Landscapes of Western Madeira

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.

This holiday was particularly appreciated because it managed to survive the decimated 2020 travel season. Everything about the arrangements was well-planned and efficient. We stayed in one of the hotel's casinhas and it was perfect for us: from preparing a dehydrated camping dinner on the night of our arrival whilst we waited for our Covid test results, to the space, the well-appointed and comfortable rooms, and the outside seating area for catching the last of the day's sun. The hill to breakfast is undoubtedly a drawback but we measured our fitness progress by our ability to greet people when we arrived at the top!

Breakfast - outside on the terrace - and dinner were very good, and the picnics were generous. All the dinners were served in the wine bar and the service was charming. We agree with the recommendations of others for restaurants: Olhar do Campo in Prazeres (Chico's was sadly closed), Onda Azul in Calheta and we also had a very educational (who knew espedata preta lived 1200m down in the sea and come up at night to be caught?) and excellent dinner over the road in Calheta at Beira Mar.

Highlights for us were the Sao Laurenco peninsula in glorious sunshine and the mountains at Arieirro and Encumeada at sunset. They appeared above the clouds, after days of enveloping mist and really lifted our spirits. We also really appreciated the warm and friendly welcome we received wherever we went.

Another excellent holiday with Inntravel. WALK 4 very enjoyable, though we must have missed the correct path somewhere after the crossing the river at 4km. We must have followed a different path through the woods, up onto the plateau. There was some scrambling and we arrived at the plateau much further East, than the notes suggest. However, we rejoined the route up onto Pico Rabacal, where the views were worth the climb. There now is a large circular dam just 500m Northwest of Urze (Close to the spot height 1345 on the map). This is behind the hill, close to Jungle Rain and is easily now the most prominent land mark visible from the plateau. As the views were so good, we decided to make our own way back to the car following tracks and the old road which takes you past Jungle Rain, where we stopped for a drink, and then followed the ER105 back to the carpark. WALK 3 This area has recently had a forest fire but is still very beautiful and the paths are clear of fallen trees. FONTES DO HORACIO was closed for refurbishment end of February. Our favourite restaurant was CHICO in Prazeres, which has a range of prices. It also has a cafe open in the village during the day. Funchal Carnival was great fun and thank you Inntravel for the directions to the car park in Funchal.

We thoroughly recommend it.

We enjoyed the range of walks and contrasting landscapes from dense forest to beautiful coastline and rugged cliffs.

Being above the clouds on the Serra de Paul plateau towards the end of day was visually stunning, and the descent to Prazeres at sunset gave wonderful lighting effects. We'd recommend the walk to the eastern end of the island as a good day out with great sea and geological views, without the vertigo factor of some other itineraries.

As usual, our holiday lived up to expectation. The accommodation was good and the walks interesting and varied.

No hesitation in recommending Inntravel.

Quinta is a lovely place to stay. Staff very friendly and helpful. Ground floor room was lovely. Right next to small swimming pool which was very quiet. Lovely gardens and views. New restaurant at the top of the grounds was lovely - great views and first-class food. Nice quiet area of Madeira and lovely quiet walks (especially in Feb). One local restaurant was closed (in Prazeres) and hotel restaurant in Jardim do Mar was a bit soulless but food fine.

The setting of the Quinta in the landscape was just beautiful. The western part of the island was breathtaking and we would consider another visit to be able to explore the remainder of the island quite soon.

This was a last minute booking but turned out to be an excellent break in all respects.

The accommodation was comfortable and all the staff friendly and helpful.

We enjoyed breakfasts in the farm kitchen or the garden and most nights ate in the restaurant.

The food was varied and delicious with lovely local wines.

We would love to visit again - the Quinta is a very special gem!

This was a delightful hotel, full of charm and character with stunning views over the gardens, vineyards and Atlantic Ocean. We had 4 dinners at the hotel and all were excellent. We also ate at Fontes do Horacio where we can recommend the paella but not the footpath to get there: we retreated from the lively bull in the field figuring that it might well be stronger than its tether! We also ate delicious shrimps and traditional bread one lunchtime at Bar dos Pescadores on the quayside in Paul do Mar and had a good dinner at New Era in Calheta.

We tried 5 of the selected walks which were varied and interesting. We stuck mostly to the sunny south of the island. The highlight was the steep cliff climb up from Jardim, down into Paul for lunch and a swim, then boulder hopping back along the beach at low tide. This was our first trip to Madeira and we will definitely return. Even in November the air and sea are still pleasantly warm and the flowers beautiful.

Fantastic place. Really felt I was on holiday. Everything was taken care of. The owner and other staff were extremely helpful with any questions we had. 

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!