While the rest of the world is closing its doors to visitors, one small island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean has declared itself open for business.
What’s more, the autonomous Portuguese Island archipelago of Madeira has just been awarded Europe’s Leading Island Destination for 2020 at the World Travel Awards. Maybe now is the right time to think about visiting Madeira.
This delightful island offers a chance to enjoy some well-deserved winter sunshine and is a haven to ride out the COVID-19 storm. You can check the last covid recommendations for Madeira here.
As an archipelago, the islands were spawned by volcanic activity over 60 million years ago almost 500km west of Morocco and the coast of North Africa. The island of Madeira, and its near neighbour Porto Santo, have long-since transformed from their fiery beginnings to become warm and welcoming holiday destinations.
With year-round sunshine, modern 5-star hotels, fine dining, cosy back-street bars, sandy beaches, amazing golf courses, friendly locals, and stunningly rugged landscapes Madeira ticks all the boxes. Find a flight and the right accommodation with Eddy Travels and have the best Madeira travel experience that you need.
Madeira - a botanical garden always in bloom
It’s the rich volcanic soils, the abundance of freshwater - dumped high in the mountains - and the almost constant temperature of 22 degrees which has formed Madeira’s character. Temperatures rarely drop below 20 degrees, or above 25 degrees, making it both pleasant and comfortable all year round.
From Santa Cruz in the east to Porto Moniz in the west, the one thing that those who choose to holiday in Madeira notice immediately is the abundance of greenery.
Long ago, Portuguese explorers, and other trans-Atlantic visitors, realised the island’s importance as a location for growing valuable crops. The result of this realisation is an island blooming the whole year-round with a wide selection of fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Those very explorers, on route home from Brazil and South America, introduced varieties of exotic plants never before seen in these parts.
The exotic tastes of Madeira
On Madeira, outside of the capital Funchal, it is almost impossible to travel more than a kilometre or two without encountering yet another banana or fruit plantation.
Food plays a major part in the lives of all Portuguese, and Madeira is no exception. Together with the vast abundance of fruits, such as mangoes, papayas, guava, avocado, passion fruit, and other exotics, seafood also plays an important role in the local cuisine.
The delicious, but frighteningly ugly scabbard fish is a must-try for all visitors to the island. Usually served with fried bananas, the scabbard fish, or espada is a local delicacy served up in all quality restaurants and is a taste not to be missed.
It’s almost impossible to visit Madeira without a visit to the Mercado dos Lavradores, situated in the quaint and historic centre of Santa Maria in the Old Town of Funchal. The Mercado dos Lavradores is a traditional fruit, vegetable, and flower market where your senses will be pleasantly assaulted by sight, smell, and sound.
There is also a fish market situated on the lower floor where you'll find an assortment of strange and unusual sea creatures, harvested from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean.
It’s worth noting that the Mercado works from Monday to Friday from 07:00 to 20:00 and on Saturdays from 07:00 to 14:00. Be sure to follow the local COVID-19 rules and regulations wherever you visit.
Madeira hiking routes
An unexpected by-product of Madeira’s agriculture is the complex irrigation system which was created across the island to nourish the abundant crops. The Madeirans constructed a system of small terraced canals, called levadas, which criss-cross the island and have become a highlight of Madeiran tourism with walkers, hikers, and nature lovers.
Fed by the plentiful mountain rains and mineral-rich springs, the canal network is constantly maintained and cleared of vegetation by workers called levadeiros. It is with much thanks to these levadeiros that Madeira levada walks and Madeira walking holidays have become hugely popular with visitors of all abilities, most especially during these times of social distancing.
Madeira mountain biking is also another hugely popular outdoor activity on the islands. The rugged terrain of the mountains and coastal routes ensures the views are never boring and the landscape is forever changing.
Another fun Madeira experience is to take the Funchal cable car to the village of Monte. The views from the cradle of the cable car are simply spectacular, but it's the ride back down again that makes the whole experience truly memorable.
Tourists are invited to relive an age-old tradition and mode of transport by being transported down the island’s steep hills in a wicker basket ‘toboggan’. The laundry-basket shaped ‘toboggan’ is mounted on wooden runners and is steered expertly down the slopes by two men dressed in white suits and wearing straw boaters. It is an experience that is unique to the island of Madeira. Be sure to wear a mask and follow any local health and safety regulations which are in place.
If you have a head for heights, follow the road past the picturesque village of Câmara de Lobos (the one time home of Sir Winston Churchill), towards the cliff-top at Cabo Girão. With sheer vertical drops of up to 580m the cliffs are some of the highest in the world.
If that’s not enough excitement for you, perhaps a stroll on the glass-floored skywalk which extends out over the edge of the cliffs will test your nerve to its limits.
Follow this heart-racing experience with a drive across the island’s interior towards the north coast. Leaving the town of Ribeira Brava behind you, take the winding road upwards through the church spire peaks and across the Paúl de Serra plateau.
While down below the Madeira beaches may be basking in brilliant sunshine, the Paúl de Serra plateau can often be enveloped in the mist and fog of a passing Atlantic weather front. If you happen to be lucky and arrive on a cloudless day the views will be worth the effort of getting there.
A world of wonderful Madeira activities
The island of Madeira, and it’s inhabited sister island of Porto Santo are perfect destinations for lovers of both relaxation and adventure. Along with sampling the local cuisine and the famed Madeira wine, the islands are home to a vast range of year-round activities and adventures.
Year after year guests return to Madeira to experience and enjoy the seemingly endless host of activities on offer. The annual flower festival, a lavish pre-lenten carnival spectacular, incredible opportunities for scuba diving, dolphin and whale watching, relaxing beaches, coves, and quaint fishing villages, balmy evenings spent on the terrace of some delightful Madeira hotel or restaurant, wild untamed nature, spectacular panoramas, peace and tranquillity, and so much more.
At a time when all of us feel like we need a break from the current global situation, Madeira may just be the medicine you need. Eddy Travels can help you find the best flight and hotel options, it even gives you the possibility to search for hotels which have been thoroughly disinfected. That’s a lot of peace of mind.
Don’t you deserve a break? We think you do, so what are you waiting for?
Visit Madeira Safe to Discover website for more travel recommendations. Also, get more information about visiting Mercado dos Lavradores here. Fancy to take a cable car ride in Funchal? Click here to find out more.