An easy, family-friendly week exploring Madeira’s levadas, coastal cliffs and laurel forests, finishing with a boat trip to see whales and dolphins off the south coast.
8 Days / 7 Nights
Easy
Madeira, Portugal
Year-round
Roughly 7 to 12 km per walking day
€1,199 per person
Madeira has been voted Europe’s best island destination multiple times by the World Travel Awards, and it’s easy to see why. This comfortable week-long walking holiday stays in three well-located hotels across different parts of the island, with daily private transfers to some of the best hiking trails and sights Madeira has to offer.
The island emerged from a volcanic hot spot 8 million years ago and was once covered by primitive forest, Madeira means “wood” in Portuguese. Generations of terracing and a 2,000-mile network of irrigation canals, known as levadas, opened the steep hillsides to cultivation. The route follows these levadas and panoramic coastal paths, through traditional villages, terraces, gorges, waterfalls and forests, with a free day in Funchal and a whale and dolphin watching trip off the south coast to finish.
Accommodation: Very comfortable 3-star and 4-star hotels, all rooms en-suite. Standard accommodation:
Additional nights can be booked at any of the hotels along the way. During the Christmas period, many hotels in Funchal require a minimum stay of 4 to 7 nights, so alternative accommodation may be booked instead, with possible price and itinerary changes.
Availability: Starts any day of the week, year-round, subject to availability.
Difficulty: Graded easy overall, with walks of 2 to 4 hours and average ascents or descents of 100 to 400m. Minimum of 2 people per booking.
A taxi transfer leads to the village of Santana on the north coast, known for its traditional thatched houses.
Overnight: Santana
Distance: 12 km, Ascent: 320 m, Descent: 320 m, Walking time: around 3 hrs A transfer starts one of Madeira's most spectacular levada hikes, entering the laurisilva, remnants of humid subtropical laurel forest, through tunnels and cliffside passageways to the "Green Cauldron," Caldeirao Verde, where an 80m waterfall plunges into an emerald pool.
Overnight: Santana
Distance: 7 km, Ascent: 400 m, Descent: 400 m, Walking time: around 3 hrs Some of Madeira's finest cliff scenery, on the eastern peninsula of Sao Lourenco, where a semi-arid climate and basalt cliffs carved by wind and waves create a landscape quite different from the rest of the island, with unique flora and fauna in this nature reserve. A transfer continues to Funchal for the next two nights.
Overnight: Funchal
A day to explore Funchal, a city built like an amphitheatre around the bay, with paved streets, colourful gardens and coastal walkways. Optional activities include the cable car to Monte Palace Tropical Gardens, a traditional wicker sledge ride back down to the city, or a gourmet guided walk through the historic centre with tastings along the way (Tuesday and Friday mornings or afternoons, not included).
Overnight: Funchal
Distance: 10 km, Ascent: 250 m, Descent: 850 m, Walking time: around 3 hrs A transfer to Prazeres allows a visit to the Quinta Pedagogica and a tea flavoured with lemon peel, before a levada walk through terraced land, laurel trees and endemic flora down to the old fishing village of Paul do Mar, followed by a transfer to Ponta do Sol.
Overnight: Ponta do Sol
Distance: 11 km, Ascent: 540 m, Descent: 540 m, Walking time: around 4 hrs A transfer to the Paul da Serra plateau connects with a shuttle (payable locally) into an enchanted forest, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with streams, waterfalls and Madeira's endemic flora.
Overnight: Ponta do Sol
A free morning, followed by a transfer to Calheta for a boat trip on a traditional fishing boat or zodiac, with an English-speaking guide, to watch whales and dolphins off Madeira's south coast (around 2.5 to 3 hours).
Overnight: Ponta do Sol
The trip ends this morning, with a transfer to Funchal airport for the return flight.
Not sure if this is the right route, or want to ask about dates? Our team knows this trail firsthand.
