Funchal

[PeteM]

omicron wrote:

One really cool thing you can do too is drive all the way to the top of Pico do Areeiro – really spectacular! We rented a car, but I am sure there are tours that can take you there too.

Thanks, absolutely – that is one of the hikes we’re looking to do 🙂

[PeteM]

Thanks everyone for your very useful Madeira tips. I thought I’d add my thoughts after a week there.

Flights were very pleasant with BA in row 1 for double TPs. Both sectors had doors closed ready to go 20mins before departure and as most people checked bags there were no overhead bin issues. The outbound crew was significantly more experienced and on top of things than then return one, but the latter did have 11 rows of CE to contend with. I really felt for the inflight lead as a man in row 2 decided to lay into her for 10mins about the limited amounts of champagne available…

Sights
We loved walking around the old town in Funchal, as well as the Monte Palace Gardens and the funicular up to them. We decided to pass on queuing for the tobogan baskets going downhill – with three cruise ships in the port it was very very busy on the day we went. We didn’t visit the main botanical gardens either, but went to the Palheiro ones a bit further out of town.

Eira Do Serrado Viewpoint and the village of Curral das Freiras (in the Nun’s Valley) were worth visiting. Cabo Girão viewpoint was also very cool.

Cascata Do Risco (Risco Waterfall) and 25 Fontes Falls were a great and pretty easy Levada hike, although it confirmed my knees were not up to the hike from Pico do Arieiro to Pico Ruivo, which was a real shame. The Ponta de São Lourenço hike is also excellent and you can return by RIB boat.

Whilst driving around the island we also enjoyed the black sand beach at Seixal, Fanal Forest and the bathing in the rock pools at Porto Moniz (the free ones are the nicest, despite the lack of facilities). We stopped at the Achadas da Cruz cable car (insanely steep!), but gave up on the long queues to get on. We stopped often to just admire the scenery on our drives.

Accommodation
The Airbnb we had booked well over 3months in advance cancelled on us 48hrs before arrival. Apparently they had a water leak, but pretty sure they simply rented the flat to someone for more money on a different platform.

We landed with no accommodation booked (a first for me!), but managed to get an amazing villa whilst still at the airport (https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/29172143). After a lot of fighting with Airbnb I got them to pay the nearly £1k difference! If planning to go with a larger group this would be excellent value per room.

Food
Based on recommendations here we went to the following places in Funchal and rank them as follows:

Akua and Kampo (hands down our favourites in every way)
Casal da Penha (more traditional, but delicious)
Casa das Espetadas (really good value for money, very touristy)
Terra (more style over substance, very expensive for what it ultimately is)
Chalet Vicente (we found the food mediocre, service slow and very focused on the up-sell)

Driving
We got a sporty Ford Focus from Budget via BAH. Pre-checking in online meant the pick up took about 3mins. The Focus worked great for four adults and up and down the very steep hills. Driving was easy and the roads in superb condition. I have never been anywhere with more tunnels, which make moving around the island pretty seamless.

Overall Madeira majorly exceeded my expectations. Everyone we met was lovely and spoke English. It’s an incredibly beautiful island with so many varied landscapes and natural features it’s difficult to fathom. The weather was kind to us – around 20C during the day, dropping to about 14C overnight and zero rain. A sweater was useful for the higher-altitude locations we visited. We were able to use our villa’s pool most afternoons. It was also super safe and excellent value. I probably wouldn’t be rushing back any time soon, but will definitely return at some point.

[Man of Kent]

We’re just back from a few days in Funchal, Madeira so I thought I would update this thread with our trip report.

We were on the 8.10am BA departure from Gatwick so stayed the previous night in the Hilton that is attached to the South Terminal. We had left Norfolk a couple of days before our flight so we could see some friends in Kent and to attend an appointment, we stayed with my mother in law which has the advantage of making me look forward to a night at the airport Hilton – ha only kidding!! We parked in the Premium Short Stay car park which I appreciate is not the cheapest but for us it’s the convenience that counts. Being able to walk from the car to the Hilton and then to the check-in the next morning and only having to use the lift to go up or down one floor is ideal for us. The Premium Short Stay has much wider bays and is undercover if you have concerns about your car.

The Hilton was ideal for the one night, I am Gold and we were upgraded from a base Double Room to a King Deluxe which was available to select when checking-in on the app. We had dinner in the Garden Restaurant in the hotel which was fine, it’s not going to win any fine dining awards but it does the job. It’s been a while since we’ve stayed at the Gatwick Hilton and I noticed they have a Japanese Steakhouse there which I don’t recall from our previous visit. We didn’t have breakfast there on this occasion as we had an early flight.

We were on an Avios redemption travelling in Club Europe, Club check-in had desks available and with Fast-Track Security also being quiet we were in the lounge pretty quickly particularly after having read on HfP about turning left immediately after security before you go down the escalator to duty free. The Club Lounge was reasonably quiet and a peaceful place to have a quick bite to eat and a coffee. I’d had an email from BA a few days previously apologising for work being done in the lounge but I didn’t see anything still going on but I did notice a staffed bar on the left as you go in which I don’t recall seeing previously.

The flight was on time and everything went well, there were 8 rows of CE and the cabin was full – we didn’t leave much time to spare so don’t know how boarding was handled although we departed form a gate without a jet bridge so having to step outside and walk to the aircraft was a bit of a shock – it was about 1c and they were de-icing aircraft around us. I had the British breakfast on the flight which I felt was better than some of the breakfasts you are offered in Club World. We arrived in Funchal on time, immigration was very quick and priority baggage worked so we were on our way promptly, we had arranged with our hotel for a taxi to meet us so had no issues.

We stayed for 5 nights at The Castanheiro Boutique Hotel in an old part of the city very near the Cathedral. We had a Junior Suite booked for cash which included breakfast, the room was lovely with a separate good-sized seating area. The room had 2 full height doors leading out on to small balconies – the temperature was about 19c so it was nice to have the doors open to let some air through, there was no traffic noise either. The hotel has about 80 rooms with a restaurant (Tipografia) that is open all day, a bar and a small lap pool, hot tub and snack bar on the roof. There is a gym and a spa too.

Breakfast was very good with a wide selection of buffet items and some items that were cooked to order. The staff were very attentive with plates being cleared away very quickly and the buffet constantly being replenished.

We ate in Tipografia a couple of times, the menu is Mediterranean and the food was pretty good. Thanks to mentions on HfP, we also ate at Akua (seafood) and Kampo (meat) which were both excellent. On Thursdays the hotel also had a Tapas buffet and Jazz music evening which was very pleasant. As our Christmas present to ourselves we had Afternoon Tea at Reid’s Palace Hotel which was delightful, there is currently some remodelling work being done so tea was served in the Cipriani Restaurant rather than on the terrace but you still had beautiful views out to sea.

This was our first visit to the island so spent all our time exploring Funchal and close-by. We took the cable car up to Monte Palace which has a huge garden to walk around (this is where you can do the basket sledging which we passed on due to the queues) and we also got a separate cable car from Monte to the Botanical Garden which is great if you are interested in plants and botany as everything is clearly labelled. We also caught the hop-on hop-off bus one day (the ticket lasts for 48 hours) so visited Pico Dos Barcelos for great views over the city and Câmara de Lobos, a small fishing village west of Funchal. With our hotel being central we were also able to explore the Cathedral, the Mercado dos Lavradores and some small museums all on foot. There is also a small museum in Funchal honouring the shy Madeiran wallflower Cristiano Ronaldo.

We would certainly stay at The Castanheiro again and also revisit the restaurants as we enjoyed them all. There is so much more of the island to see so it is on our list to return in the future.

Funchal airport is only about 30 minutes from the city and BA use the ANA lounge which is on the top floor with one wall of glass overlooking the sea. There were only about a dozen people in there and they have a small selection of snacks, wine, beer and soft drinks. Our return evening flight to Gatwick all went fine although even with only seven passengers in the Club cabin BA managed to have only one chicken dish left when they got to us being served fourth and fifth. I wasn’t keen on the Butternut Squash Ravioli so went for the Ploughman’s instead – not sure why BA are serving a main meal salad in the middle of the English Winter. It was okay but you end up with the same cheese and chutney in the meal as is on the accompanying cheese plate.

We flew back to Gatwick on Friday when Storm Éowyn was making its way across the UK so I had one eye on my phone all morning for any notifications but Gatwick and the South of England managed to avoid the worst of the weather and we landed almost 45 minutes early thanks to a strong tail wind. So much so we then had to wait about 15 minutes for the steps and to be let into the terminal. Immigration had no queues and our case was on the belt when we got there.

As it was about 9pm we had booked to stay at the Gatwick Hilton again. I had the same upgrade as previously and opted to have breakfast there the next morning. I thought the breakfast was above average for an airport hotel with an omelette station available if you wanted one made to order.

A lovely trip all round and let me know if you have any questions.

Happy Travels.

[Jill Kinkell]

Thanks @manofkent . I think Madeira is lovely for a short break. Went twice recently (Nov23 and May 24) at different times to see the gardens. May was flower festival time and it was such a delight. The climate was just right for us, not having to think about should I take a cardi/ coat/ brolly etc. we did a few organised tours , and also guided Levada walks. We had a fabulous day of weather and scenery walking from 3rd highest peak to Highest peak.
Both times we flew via LHR so it was with some disappointment to see the BA flight is now Gatwick- far less convenient for us in the regions!
I would definitely go again and probably car hire next time.

[LD27]

@Man of Kent – your updated trip report is really helpful. Sounds like you had a good trip. A friend and I are flying to Madeira very soon at the start of an island hopping tour via the Canaries and mainland Spain, to the Balearics, from where we fly home. Surprisingly, neither of us has been to any of these islands. I’m flying from LGW which I know very well and can get a lift to or bus there, but my friend lives just north of Manchester, so LGW is a bit of a pain. I haven’t flown from LGW since last summer and didn’t make it to the lounge on that occasion as I had issues with my ticket and only just made the flight as the gate was closing. It will be interesting to see what improvements have been made. I’ve always felt it superior to the Galleries lounges at LHR.

[Misty]

@Man-of-Kent

Really enjoyed reading your trip report. We visited last year for the first time and are going back in the Spring. Last year it was Heathrow but they seem to have moved the flights to Gatwick, which is an extra 30 mins for us so we will probably spend the night before in an hotel. We are going back to the Quinta Jardins de Lago, which is also a small hotel but will keep The Castanheiro in mind for any further visits. We may eventually hire a car for a few days as various taxi drivers told us that to fully experience Madeira it’s good to explore the north of the Island.

Tea at Reid’s sounds like a good shout, we only went for a week and there wasn’t enough time to do all that we wanted to and have a holiday at the same time.

[Man of Kent]

Thanks @Misty. We live in Norfolk so it doesn’t make too much difference whether we go from Gatwick or Heathrow but we usually try to incorporate it as part of the holiday so as not to make it a chore getting to the airport – fortunately we are time rich now.

I’d recommend booking ahead if you are planning to go to Reid’s. I understand there is a carnival in spring and the flower festival is in May so you may be lucky enough to catch some of that.