Reply With QuoteI've been twice. It was crap. Lots of very steep hills. Ok espresso. A bizarre wooden sleigh ride down a road. A breakfast / tea&scones hotel where Churchill used to stay (Reid's Palace).
I have to go to buy a car and knowing nothing about the place , apart from the sweet booze and sweet cake, would appreciate any views on special treats to sample, time permitting ?? Many thanks for any hints..
I've been twice. It was crap. Lots of very steep hills. Ok espresso. A bizarre wooden sleigh ride down a road. A breakfast / tea&scones hotel where Churchill used to stay (Reid's Palace).
Last edited by ach5; 24th June 2017 at 20:54.
I have to say I agree. We were not that impressed, bizarre wooden sleigh ride apart maybe. There are lots of bird things to do if you are vaguely a twitcher, the wine stores are worth a visit in the main town but a bit like anywhere that has breweries or distilleries in that they are quite similar, seen one seen them all sort of thing.
What's the car - must be a bit special to go all the way there to get one.
Cristiano Ronaldo museum.............
Madeira airport when it's windy! Claimed to be one of the worlds most dangerous.
I've been, and I'm struggling to remember anything more about the place. I remember its pretty green, and er, that's about it. I think we did a vineyard tour... so you could do that. And they eat limpets apparently.
So clever my foot fell off.
I generally look at these threads for inspiration,,,,,, but I'm not feeling any.
It is certainly one of the most challenging airports to land at - and windy is pretty much a constant there.Originally Posted by kdes24uk
Go-arounds on final is quite common there.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
There really isn't much to see there, we've visited a friend's apartment several times for weekends and it felt like weeks.
They do have a spectacular firework display in the harbour on NYE though.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
There have been a few 'visiting Madeira' threads in the past. Might be something in one of them for you.
______
Jim.
My parents love the place...
... they're in their 70s.
I think it's popular with the "get away from the cold in winter months"-crowd, and a stop-off port for cruise ships. Nothing wrong with that, but that's the vibe.
In all honesty having visited a few times via a cruise ship i cannot disagree with the comments made Funchal is a nice town and the Island is IMO very pretty but it was/is a place where your elderly Aunt went to chill out with a book, try the taboggan or the sky lift.
Yep, big madeiran community where I live. One of the resounding memories of my teenage years was snorkelling around some deserted bays, coming ashore on one to find people scouring the rocks for limpets and chucking them in a giant cooking pot over a wood fire on the beach. Surreal. Still raises a chuckle now.
A mate of mine is over there now actually, he's been a few times and loves it. Wants to retire there...
Or at the airport
Depends on where you are staying; if its a hotel ask at reception to negotiate a deal for the day with a cabbie and he will drive you around the island and take you to all the sites apart from Funchal - do that another day. From what I recall it was maybe 50 -60 euros for the day maybe more. I also hired a Sikorsky which was great fun but a tad more expensive :-)
Been 3 times but only on cruise ships for the day, so can't comment much. The cable car down overlooking Funchal is worth doing and I once did a helicopter tour of the island. That was very impressive and a bit scary. They took us to a place with a sheer cliff drop that seemed like miles - wasn't but one of the highest in the world apparently.
As we came into land I looked out and thought, my god that's a short runway...
apparently it's been extended and was once one of the shortest in the world.
Planes had to take off on fumes and then land somewhere else to refuel.
There's a beach at the end of the runway that is rather impressive because
the planes turn in front of you and land over your head.... About 100 feet over your head!!
Last edited by John Wall; 25th June 2017 at 14:49.
There is a glass observation platform, which is pretty good, you look down to the beach and sea below. As others have said, take a taxi ride, they will show you all the sites, which aren't many :)
Well Now, thanks for all that. I was rather anticipating as much. Fortunately a flying visit but will report back. Mmmmm limpets.....
From the look of Ralphy's link, I might go just for the landing, seems like fun to me.
Looking forward to that......
All nice and smooth until about 300 feet and then became a bit wobbly. Got to admire those plane drivers.
its all good and the food it excellent, the market, the town - the wooden sleigh ride is a must as are the views from high up in the mountains theres a few beauty spots up the peaks, natural springs, tunnels, convents etc... try bread made from chestnut flour.... botanical gardens are good too ans if you go when the flower festival or madeira wine festival is on then super
I've been a few times, and really enjoyed the experience. I prefer the more consistent weather in the Canary Islands, but Madeira is steeped in culture and history.
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