Living the Soul of Madeira: Once-in-a-Lifetime Holidays

When visitors travel to Madeira for the first time, they may expect a sunny island full of beautiful things to see, but in fact Madeira is so much more than that. This unique place is breath taking. Check the reasons why Madeira Island is one of a kind.

The People

Kind and generous, just like every Portuguese person, the people in Madeira know how to welcome everyone in a very special way. Used to receiving visitors on their island, the madeirenses have a long and powerful background on how to host.

When in Madeira, don’t worry about the language, just learn a few basic words like olá (hello) or bom dia (good morning). Showing them that you care and know a little bit of their language will make them smile. Anyways, people in Madeira will always help their tourists using the English language.

The food

This is probably the most interesting thing. How can such a small island have such an interesting and luxurious gastronomy?

That’s not difficult to answer. In fact, as Madeira is surrounded by water and benefits from good weather all year, it is also an exotic island. The fruit is tasty, the main dishes are flavourful, and they even have their own alcoholic drink that you can’t leave without trying. Some of their must-tries are:

• The Espetada: made with beef cubes and easy to find in restaurants;
• Limpets: a delicious specialty cooked in a frying pan that go well with a cold beer;
• Prego em Bolo do Caco: made with steak and a traditional kind of bread (bolo do caco);
• Cozido: an intense and comforting dish, a stew made with pork, sausages and vegetables;
• Octopus: being in the middle of the Atlantic ocean has these perks - a delicious octopus very easy to find in restaurants;
• Poncha: an alcoholic drink made with cane brandy, honey, lemon and sugar.

These are only some examples, but Madeira has got a lot more and it is not difficult to really enjoy any of these dishes or drinks.

The most beautiful landscapes

Famous for having very beautiful landscapes, Madeira is always a surprise for the eyes. It doesn’t really matter if you have already seen any of the pictures online, because once you actually get there, you will be amazed by its sumptuous landscapes.

Some of the most popular and that you can’t really miss are Pico Ruivo (the highest peak of the archipelago); Cabo Girão; Paul da Serra; and the impressive Laurissilva Forest, which was UNESCO classified as a World Heritage Site in 1999.

The perfect weather conditions provide dense vegetation that covers the island with wonderful colours. Besides, the island is home for some impressive birds like the red-legged partridge, the madeira chaffinch or the western barn owl. Perfect for bird watching, Madeira has obviously a lot more to explore.

The traditions

The traditions do give more personality to the island and here people really make an effort to transform these special occasions into something amazing.

• New Year’s Eve: Madeira becomes especially interesting during New Year’s Eve. In fact, this is when the island receives a lot of tourists because they want to see the amazing fireworks and how people celebrate it;
• Carnival: another great event is the Carnival taking place in the capital, Funchal;
• The Flower Festival: it happens during May and it attracts visitors from all over the world, who come to see the beautiful carpets of colourful flowers in the most important streets of Funchal.

A special tour

Our Madeira Island Tour is a nice way of spending your holidays in Madeira. As we do care about our visitors and are fully interested in giving you nothing but the best, with this 6-day tour, you will be able to:

• Start by visiting Funchal and its most famous arteries and spots;
• Visit the west side of the island and check some natural beauties like Porto Moniz, Câmara de Lobos, Cabo Girão, among others;
• Visit the east side full of grandiose mountains and valleys;
• See the hidden corners of Madeira with a spectacular views from Pico dos Barcelos;
• And, of course, you couldn’t leave the island without trying some of the delicious dishes.

It is practically impossible to explain how beautiful the archipelago is, but once you visit Madeira Island, you will definitely understand why this is the so-called ‘pearl of the Atlantic’. Madeira has a strong culture and diverse gastronomy that go beautifully with its dense vegetation. For these reasons and more, make sure you spend some days on the island.