The nick name for Madeira Island is the Island of eternal spring. The temperatures there are never bellow 15°C and normally never higher than 25°C. These mild temperatures attract lots of elderly people, who find Madeira as their new home.
Due to the mild climate, Madeira is rich in flora. Seeing lots of banana plantation all over the island was a big surprise for us.
Madeira’s beginnings go way back and the island was made as volcano eruption. The island is full of high, steep cliffs and mountains, but these did not stop people from finding place for growing fruit and vegetables. Driving around Madeira will show you many terraces, where each centimeter is well used.
If you ask us, the best way to explore Madeira is by renting a car. Or maybe, if you really are keen of hiking, you better pack good hiking boots and do the exploration by foot. Madeira is for many a true hiking paradise.
No matter how you will explore Madeira, you will get the best of it easily. There are numerous gorgeous and dramatic views for you to see. Hiking on the highest peak Pico Ruivo or just enjoying views from the second highest cliff in the world – it is hard to stay unimpressed.
We have driven around the whole island of Madeira, but our favorite part was the NE. We did not just enjoy the views there, but also its small coastal towns in which we have found a nice little local restaurant La Cala. We stopped here by surprise and we loved the food so much, that we came back on our last day again.
If you will try to find it yourself, head to Carnical town, but don’t expect anything fancy. The La Cala restaurant is simple and with no tourists, but the food is delicious. Don’t leave without trying the Espetada (grilled meat on a stick) and the seafood.
General looking, Madeira was a true culinary destination. We loved the fact that we could eat fresh mangoes, papayas, passion fruit, bananas and other exotic fruits. Who would knew we can find such things in Europe.
Madeira was a great pick for a quick travel. We could say we found our paradise here… well, almost. The only thing for which Madeira can never be our true paradise is lack of beaches, warmer sea and hot summer days. But for everything else, Madeira was great and we recommend it to everyone who’s into nature, exotic feel and good food.
Long live the seefoooood! Great pictures and good pieces of advice. Thanx for sharing. How much money might one need for an escape like this? Thank you, Jim.
Hi Jim, well you can do Madeira travel on abudget, but you can also spend loads ofmoney. 😉 It really depends what you want and need and what is your travel style, but few hundred Euros can also be enough, excluded the flight. 😉
Hey, wow, that is quite a good news. Thank you. A few hundred Euros is fair enough I may say. 🙂
Glad to hear we can help 🙂
Grat post, thanks the tips! I was planing to visit Madeira this summer. I’m deffinitely gonna do some hike, your pictures inspired me 😀 Amazing!
Hey Logan, happy to hear our photos inspired you. There will be some more blog posts on Madeira, so stay tuned. 😉 Madeira is really beautiful for a quick travel and we are sure you will love it!
Don’t forget to return. Indeed you drove a lot but Madeira’s best secret beauties are hidden in its mountains and valleys where only hickers can reach.
There are easy walks so no excuse 🙂
See you soon!
Thank you Luis! You are right, we need to come back for more and explore Madeira as hikers too. 🙂 One day for sure! Cheers, Nina
Hey, I’m actually from Madeira and it’s definitely a stunning island. I saw at the bottom u mentioned that Madeira doesn’t have many beaches and warmer summer. Madeira is very hot in the summer and temperatures can reach 28 or more… The beaches we have really nices ones you just need to know which ones are the best. And if u go in July and August we have loads of festivals which is great.
Keep on travelling. Glad u liked my country. xx
Hi Mariana,
thank you so much for your comment and you are right… we were in Madeira to little time to get to know everything. I guess we will need to come in the summer next time, to catch some festivals and also to get some warmer days. 🙂
p.s. And it was not hard to like Madeira 🙂
Hey,
your whole report, but especially your your pictures are amazing. Madeira is such a unique destination! We have al been to Madeira, already three times – but I am sure we will come back many more times. We fell in love with this diverse island.
See You soon and safe travels!
Madeira is really amazing destinations for all outdoor and nature enthusiasts. We hope to be back soon, as we have not done any hiking when visiting it for the first time. But next time, it’s all about hikes. 🙂
I really like you post on Madeira and your pictures! Thank you for sharing. Do pay us a visit when you came back to Madeira on your hiking trip!
Thank you so much Maja. 🙂 We sure hope to be back to Madeira soon and show it also to our little munchkin. When we are back, it is hiking time around Madeira for us :).
After visiting Madeira, it is worth visiting the neighboring Porto Santo. 9 km of beautiful golden yellow beach is worth it 🙂
Hi Greg, we heard about the Porto Santo, but did not have enough time to visit it. But yes, it does look amazing from photos, so it is on our bucket list for our next trip to Madeira. 🙂
Happy traveling, Nina