Madeira Paradise Tour Reviews — 1 to 3 of 3

Of the many excellent hikes available in Madiera,
This tour manages to curate some of the best. The accommodations happen to be some of the best too from those must do beachfronts to the highly regarded Castanheiro hotel in Funchal. So basically it’s a pretty classy tour package. Now, for the hardline: especially for the risk adverse Americans, who might be reading this. These hikes are only for experienced hikers. Experience means having strong enough joints for very long, extremely steep and very narrow trails over potentially lethal drop offs. We have Vibram soled, lightweight hiking shoes to navigate the stones and steps and narrow causeways where a slip is not an option. We use a carbide tip quality hiking pole. We were absolutely dependent on the Ride with GPS app when the fog closed in on the trails on the high mountain. With that in mind, we found these well marked routes and trails to be some of the most beautiful in the world. Lush with flowers in early June, punctuated by waterfalls adjacent to moss clad rock walls, those drop offs give breathtaking views. The logistics are wonderful to have a ride to the trailhead where parking can become impossible. The guide book was decent yet yet not too detailed and allowed for some fun surprises. But, you must follow the warnings about trail closures to avoid hefty fines and fatalities. We did discover that it was best on the very last day to hike from the overlook point up to the village to the restaurant O Forno, and the coffee shop Legal Gato for what may have been the best cup of coffee we ever had anywhere in the world. The taxi driver was happy to pick us up from there instead of the trailhead. We suggest you utilize these drivers for post hiking activities, such as this when you can.
Funchal is fantastic and worth spending additional time thereafter this tour. From Funchal, we suggest the Pico to Pico Trail for the most hard-core hikers or taking the ferry to Porto Santo for beach R&R, and biking and hiking all over this smaller island. The taxis are fabulous. Bus system easy. Don’t hire a car. It’s ‘impossible’ to drive and park on these islands. Too many bad drivers already.

Madeiral was stunning! The Tripsite staff and the drivers they hire were so helpful and accommodating. The hikes were a bit challenging at times-not sure I would rate them as easy! I would definitely recommend good shoes/boots and poles. And the accommodations were so amazing! A very memorable trip-I would highly recommend.

The vistas were fantastic from all over Madeira. The two different sides of the island had two totally different water features. Some were rugged and straight into the water while others had calmer waters. The vegetation was beautiful. Very hilly which makes for dramatic views.