Madeira has often been considered a destination for adventure-seekers and typically older, more seasoned travellers, but we’re here to show you that it’s made for everyone! Think epic walking routes, an idyllic old town among all the villages, and some totally divine dining options too. Lisa, our Creative & Campaigns Manager, has shared the lowdown on her experience there...

1. Where’s the best place to see the sunset?

“We stumbled upon a gorgeous little pavement bar called Barreirinha Bar Café entirely by accident when exploring the city and old town on our first day. It was fairly cheap and cheerful, but with incredible views of the ocean. It became a regular haunt while we were there!”

2. Where’s the best place to drink in the views?

“A must-do (if you can handle heights!) is getting the cable car from Funchal up to Monte. You climb up above the city of Funchal, which becomes this tapestry of terracotta punctuated by greenery. Once at the top, there's a little café where you can grab a coffee and soak in the views.”

3. Where’s the best place to take a stroll?

“Madeira is also famous for its levadas – a system of aqueducts criss-crossing the mountains originally created to transport water, that have become popular walking trails in Madeira. We heard they can get pretty busy, so we chose to just do one while we're there – levada dos tornos. This was a short walk from the cable car stop near Monte – super-accessible and surprisingly not that busy, with the chance to see some lovely vistas of Funchal from above.”

4. What’s the most Instagrammable experience?

“For 10/10 Instagram content, I'd definitely recommend doing a hike. Madeira is a mountainous island – often referred to as the ‘Hawaii of Europe’, making it a playground for adventurers and hardcore hikers. We're pretty fit and active, but by no means seasoned hikers, so we decided to hire a private guide we'd seen recommended by someone we follow on Instagram – and it was honestly the highlight of our holiday.

We hiked for a morning in the northeastern part of the island, starting and finishing at the beautiful Calhau de São Jorge. Our guide was a Madeiran local and designed a hike for us fusing different trails across coastline, hillside, sub-tropical forests and ancient roads. It was 14km and 800m elevation in total – definitely a trek but so rewarding and the views were epic.

The highlights were walking through beautiful farmers' fields on the steep cliffs hugging the Atlantic coastline, spying monstera plants growing out of the cliffside, and finishing our descent on Caminho Real 23. It’s one of the royal roads commissioned by the King of Portugal in the 19th century to transport people and goods across the island.”

5. Where’s the best place for laidback vibes?

“We loved Funchal's old town – Zona Velha do Funchal. It's only small, but it's a gorgeous place to leisurely wander and snap pics. We're talking cobbled streets, quaint old buildings, street art and plenty of pavement café and bars for a vinho verde pit-stop. Our favourite street was Rua de Santa Maris, where there are loads of painted doors as part of the Funchal Painted Doors Project.”

6. Where’s the best place for cocktails?

“We really lucked out with our hotel – Next at Savoy Signature. It was in a stunning spot within walking distance of Funchal, right by the ocean. And it had an incredible rooftop bar called the Cloud Bar which was perfect for sundowner cocktails.”

7. Where’s the best place to go shopping?

“There are a few shopping centres, as well as streets around Funchal that are filled with local shops. So it just depends on whether you’re after the usual high-street chain stores (like at the mall, MadeiraShopping), or the humble Madeiran boutiques.”

8. Where’s the coolest beach?

"We aren’t typically the beachy types – we’re more into getting out and about. But of the seafront stretches we did see, they were all black pebbles or sand, which made a very cool change!”

9. Where’s the best place to experience local tradition?

“Madeira is famous for quite an unusual tradition – the Carreiros do Monte, aka the Monte toboggan sledge. The sledge in question is a wicker basket mounted on two wooden runners, pushed down the steep roads leading to Funchal by two sledge drivers known as carreiros. Originally a way for locals to get quickly down to Funchal from the hillside village of Monte, it has become this famous tourist attraction. We didn't actually do it, but we couldn't resist taking a peek, so we got a cable car up to the top and then watched people going down. It looked very fun!”

10. Where’s the best place to dine?

“We had SUCH a good week of eating! We're both vegan, so we were on a mission to find Funchal's best plant-based spots – and it really didn't disappoint.

Mundo Vegan was incredible. It was fully plant-based, with vegan takes on traditional Madeiran classics like bolo de caco (Madeiran garlic bread). The homemade desserts were also incredible – don't sleep on the Snickers cake!

For poolside vibes, it was all about Recharge Bar. We were lucky that our hotel had a fabulous restaurant with a full vegan menu inspired by Hawaii. We ate there several times throughout our trip – we loved the vegan club sandwich and bao buns. So good!”

11. What's Madeira like for live music?

“There are actually a lot of bars laying on live music in Madeira – mostly in Funchal. That means you’re in for evenings filled with the sounds of all sorts of different genres. Although we didn’t catch one, there are also opera concerts laid on throughout the calendar!”

12. Where can you find something quirky to do?

“Porto Moniz. We didn’t get the chance to go ourselves in the end, but we’d been told about the natural swimming platforms there – they look like tiered rock pools. A bit different for a dip!”

13. Where’s the best place to grab a souvenir?

“For us, photos were our kind of souvenirs. The best ones we took were around Funchal or during our hike – just magical.”

14. Where’s the best place for fine Madeiran dining?

“Il Gallo D'oro was very fancy, but worth it for a very special treat. It's the two-Michelin-starred restaurant located at our Indulgent Escapes hotel, The Cliff Bay. They were able to create a vegan tasting menu for us, which was the most colourful and creative celebration of vegetables grown in the Porto Bay vegetable garden. Incredible.”

15. Where’s the best place to play golf?

“Neither of us actually play golf, but we heard very good things while there about Santo da Serra Golf Club.”

16. What are the best sights to tick off?

“Definitely at least one levada, like I mentioned, would be a must. And of course, Funchal’s old town is another top sight. But there’s also the cathedral and various art museums and galleries scattered about centrally too.”

17. What are the best sports and activities to try?

“The Atlantic waves make Madeira a really sought-after surfing destination in Europe. We didn’t hit the water ourselves, but we saw people take boards out and try their luck. Such impressive stuff!”

18. Where’s the best place to try the local drink?

“One of the famous local drinks in Madeira is poncha – it’s an alcoholic tipple made with rum, sugar and citrus juice. There are different versions with honey and various fruit juices as well, but we tried the 'Fisherman's'. Apparently, that’s the original – created by fisherman to keep them warm on a cold night. Very strong, but surprisingly delicious.

We supped a couple of those at a really cute traditional bar called Mercearia de Mecia – another happy accident. It had a tucked-away courtyard where you could savour your poncha.”

19. Where’s the best place for a day trip?

“Santana is one of the Madeiran places that people know from travel mag photos – it's got the diddy houses with the thatched roofs. Often in reds, whites and light blues. A lot of people were heading there for day trips during our holiday.”

20. Where’s the best place to dine harbourside?

“Sushi di Gavinas provided lunch with a view. We found it using an app that helps you locate vegan-friendly spots when you're travelling. It was in the cutest location overlooking the ocean, with delicious, fresh sushi and tempura vegetables – washed down by a glass of fizz, of course.”