Madeira

Famed for its spectacular landscape and exotic vegetation and animal life, the sun-drenched island of Madeira is truly stunning. This Portuguese island is known as The Island of Eternal Spring because of its mild climate – the temperatures rarely fall below 17’C or rise above 24’C giving it a pleasant year-round climate and an abundance of lush vegetation. The scenery is dramatic and unspoilt, local people friendly and the island offers a fantastic range of water sports. Whilst the island of Madeira doesn’t have many sandy beaches, if you would like a day at the beach the neighbouring island of Porto Santo is a sunworshipper’s paradise. Madeira boasts some impressive gardens and is a perfect destination for year-round golf, scuba diving, or dolphin and whale watching. There is a lot to explore, from traditional villages, to the lush terrain or a levada walk.

Our Resorts:

• Funchal
• Santa Cruz
• Ponta do Sol
• Santo da Serra (Near Golf Course)

 Madeira brief

Capital: Funchal

Language: Portuguese

Population: approx. 250.000

Currency: Euro

Time zone: GMT (same as Ireland)

For Children

Among the attractions, parents can have a very enjoyable day in the Madeira Theme Park, the Santa Cruz Aqua Park, the Madeira Story Centre plus the numerous parks and gardens where children can enjoy the outdoors in a safe and healthy environment. Even though Madeira is not renowned for family holidays, travelling with children off the beaten track could be rewarding.

Eating & Drinking

There are restaurants to suit all tastes and pockets but in general, eating out is very good value for money; fish dishes are a favourite, but Madeiran cuisines is also popular for sweets, like the traditional ‘Madeira Cake’ or the ‘Bolo the Mel’ (honey pastry).

Famous from the Island is the exquisite Madeira wine. Locals also drink two typical drinks: ‘Nikita’ (beer, vanilla ice and pineapple; usually consumed by women) or ‘Poncha’ (very boozy with a bitter lemon taste; usually consumed by men)

Nightlife

The famous Casino by the Pestana Entertainment is a low key affair on Madeira although there are excellent nightclubs in several hotels, with music and cabarets and many hotels offer live entertainment including folklore evenings.

Shopping

There are a wide variety of shops and boutiques in Funchal. Typical souvenirs include wickerwork, embroidery and the famous Madeira wine.