Landscapes of Western Madeira

Lovely island, perfect for hiking, so glad we stayed in the West, felt remote and peaceful. The recomendation of As Fontes do Horacio for dinner was great. We ate here 3 nights. Worth mentioning it's closed on Mondays. We would suggest describing the path next to the chapel as being between the chapel and number 8A as we couldn't see it was a chapel in the dark! We walked back to the road and came to look at the path in the daylight when it was obvious it was a chapel! The supermarket at the bottom of the hill, just off the roundabout in the direction of Jardim do Mar was good and we walked down in about 20 mins.

We never tired of exploring the levadas; not knowing what might be around the next corner whether a tunnel or a vertiginous view along an uninhabited valley.

Walks 4 & 5 are very popular and you may find parking a challenge, but do try to get there early and do at least one of them. 

This week in Madeira was a complete luxury. The accommodation is superb, with splendid views on the ocean. We did all the walks but one, and they are perfectly chosen to give you various perspectives on Madeira. We booked an extra the trip from Calheta to watch the whales and dolphins as recommended in the guide. It was magical. At the end of your walk 7, don't forget to spend time in the natural swimming pools in Porto Moniz (3 euros only) and to take swimming goggles. It was totally lush. 

Inntravel's thorough planning makes things easy. Notes are detailed and helpful. Nothing seemed to be left to chance.

An amazing holiday and the accommodation was great. The staff were so helpful. The food and staff at the restaurant were superb. Recommend the wine tasting session they offer on Tuesday or Thursday.
Walkers should look carefully at elevations of walks. We did two walks back to back that involved lots of steps and ups and downs. Should have separated with an easy day!
Slightly larger supermarket (rather than one opposite hotel) on road down to Jardim do Mar just off VE3. Only found on penultimate day.
A 1.2 car copes with the mountains but if you want to cruise up you might consider an upgrade!
Staff at restaurant recommended 'The Fork' app, which shows local restaurants with deals/money off. Useful for UK too.

Walks were good and varied, walk 3 was our favourite, lovely scenery and do break your journey and have lunch at the restaurant half way round, (only 200m down from the Levada). Take a waterproof with you, we had quite a few rain showers, luckily the really heavy ones seemed to be at night but meant that the cushions on the outside chairs never dried out. Quinta das Vinhaus was a lovely setting, cottage great and meals first class but wine expensive!! Hire car gave us more flexibility but we will stick to hotel to hotel walking next time, as it's more relaxing than navigating on busy roads. Would recommend Inntravel highly and have already booked for Tuscany in October.

Highlights of Lanzarote & La Graciosa:

Exploring the unique volcanic landscape, and walking though the hills of grapes grown in their zocos.

Visiting the El Grifo winery 

Taking the ferry to La Graciosa and walking along the beach with beautiful views across to Lanzarote.

Visiting the Jameos del Agua. Walking through the lava tube was fascinating. Would have loved to hear  a concert in the auditorium.

Recommend avoiding  Playa Blanca. Too full of tourists.

Highlights of Landscapes of Western Madeira

Whale watching in Calheta

Quinta das Vinhas is a lovely place to stay. Perfect as a base for walking so long as you have a hire car. Cottages are well equipped and comfortable. Staff and service are excellent.

Walk 7 - visit to Porto Moniz: there are 2 salt water swimming pools here, which you did mention but we hadn't read that far until we got there! Suggest you mention taking swimming costumes at the beginning of the walk as we would have gone. Planned to go back to swim but didn't make time.

Superb holiday with a well chosen hotel set in a vineyard. Walking the levadas was a truly memorable experience with wonderful views along all the walks.

That was an absolutely lovely holiday. A beautiful rural location. The selection / mixture of walks was great. Do be flexible on which walk you do on which day depending on the weather once you're at breakfast. using the GPS tracks on Komoot was very easy. For walks 4&5 plan to get to the car parking by 10 am in order to get a space. Very useful advice to check on the weather by looking up at the hills from the swimming pool at breakfast , as the weather forecasts weren't very accurate. Driving was really great fun, if you're a confident driver! If you're arriving at night , consider the instructions carefully, the estate routes feel like very  narrow tracks in the pitch dark! The best value and great service restaurant was Olhar do Campo. A very pleasant enjoyable walking holiday. 

We had a really lovely holiday, which was certainly helped by glorious weather.  We stayed in a cottage, which was very good with a great pool just a few steps away. The breakfst was good and the staff very friendly and helpful.

The dinners were fine but we wouldn't want to eat at the hotel on more than three nights because the menu seems designed for visits of 2-3 nights. We had planned to visit the recommended restaurant, As Fontes do Horácio, but it was closed for the holidays (we arrived 26 March and it reopened after Easter). However the cafe/bar across the road, Dolce Sabor, was great for drinks, lunch and dinner. The bar called Sem Idade, up the manicured hill next to Dolce Sabor, was also great for drinks, and had a limited food menu, which included excellent pizzas.

This was such a special trip! My partner and I were connected to Inntravel by a friend who has loved several trips with them, and the company met all our expectations. Communication was strong, booking was easy, and the holiday binder that they sent us was informative and organized. The trip itself was spectacular. The hotel is beautiful - a much better stay than the cookie-cutter hotels in Funchal, for example. We loved having our own cottage at the base of the property. Breakfast on the lawn overlooking the vines and ocean was gorgeous, and our dinners at the hotel restaurant were very satisfying. We had to pinch ourselves every morning when we walked out of our front door to see the views. The best part of the trip, though, was all the beautiful walking. Options range from flat strolls to very intense peak hiking. Having a rental car meant that we could get to all kinds of trailheads. We loved it. Will be returning.

In early March the weather is changeable. We had 3/4 sunny days but the same number of cloudy days when going up the mountain was not on, so we missed the levadas accessed from high up.

We did the north coast route instead, crossing back over the top on ER105 from Porto Moniz to Prazeres (twice).

We found the NW coast between Ponta da Pargo and Cabo along the old road ER101 very attractive with a minor levada to walk along near Cabo.

At Calheta we found a very congenial restaurant also guest house called SOALHEIRA STUDIO GARDENS. It's at the very eastern end of the main road of Calheta by a roundabout with a great metal structure in it.  Very attentive service and good fish.

Truly spectacular views around the Madeira coastline. The setting of our hotel (cottage) was beautiful and tranquil. We enjoyed the different experiences each day of our holiday. Our expectations for a relaxed yet active walking holiday were fully met in the lovely setting of the Quinta das Vinhas estate

First the positives, Inntravel provided an excellent service, their notes were very easy to follow for both the driving and the walking. One or two of the walks led to cliff tops with spectacular views. As keen birdwatchers we were pleased to a see a number of subspecies unique to Madeira. The staff at the accommodation were friendly and helpful. The cottage was a good size, well equipped and in nice gardens with sea views. The packed lunches were very substantial and one between two people worked fine. Vegetarians were well catered for at the hotel restaurant.

However, as a first time visitor to Madeira our expectations were somewhat out of step with reality. For example, we were surprised by the amount of development on the island. The whole of the southern side of the island seems to be covered with buildings. The interior does have expanses of wild areas, but the hiking trails are much busier than we expected. Many of the walks were very narrow tracks where you found yourself in a line behind slower walkers as well as struggling to allow oncoming walkers to pass. The interior of the island, during the two weeks we were there, was shrouded in thick cloud so that we were walking in cold temperatures with thick fog or rain. That is not anyone's fault but it does make the experience less enjoyable. One aspect which could have been improved was the cold temperature in the cottage. We had to wear our coats inside during the evenings. An electric radiator was provided but was not adequate. Logs were also provided to burn in an open fireplace, but the chimney did not draw well and the logs just smouldered filling the cottage with smoke. Another negative from our perspective was that there really was not anywhere to stroll to in an evening, you had to get in the car and drive to one of the local towns. All in all, from our point of view, it is a holiday better suited to later in the season when good weather would be more predictable.

The highlight was Curral das Freiras - a beautiful trip on one of the few sunny days. We also enjoyed the Funchal town walk.

We recommend As Fontes do Horacio in Calheta for a meal - much better than the hotel, and reasonably priced.  Lots of atmosphere.

A friend recommended a restaurant on the route up to Curral das Freiras: Parada das Eucalyptos. Nothing much to look at from the outside, but very popular with locals. The food was rustic - we had a lovely Espetada - but generous portions and very reasonably priced.

It was early in the season but the hotel was poorly prepared for visitors and the staff weren't organised to deal with the customers. The accommodation was good. Food arrangements and service was extremely poor and I wouldn't recommend this to other travelers. The hotel needs to sharpen up on its overall service.

Our favourite walk was No.8, Cabo Girao. Walking on levadas was useful but a long day of that especially when in the forest was slightly tedious so we preferred it when we were out in the open. The views from the top of Pico Rabacal were great, especially when we were the only people up there despite loads of walkers lower down!

Restaurant recommendations: our favourite was 'Manifattura di gelato' in Calheta- it's down over the edge between the road and the marina- hard to spot from the road. Excellent food pasta, pizza etc, friendly welcome, good service, costs ~ E25-30 for meal & drink per person. 

Torch essential if staying in cottage & you are arriving in the dark. It would have helped to have had a map of the properties beforehand.

We loved our 7-day trip with Inntravel - from booking, to payment, to walk and driving directions, restaurant and other recommendations, and especially the wonderful and thoughtful choice of accommodations. We have used many other travel companies throughout Europe over the years, and Inntravel is outstanding. The value is exceptional. We will definitely recommend you to our friends and family and plan to travel with you again!

We had a fabulous week exploring this truly beautiful island. The folder provided made the whole process of planning our days so easy. The accommodation was wonderful - a really peaceful setting.

This was our first holiday to Madeira and we can thoroughly recommend it. The scenery is stunning, the food is excellent and the walks are well chosen and varied. Apart from the popular walks around Rabacal the walks were quiet and we only saw a handful of other walkers all day. 

The owners of the Soajo village houses (Pedro and Rosa) were wonderful and very welcoming.They prepared two delicious meals (although far too much food!) and ample lunch supplies. The meals were also fantastic at the Quintas do Vinhas on Madeira and we loved the outdoor dining location for breakfast and dinner. A very beautiful setting for our cottage close to the pool. All the accommodations were very good. As I mentioned earlier, it's important to have a mini fridge in the rooms to keep our lunch supplies as well as beer and wine(!) One of the places did not have one which I can't remember now. We thought that the restaurant O Lagar in Arcos de Valdevez served extremely large portions which we should have shared. 

Couldn't understand why you don't suggest the Sao Lourenco walk more strongly. For walks 4/5 the ER-211 is now fine. Worth pointing out that if you park there before the top you can make walk 5 virtually level by going through the tunnel. Worth pointing out that instead of two people having packed lunches on three days, you can have one packed lunch between you on each of six days?

The Quinta das Vinhas was an utter delight and our 3 bedroom house was just perfect for our family of 5. The 'kitchenette' is far more than that and had everything we needed to cook some lovely suppers. Madeira is a beautiful island with amazing walking and we were so glad we made time to explore Funchal en route back to the airport. 

The Western Madeira driving tour was very well put together & we saw a lot of highlights & enjoyed it thoroughly. As part of this we walked in Fanal Cloud Forest, which is spectacular once you get into the trees. We did the 25 springs walk & yes, get there early. If you want dinner at Quinta das Vinhas on your first night, book ahead as they buy for the evening after breakfast. It is a varied menu & well cooked. There are many other good places to eat. We walked to the one across the valley, be warned the portions are gigantic. Note that the bank is no longer in Rua do Fio, but there is a rather grand mosiac outside what could have been a bank.

It was a lovely holiday. The hotel was comfortable and friendly and the food was very good. Our favourite walk was number 9 from Pico do Arieiro to Pico Ruivo and back. We were lucky enough to have perfect weather on the day we did that walk. It is very busy but the views are beautiful and the route very well maintained with guard ropes at every point where you might feel exposed without them. We also enjoyed walk 3 around Ponto do Pargo and the one into the Rabacal valley. We also tried a couple of walks from a guide book, one of which uses part of the route from walk 2 from the hotel Jardim Atlantico in Prazeres but then went along the seafront to the far end of Paul do Mar and then up a zig zag path to Faja da Ovehla. From there you can walk up to the Levada Nova and follow that back to Prazeres to pick up the car again. It was about 11.5 miles round trip. Another one was from the top of the Achadas da Cruz telecabin station down to the shore. It's a steep path, a little exposed in places but not too tricky if you take it steadily.

The food at Quinta das Vinhas was excellent and very good value. our Holiday was in late April so we did fine some areas very busy. Parking at Pico Ariero was impossible when we arrived there at about 10 am so we had to start the walk about a kilometre away.

We really enjoyed our first time on Madeira.  Walking into hidden valleys, along the well maintained levadas, was usually easy going and, although there were a few sections where there were steep drops to the edge of the path, vertigo wasn't a problem.  Quinta das Vinhas is situated about an hour's drive west of Funchal and is in a lovely peaceful area.  The walk from Jardim do Mar to Paul do Mar was absolutely fantastic - a pretty steep climb up, but fantastic views and easier going on the descent.  The Ponto do Pargo circuit was wonderful too. We were looking forward to sitting on the pretty terrace at the Casa de Cha after our walk, and sampling their legendary homemade cakes with a cuppa, but they only accept cash - and we'd forgotten to take any with us!  We took a taxi to Raposeira and walked back to the hotel along a 7 mile stretch of the Levada Nova.  It was a delight, especially the section after Prazeres which wound its way around steep ravines through ancient eucalyptus forests with lush flora everywhere - it was magical.

Quinta da Vinha was lovely, in an excellent location. Very quiet and peaceful but it was a pull from the cottage to the restaurant for breakfast! The walks were interesting and varied showing the varying terrain around different levadas and the longer range scenery. We had done the 25 fontes some 20 years ago and as we don't like crowds we stayed away. However we did take the risk on walk 4 which we enjoyed, only meeting two large groups. It was a very good walk for meeting large numbers of Madeiran firecrests which we could almost reach out and touch.

We enjoyed every walk we did. We agree that it is worthwhile starting the Risco Waterfall walk early to arrive before any tour groups.

The setting of Quinta das Vinhas was wonderful, breakfasts and evening meals were great. We enjoyed every walk we did - a great holiday.

We had a wonderful time in this relatively quiet part of Madeira. The accommodation was great, the food was good and the walks were well described and gave us a good feel for the variety of landscapes in Western Madeira. Walking on levadas way above the sea or in forested valleys was a unique experience.

Quinta das Vinhas is a great base for a walking holiday. Working vineyard full of colour and life even in mid February. Accommodation and meals good, with some good options within walking/short drive distance. Walking routes were well detailed. Some of the hills and lanes are very steep. 

We loved the weather and the staff were so friendly and helpful once we'd got over the arrival mess. In December the higher walks were not feasible but the lower ones were lovely if sometimes a look down was unwise ( and we note they lose several walkers every year over the abyss). The Quinta main dining area was closed and all meals in the wine bar which meant a steeper longer climb which we needed to get used to. Food good though and we had the break we needed. I think we'll remember it as the admin holiday as we took hours getting the locator form and online boarding right the day before holiday end. But where else could we get a warm walking holiday in shorts and tee shirt in first week December in a green landscape with friendly people.

We really liked the cottage accommodation (particularly because of Covid) as we could self-cater when we wanted to. Very quiet and secluded. Best walks were 4/5 and 7. There is an excellent newly built path from Pico Rabacal descending to 25 Fontes. The VE3 is now completed as far as Ponta do Pargo.

The Quinta das Vinhas has a stunning situation set among gardens and vines on a steep slope with glorious views over the sea, the staff are helpful and very welcoming.  We had one of the cottages, they are quite simple but clean and comfortable and we loved the combination of eating some of our meals in the hotel and being able to self-cater when we felt like it.  Our experience was that meals are served in the wine bar at the top of the hill, with individual tables rather than a communal one - their selection of DOP Madeirense wines is well worth exploring. The whale watching tours from Calheta with Lobosonda are excellent, good commentaries and stunning views of the island from the sea. Walking routes are clear and easy to follow, and Funchal is just 30 minutes drive away.  We had a brilliant time and would recommend this holiday without hesitation.

Excellent two centre holiday for walking, touring and sightseeing in lovely Madeira.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our Landscapes of Western Madeira holiday with a stay in Funchal.

A perfect spot for a relaxing break. Lovely hotel with friendly staff, excellent breakfasts and evening meals. It's very steep all around the area though, including within the hotel, so a good level of fitness or willingness to drive is essential.

I might (for the fourth time in various locations around the world) have again failed to see any whales, but the morning whale-watching trip was wonderful and we found a large group of bottle-nosed dolphins. Your driving notes were good as always, but of course being on my own this time seriously limits their effectiveness. It seems obvious, but anyone driving alone is far better off using Google Maps and perhaps a note suggesting this might be a good idea?

See earlier comments on the roads and Porto Moniz. I would suggest you add the amazing walk from the top of the cable car at Achadas da Cruz down to the coast. It is bit hair raising as no guard rails, but very rewarding. You can get the cable car back. Also we do have experience of how to work out coronavirus testing in Madeira, which is handled extremely well by the regional government, and made our stay stress free.

We loved all the walks we did.   Walk 3 was probably our favourite and we did it on our last day as the Pharmacy for Covid Testing is in Ponta do Pargo. We did think though that you could start the walk at Pedregal and park on the road there. The first and last bit of the walk on the old road seems unexciting compared with the rest and it adds an awful lot of up and down which you could easily skip. We had a wonderful lunch just off the Levada at the Restaurant mentioned in the notes. It was miracuously open and really good!!!

The Risco waterfall was fabulous - bit bit busy as you suggested but not busy going up to the plateau - but the path was very overgrown.

Best restaurant was without doubt As Fontes do Horacio - we walked there a few times and watched England lose to Italy there - only British in the bar and everyone else was supporting Italy but they were all very friendly and jolly.  

The main highlight was all the amazing agapanthus EVERYWHERE - you call them Nile Lillies in the notes on one walk but they are all over the place. The abundance of semi tropical and jungle plants make you feel like you're in a Disney CGI film. Raiders of the Lost Ark meets an David Attenborough Life on Earth - a feast for the eyes and the ears - bird song and rippling/dripping water and the constant rustle of lizards through the undergrowth - really special.