This was a lovely holiday and great to walk the levadas and mountains of Madeira. Sublime breakfast spot.

We really enjoyed the atmosphere and setting of Quinta das Vinhas, their staff were very friendly and helpful too.

An enjoyable holiday. If walking is your key plan, February may not be the best month due to weather conditions in the hills.

The location of the quinta was wonderful. To eat the superb breakfast (an array of fresh bread and fresh fruit ) sitting outside every morning was a real treat. The local shop was amazing. We loved Porto Moniz: swimming in the natural pools. Followed by lunch at restaurant Conchinha....very good.

At the start of the walk from Ponta do Pargo we parked outside Gato Legal Coffee Roastery: highly recommend the coffee there.

Lovely hotel, wide range of walks in spectacular scenery, some of the steepest roads I have ever driven on, and certainly the most tunnels - 29 in the 40km drive between the airport and the hotel. An exciting place with a very friendly local welcome, not always the case in tourism hotspots. But it is also possible to get away from the crowds on many of the less popular walks. Quite tired by the end of the week.....

The walk along the levada to Cabo Girao, although semi urban, was very interesting in that we got to see how local people live and and how they grow their crops on the steep slopes. The walk along the Levada do Alecrim to Pico Rabacal was good and a bit quieter than the walk to the waterfalls.

It got very busy at all the popular tourist spots, even in December,  so advise anyone to make the effort to get there early. 

Worth checking that walks are open before setting off.

Its a great walking destination. Can recommend the accomm too - they maybe need a bit of feedback on some minor issues.

We would have done more research on walking routes beforehand if we had known the guided routes werent up to date. It really wouldnt take much effort to sort this out.

The walking tour of Funchal works well and the rum distillery is a good visit. The landscape is recovering well from fires and I wouldnt let this put you off walks in the West

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.