Tips for travelling around the island of Madeira

Hi there,

We are flying to Madeira in just couple of hours from now, and would love to hear if any of you has already visited this beautiful island.

Of course, we would love to see as much as possible, but also relax a bit in nice settings - so if you have any tips&tricks on finding cheap accommodation, transportation it would be great to hear them!!!

Thanks in advance!!!

Wow, not one post here... Is it really true that only old folks go to Madeira? I am trying to decide between there, Sardegna, Açores, ... anywhere where there aren't many Brits nor Germans.

I speak fairly fluent Italian and Spanish, can get by in Portuguese. Looking for places to go for some sun, that I would not visit all the way from home (California). tips?? Oh, and must be fairly child friendly; we have a very energetic 3 year old son. obrigada!

Doesn't sound like Madeira's what you're looking for then...full of Brits and Germans and plenty of oldies too. The Germans go for the walking (Levadas). Great island if you like flora & fauna too. No beaches though (mostly cliffs). There's only a tiny beach at the harbour in Funchal. All hotels have pools though. You'd be better heading for the canary islands if you want sun and child friendly places.

Madeira is a really a beautiful island, but definitely not what are you looking for if you want to avoid Brits and Germans ;)

We went there at the end of September, and it was pretty windy, and a bit cold - I went swimming just 1-2 times during our two week vacation.

We went around the island (well, half of it), and the place that I really enjoyed was Porto Moniz, where we stayed about 7 days instead of the one we planned to ;)
Loved it - a lot of wind, rocks, magnificent sunsets and great dining...Let me see, there are some photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alegria275/se...57603923973481/

The only beach on the island I heard of was Calleta beach, which turned out to be rather disappointing. There is however a beautiful beach island near Madeira, called Porto Santo where Columbus lived for some time. The only disadvantage is that it costed about 100 eur/person to get there from Funchal, and the hotels were pretty expensive (e.g. 200eur+ /night).

The island features magnificent tracking paths, wonderful nature - we've seen eagles near Porto Moniz, and there are absolutely beautiful flowers everywhere, and awesome seafood. Porto Moniz should be great in July, but if you're looking for the beaches and the but beautiful nature too, I can definitely recommend the Adriatic coast - e.g. the island of Brach.

If you decide to go to Madeira, just send me a PM, and I'll give you some more tips :)

>Is it really true that only old folks go to Madeira?
mostly.

thanks for all the tips, very much appreciated! Isle of Brac looks great! Although I'm always a happier tourist where I can speak the language, at least somewhat.

Which of the Canary islands is the "least touristic"? Yes, we have found Spaniards to be very child friendly - we went to Catalunya last year for a few weeks. Italians too - we took our son there the year before that.

We typically like to stay on converted farms... more of an "at home" feeling than a hotel. Plus, the food is usually phenomenal.

Well, back to my search. I have a few more places to check out now, thanks!