A walking holiday in western Madeira

We had a fabulous time! Highlights were the hike to Pico Ruivo and breakfasts in the garden at the Quinta. We stayed in both a cottage and the main inn during our stay and ultimately preferred being in the main inn even though it was much smaller and without a kitchenette. We were lucky to meet the family that has owned the land for generations and to witness one of the grape harvesting days.  It had so much soul, this Inn and vineyard!  The island was also spectacular. We simply were stunned by the diversity of terrain and ecosystems and hikes and views.  So much on one small island.

Very impressed with vegetarian evening meals. All the staff were very helpful and friendly. Walking choices restricted by cloud in the centre of the island, which according to locals is quite frequent. 

It would be hard to choose just one or two highlights. We always enjoy your intimate, historic accommodations and your carefully selected tour recommendations. My best memory will be the sense of exhilaration over each day's adventure, day after day, for the month that we travelled through your packages. 

INNTRAVEL NOTE: these customers enjoyed a multi holiday itinerary to include our Cities, Palaces & Wine Self-Guided Journey by Rail, a stay in an Andalucian Cottage on our Authentic Southern Spain holiday, our Landscapes of Western Madeira Discovery Walking Holiday, with city add-ons in Madrid and Lisbon.

We would recommend staying in a cottage but preferably one without other guests in the accommodation above. There is no sound proofing. A wonderful holiday with some challenging walking and very good weather but very windy when we drove up to the North coast. Warm, welcoming people. Funchal is very busy so for people who prefer the quieter side of things worth avoiding.

Highlights: Sitting eating breakfast in the garden with a cup of tea I had made using the kettle provided by the buffet table. Fabulous views from the room, wonderful staff and great food for the evening meals. Marvelling at the abundance of flowers out in February, fuchsias, hibiscus, freesias, arum lilies, gazanias, pink and purple morning glory mixed with nasturtiums - and DAFFODILS! Lovely walks and very well described. Thank you.

Quinta das Vinhas was an excellent base for our stay, very peaceful, lovely setting and good breakfast.

Enjoyed the 25 Springs walk best. The only issue I have was processing the hire car from Avis after a long flight. It took over 40minutes! And the receptionist was very difficult to understand. Otherwise we had a lovely holiday. The walks were excellent including the directions and we love Quinta das Vinhas. Their staff are so friendly and helpful and the food excellent. 

Highlights - the walk from Pico Ariera to Pico Ruivo, and the amazing Levada walks.

We enjoyed the holiday. A good choice away from the main areas. At first we were shocked as to how remote we thought the hotel was but once we settled into the holiday we really enjoyed the area. The staff and the local people were friendly and all had a very good understanding of English. It was very interesting that the guests at the Quinta were of many different nationalities. An excellent holiday and information all round.

We also found two places which may be of interest to future guests. Fontes do Horacio, Estrada regional 222, about a mile away. Local restaurant. Good food. Sem Idade, in the grounds of the civic centre. Modern snack bar, good views. Hope these comments help.

Excellent accommodation at the Quinta. Friendly and very competent staff and food well presented and of good standard. Only slight negative - for winter time - was the opening of their wine bar on the road above the qunita for Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening meals. This meant leaving the lovely quinta and the dining room and no log fire those evenings to have to walk up in the darkness on the unlit path to the road to a recently renovated soft opening wine bar / restaurant to have the same meal that would have been served in the quinta dining room but in totally different and more informal surroundings. Whilst I feel this wine bar will be a great asset in the spring and summer time, it was very disappointing to find ourselves shut out of the quinta type arrangement for the meal in January. It somehow rather spoiled those whole evenings. 

Funchal was our personal highlight. Very pretty town, nice atmosphere, live music on the streets, easy to walk around. Cable car trip was worth doing once, for the views, but at €16 return per person, not cheap. Great wine in the newer small supermarket near the pharmacy. We were in cottage 209 near the pool so had a very steep walk up to the Quinta for meals - but on the plus side, a great view on the walk down after breakfast! 

The setting of the Quintas das Vinhas is very attractive. We enjoyed the Funchal city tour. We had been warned about avoiding days when a cruise liner was in port and we chose a quiet day. There is a useful schedule at http://crew-center.com/funchal-cruise-ship-schedule-2018. We think that it would have been helpful to have had a map of Funchal in the welcome pack.

The location and the views from the Quinta were stunning.  A beautiful area to explore.  We would recommend visiting the western end of Madeira. Enjoyed our day in Funchal the walking notes were excellent and we enjoyed our trip to Blandys Wine Lodge.  The people were friendly and helpful and we would certainly return probably to stay in and around Funchal and visit the Eastern side.

Walking on levadas is unique, not least because it opens up the wildest country without too much effort. However, walkers should take care: we saw a woman fall in to the relatively deep Levada Janela, and it couldn't have been much fun walking the rest of the route in wet boots and clothes! The weather was disappointing during our stay: cloud consumed the middle of the Island the whole week. Nonetheless, we had a great time, and were able to do walks 3, 8 and 9, and some of 1, plus the Western Driving Tour and a day in Funchal. The walks all demonstrated the variety of walking that Madeira has to offer, as well as wonderful insight into the flora. As for recommendations, we endorse your favourable comments on the restaurants Olhar do Campo and O Chico near the Quinta. We would also recommend Portinho, the bar/restaurant at the end of the promenade in Jardim do Mar. Their house white wine is very good and less than 2 euros! And their calamari was the best we ate. In Funchal, we had a super lunch in the Rua de Santa Maria, a street which you might ordinarily avoid as it is so touristy and is lined with restaurants and waiters touting for business. Our choice, from a recommendation in the DK 'Top Ten Madeira', was 'Dona Joana-Rabo-de-Peixe' at number 77. Excellent food, and friendly professional service.

We loved the choice of hotels particularly the one near the port in Funchal (Quinta Bela Sao Tiago). Excellent instructions at every stage. Most impressed.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: Mrs Morley combined our Landscapes of Western Madeira with Classic Madeira

The cottages at the Qunita das Vinhas were lovely and the walks were beautiful. We saw lots of interesting birds (including wild canaries) and enjoyed the gardens at Monte. It was great to be able to relax by the pool after our walks.

We stayed in a cottage at Quinta das Vinhas. The cottage was spacious with good facilities. Personally we would have preferred to be totally self catering as we found the food there quite average and it could sometimes feel awkward sitting round the big table though that of course depends on the guests. We enjoyed going down to the harbour at Calheta for food as it was a bit more lively. New Era's seafood is particularly good. The supermarket also does great grilled chicken. We enjoyed the Ponto do Pargo walk best and the tea room at the end should not be missed. We had their own herbal infusion with rich chocolate cake overlooking the cliffs. It would also be worth having lunch there or walking late and having dinner. Our highlight was actually not a walk but the whale watching. We went in the rib which was exhilarating and saw two types of dolphin and my first ever whale. Fantastic. If you like gardens we reckon Palheiros gardens are the most beautiful and can be combined with a levada walk not detailed by Inntravel.

Great accommodation, would recommend staying in main Quinta house - friendly staff.

My personal highlight was the evening meals in the old kitchen/dinningroom with up to 12 other guests. Fascinating with other Inntravellers plus German, French and Dutch guests all eating and talking together.

Inntravel is an impressive company which we will continue to use and recommend it to others.

The 'hotel' on this trip rather let the side down. All could relatively easily been resolved: a proper chef - the hotel used receptionists and anybody available to select and prepare and cook food, and it showed; better quality ingredients - 2euros 50cents for water was ridiculous - and the management, who were NOT on site, clearly viewed food as something they can save on rather than an essential for customer satisfaction; a clear instruction to park on the main road away from the hotel site or big money spent making the car park accessible; a site/hotel manager who has a vision and pride in the running of the hotel and who has decision making authority, it felt like it was 'run' by very young and, probably, minimum wage staff, who were not able to make any policy decisions. Somebody runs this place remotely and that person views this accomodation as a pure investment, and it shows.

Without being able to pick out any special highlights of the holiday (there was so many despite far from perfect weather), we thoroughly enjoyed the holiday, the Quinta and Madeira. In your list of restaurants you omit the "As Fontes do Horacio". This can be reached on foot in 20 minutes or so by turning right out of the Quinta up the ER223 to meet the ER222 and turning right. The food is simple (the meat cooked over the wood fire is good) but the welcome is friendly. The portions are very large but they seem happy to share one plate with two. (The waitress even suggested one starter between two).

Madeira is a great place for some warm sunny weather in November. The staff at the Quinta das Vinhas hotel are welcoming, the setting good and the food both generous in quantity and excellent in quality. The walks are a good mix of some challenging, some easy. A good head for heights is desirable for some of the walks. 

A fascinating island with stunning views from cliffs, mountains and levadas. Horizontal (levada) walking is a delight and every outing had something new to offer. October pleasantly warm, including use of pool, and vegetation still green and flowery. Quinta das Vinhas was a particular delight with breakfast in the garden every morning overlooking the ocean. Service and food excellent.

Breakfast at the hotel was great, eating out in the garden overlooking the sea.

We enjoyed choosing from so many walks in different areas.

Our favourite restaurant was Chico's in Prazere

We had a comfortable stay in one of the cottages of the Quinta. Avoid number 207 if you want a patio and a view. All cottages require you to carry luggage over some distance and up a number of steps. The prebooked meals in the Quinta were ok but not special.

Although we had been told that there was nowhere else to eat within walking distance we found Al Fontes do Horacio, on the ER-222, heading east towards Calheta. There is a footpath from close to the junction outside the main gates of the Quinta. This leads to another passageway next to a chapel and a street lit path across the valley, much shorter than the road way but still about 30 minutes walk. It is not where it appears to be on Tripadvisor or Google Maps. Excellent simple meals and great value for money.

The walking was very varied and a good variety of grades. We particulary enjoyed the amazing agapanthus along the levadas and meeting locals and ex-pats in little cafes.

Beautiful island with quite unusual landscape that is fascinating to walk in. Ranges from forest walks along levadas to coastal strolls and gentle walks in the hills. Very varied.

Food and drink is remarkably cheap compared to other parts of Europe so eating out is a joy and a pleasure without costing a fortune.

Once again, our walking holiday with Inntravel has ticked all of the boxes - it's clear that a lot of thought and good judgement goes into selecting both the accomodation and the walk routes. The staff at Quinta das Vinhas were exceptional, nothing was too much trouble, professional, very friendly and capable. The evening meals were varied and enjoyable. The one tiny issue we had (couldn't open a bedroom window) was sorted as soon as we mentioned it.

Madeira has always been on my 'bucket' list and I was not disappointed. Tunnels make travel by road quick and easy. The Quinta and staff gave a warm welcome, accommodation was spotlessly clean, comfortable and with enough quirkiness to provide interest and individuality. Breakfasting outside I always consider a luxury. The walking opportunities meant that steep ascents and descents could be 'enjoyed' by the hardy, but the level levadas provided alternatives. The levada tunnels (torches a must) and myriad of waterfalls were unexpected delights. The opportunities for food never disappointed from the coffee and cake in the coastal villages to the 'beef on a spit' for dinner. It was easy to follow the tourist haunts up the cable car to Monte and experience the downhill of the basket cars, but it was equally refreshing to spend the day exploring the emptiness of the Paul do Serra. Madeira has something for everyone and is a place where I feel I have only just started to explore. There is certainly more to this green Jewel of the Atlantic.

We enjoyed Madeira immensely - the walking, landscape and people, and were extremely lucky to have had good weather all week. The Quinta suited us in terms of age of property and furnishings, and the breakfasts and picnics were very well received. We would certainly go back.

Overall, a very enjoyable holiday. It took a few days to detox digitally as wifi is only available in one common room and we had no television, but after a few days we were in holiday mode, enjoying morning lie-ins, going for walks, driving or city visits, feeling relaxed. We enjoyed the tranquility of the Quinta and the ever-changing clientele. The staff at the Quinta were exceptional. Some of the walks were challenging, so read notes carefully. We spent a lot of time looking for a 'red dot on a rock' that we never found, and crossing a river with a rickety bridge (advised not to do so in the notes, so we didn't, but that meant crossing slippery rocks on the fast-flowing river) over a 20 foot drop was not for the faint-hearted. The documents provided are very comprehensive, so read them several times to get the most out of the research provided by Inntravel. The driving instructions were particularly useful, but driving in Madeira is not for the faint-hearted either! We appreciated the comments of past clients for restaurant recommendations. 

Overall, a simply wonderful holiday. Despite some rain, we enjoyed all of the hikes and the gorgeous scenery, driving around the island, good food, the warm welcome, hospitality and comraderie of other guests at the Inn. Thanks to everyone on the Inntravel team!

It was colder than expected (mid March), and we could have done with gloves and hats on some of the high walks.  Overall it was a great holiday.

Once again Inntravel has provide us with an excellent holiday - unique, personal and informative.

Enjoyable variety of routes and difficulty, with added bonus of driving tours to get a wider overview of the island. The references to vertigo should not be underestimated but as someone who is not happy with walking on high ledges, I managed the relevant walks with just occasional nervous moments. Breakfast on our sunny terrace, every day bar one in early March was very pleasurable. Best local restaurant was Convento da Vinhas (first turning on Calheta roundabout)

The highlight was definitely walking from Pico Arieiro to Pico Ruivo. It was really hard work - lots of steps! - but very rewarding. We were fortunate to be above the clouds, under brilliant blue skies and in hot sunshine - a real tonic in February!

In Prazeres, you must try the food at Chico`s!

Our highlight?

Breakfast on the terrace of hotel. Warm even in November.