening during the night, we woke up early at Pestana Casino Park . We needed to meet our guide at 9 am at reception as we were going for a full day tour of the west side of Madeira. Again, the day was cloudy, but not rainy.
We went down, and we had a very filling breakfast. We had a full English, fruits, yogurt and pastries and quickly went to meet our guide.
We were travelling independently as we are confident travellers and speak the language. However, if you prefer to be part of a tour and to have everything organised for you, I advise you to book a complete tour with Tourradar.
Tourradar has different kinds of tours that will fit your time and budget. If you book it via my links you can get a discount by using this code: RoseG50.
The tour today would take us to the west side of the island visiting: Câmara de Lobos, Cabo Girão, Skywalk, Ribeira Brava, Seixal, Porto Moniz and Fanal. We met our guide and boarded a van that would take us on this tour. We were 8 people plus the guide, and we were the last ones to be picked up.
Below is a map showing the places we visited on that day:
VISITING THE WEST SIDE OF MADEIRA
Câmara de Lobos – Madeira
Our first stop was Câmara de Lobos. A small town on the south coast of the island and 12 minutes by car from Funchal. The town plays an important part on Madeira’s history because it was the first settlement on the island.
The navigator João Gonçalves Zarco arrived on the island and in Câmara de Lobos in 1420. The name of the town comes from the large number of sea lions living in a cave by the sea. The sea lions can still be seen today in the same place.
The town has several historical buildings dating from the 15th century. Buildings such as the “Nossa Senhora da Conceição Chapel”, the old “Convent of “São Bernardino” and the “São Sebastião Church”.
Winston Churchill lived there and used to seat at the top of the cliff with his easel to paint his famous paintings of the area.
The bay is full of fishing boats called “Xavelhas” and shows a very typical scene of a fishing village. These boats fish mainly the native fish of Madeira the “Scabbard fish” or “black Swardfish” as it is also known. As these fishes are active only at night at a depth of about only 100 metres, the fishing boats are always moored at the bay during the day, going fishing only at night.
We parked near the harbour and the guide gave us about one hour to explore the town on foot and on our own. We explored the harbour area and the old streets nearby also visiting “Nossa Senhora da Conceição Chapel”; however, it started drizzling, just when it was time to return to the van.
We still managed to see the main areas of the town, but with more time, I think the town is worth a day visit. It will be nice to spend the day exploring more of the town and eating in one of their typical restaurants by the sea.
Apparently, there are some nice street art murals around town that are worth looking at as well, but we didn’t see them on that day, only the Sea Lion Mural at the end of the bay.
Cabo Girão – Madeira
Back at the van we continued with the trip and our next stop was at Cabo Girão and the Skywalk. We went up the hill via a winding road until we arrived at the top and at Cabo Girão, one of the highest cliffs in the world. On the way up I started feeling a bit sick with all the curves and bumps of the road.
When we arrived there and went to the Skywalk everything was covered in clouds, and we could not see anything at all. So, we didn’t spend much time there, we soon continued with the trip to the “Véu da Noiva Viewpoint” on the way to Seixal, crossing the island to the north coast.
“Véu da Noiva” (Bride’s veil) is a Waterfall in a beautiful spot attracting many people to this viewpoint to admire the views.
Seixal – Madeira
From there we headed to Seixal Beach, a beach from the small town of Porto de Abrigo do Seixal. It is a black sand beach with calm waters forming a beautiful and peaceful landscape.
The guide gave us another hour to allow people to swim on the sea and experience the waters of this part of the Atlantic Ocean. We didn’t swim, but some people on our group did and we just walked around and waited for them to finish.
Porto Moniz – Madeira
Continuing with the trip our next stop was at Porto Moniz. A small, charming town also on the Atlantic coast. The town is mostly famous by its natural lava pools that are filled by the tide providing a nice place to spend the day or some hours at the pools.
Have a look at this video from The Travelling Surveyor Instagram:
As it was lunch time, the guide gave us two hours to enjoy the pools and have some lunch. At that time the sun showed up for some time to allow people to enjoy the pools. We spent some time watching people swim in the pools and walked around the town.
We went to a restaurant near the pools for some lunch, but I didn’t order anything as I was still feeling very sick and couldn’t face any food. My husband had a sandwich, but reported it was the worse sandwich he had so far.
Two hours later we were back at the van and continued our trip to the top of the mountains where the famous “Fanal Forest” is. On the way we also stopped at “Ribeira da Janela” another viewpoint with fabulous views.
We had more winding roads to get to “Fanal” and the people seating next to me decided to have their lunch during the trip. As they spent the whole time in the pools, they didn’t have time to eat there, so they had their lunch in the van. It was some kind of smelly fish sandwich contributing even more to my sickness.
I had to control myself not to throw up in the van and was counting the minutes to arrive.
Fanal – Madeira
When we finally arrived there, I rushed to the toilet and threw up all the breakfast that I didn’t digest since early in the morning. Immediately I felt much better and was able to go and see the ancient trees of the “Fanal Forest”.
The “Fanal Forest” also known as “Laurisilva Forest” is located on the Paul da Serra Plateau. The forest is made of laurel groves that are more than a thousand years old becoming one of the last European rainforests. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its originality and ancient biodiversity.
At the time we were in the forest it was not raining, so we were able to walk through and admire the beautiful ancient trees. We had about another hour in there and afterwards we went back to the van.
After this visit we went back to Funchal and were dropped at our hotel under more rain.
We enjoyed the west tour of Madeira, and our guide was very knowledgeable and nice. It was a shame that the weather didn’t help and that I was not feeling my best. But I recommend the tour, especially if you do not have much time in Madeira and do not have your own transport. To book this tour of Madeira, book it HERE.
Alternatively, you can enjoy a full day guided Levada Walk in the Rabaçal Valley and this can be booked HERE.
For that night we had a reservation at a restaurant called “Restaurante Hemingway” near our hotel. It looked like a very nice restaurant and had good reviews.
I was still not feeling great with a very sensitive stomach but thought about going and having something light and not to have any alcohol at all.
I only had a vegetable soup and drunk tea for dinner, but my husband had the full package of dinner and wines and said it was great. After dinner we returned to the hotel and had an early night as we were tired for not sleeping very well for the last two nights, due to the strong storms.
The plan for the next morning was to do a guided tour of Funchal Old Town and to visit the Botanical Gardens. Hopefully next day I would feel much better, and the rain would give us a break. Keep up with me for the next post coming soon.
Don’t forget to check the tours available at Tourradar if you prefer to have your trip and tours all organised for you.
I hope this post will give you some idea of what can be done in one day in Madeira and will help you plan your own visit there.
HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR TRIP
Below you will find a list of what to visit, where to stay and where to eat in Madeira. I classified each place as follows:
BOLD – Visited, tried and recommended
NOT BOLD – Not visited or tried, but planning to visit or try and heard very good reviews
RED – Visited and tried but do not recommend, avoid or be cautious
*** – Excellent
** – Good
* – OK
£££ – Expensive
££ – Fair and affordable
£ – Cheap
PLEASE NOTE: Every hotel, restaurants and attractions I mention on my blogs are not sponsored reviews and we always paid the full price when visiting. We give our own opinion of the place and detail our experience, good or bad.
WHAT TO SEE IN MADEIRA
ATTRACTIONS – Day 2
1 – Câmera de Lobos – ***
2 – Cabo Girão and Skywalk – *** – (In a clear day!)
3 – Véu da Noiva Viewpoint – ***
4 – Seixal Beach – ***
5 – Porto Moniz – ***
6 – Ribeira da Janela – ***
7 – Fanal Forest – ***
WHERE TO STAY
ACCOMMODATION IN MADEIRA
1 – São Pedro Boutique – 4* – ££
2 – Hotel Cajú – 4 – ££
3 – Pestana Churchill Bay – 4* – ££ (Câmera de Lobos)
4 – Hotel Porto Santa Maria – 4* – ££
5 – Terrace Mar Suite Hotel – 4* – ££
6 – Enotel Magnólia – 4* – ££
If you prefer to look for your own accommodation, search and book via the below widget:
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WHERE TO EAT
RESTAURANTS IN MADEIRA
1 – Restaurante Hemingway – *** – ££
2 – Bistro des Anges – ££ – Italian/French
3 – Legacy – ££
4 – Mad Market Restaurant – ££
5 – Casa Velha – ££
6 – The Ritz Madeira – £££
If you tried any of my recommendations above, please send me a message and tell me about your experience good or bad, so I can update the list accordingly. Thanks!
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