The long-awaited journey to this Portuguese island finally happened, with a few adventures along the way. Our first evening was spent in downtown Funchal — a good dinner, then wandering and exploring.
The Trail Booking Shock
Our first morning, we set out to hike and were met with an unpleasant surprise: the public trails now require paid tickets booked in advance. Everything was fully booked for roughly a week out, and without a reservation you're not allowed in. Park rangers scan QR codes at trailheads or a few hundred meters in.
It was genuinely shocking — a public place, now paid. To be in nature you have to book like a theater ticket. We were disappointed and, at first, unsure what to do. Somehow we managed to get the tickets we needed, and navigated the jungle of new regulations for the rest of the trip.
The Landscape
The first hike had good weather for walking, a bit windy in places. What stood out was how clearly the island reveals its volcanic birth — so many distinct rock layers visible as you move between locations.
Madeira is an island of tunnels. Driving anywhere, you'll spend roughly half the time underground, because the terrain leaves no alternative. The rest is serpentine road, and some routes are closed entirely due to rockfall — we tried to reach one of the highest roads and found it shut, probably for that reason.
The scenery is beautiful: blooming plants, abandoned roads already reclaimed by vegetation, ruins, and abandoned tunnels you can still walk through even though rockfall has blocked them to cars. And waterfalls.
Some hiking routes are genuinely unique — there's a place with trees eight hundred years old. If you're lucky on a sunrise hike, you end up above the clouds. We caught a brief glimpse of that but couldn't get good photos; we'd rushed to the summit for the view and the clouds simply didn't clear. Everything was gray.
Funchal and Food
We drove a lot, checked out different spots, and ate very well. One place in Funchal left the best impression with its steaks — named after the classical composer, Mozart.
The streets stood out too. Inclines reportedly reach thirty to forty percent. Our car really struggled on some of them, though we made it. I've never experienced anything that steep anywhere else.
The Toboggan Ride
We also took the wooden sledge run down the hill through the streets — a genuinely unique experience. Riding a sledge in summer feels absurd, and it's basically drifting. Two men steer it, dressed in crisp white shirts, looking very stylish.
The Airport
Built on cliffs, with the runway extension resting on a massive array of columns so larger aircraft can land and take off. The motorway snakes through the mountains, in and out of tunnels and across bridges.
One day we went plane spotting - there's a good spot near the airport up a narrow street with an unobstructed view. Depending on wind direction you'll see landings or takeoffs. A genuinely unusual experience.
Gardens, Cablecar, Beaches
The botanical gardens were worth it, the flamingos especially - not performing, exactly, but the way they behave naturally is a show in itself. There was also a peacock, which was beautiful. At first we thought it was a statue — then it moved. Took some pictures of that one too.
The cablecar ride up gave an amazing view over the whole of Funchal.
There are also two sand beaches with sand brought from the Sahara. They're artificial, but you can genuinely enjoy a sunny sandy beach on Madeira. We spent a day at one, a break from constantly running around and walking levadas.
The Levadas
The levada routes had amazing views. They occasionally felt dangerous — no fences, and you're walking along steep, high cliffs. The levada itself has a concrete frame you can walk on, but railings are only occasional. One of the ones we did had waterfalls, hidden deep in the mountains.
We also saw rock pools, though conditions that day didn't tempt us in. We took some pictures instead.
