Madeira - Europe's safest destination in 2020 (and in 2021)

Travelling during the COVID pandemic is not an easy task and a privilege not everyone is entitled to. Restrictions, entry bans, extra precautions, extra tests, quarantine - these are all factors to take into consideration when choosing a country to travel to.

We decided upon Madeira at the very last minute as it was one of the very very few places which does not have entry ban, allowed anyone to enter (with or with pre-departure covid test) and that would not result in us having to quarantine when we get back. Bonus point - they do a covid test on arrival Free Of Charge! Results back within 12 hours.

Madeira is one of two autonomous regions in Portugal, comprising of four islands. We only visited the main island during our 2 week trip which was a good amount of time to enjoy parts of what the island offers and not feel rushed!

There are direct flights from many European countries to Madeira (skipping Mainland Portugal which would have its own COVID rules). And of course UK direct to Madeira too as that is a big market. 

Many people have chosen to holiday in Madeira because 

(1) it is its own island with its own rules (so whilst mainland Portugal may be banned, Madeira is usually assessed separately)

(2) free covid test on arrival which is good for those who cannot afford or cannot find a test provider in time for the flight. You get the results in 12 hours which is not such a big deal. Note: Rules have changed for vaccinated traveller. If you are not vaccinated, you need to show a PCR test either within 72 of departure or take the free one on arrival. Check the Visit Madeira website for more information.

(3) probably not as well-known a tourist hotspot as many other mainland european countries. When we were there, social distancing was super easy as there weren't that many tourists/people out and about. Except in Funchal center where the locals hang out

(4) there are some covid rules but because you're out in nature a lot, you are away from people mostly so the rules don't bother you much

(5) affordable. There are so many airbnb options out there and a lot of them offer so much value for what they cost! And with a lot of mountainous areas and hillside, you're not short on choices to score some cute cottage with amazing views for less than what you would expect! We lucked out when we scored a cute cottage for EUR40 per night up on top overlooking Calheta! 

View from our cute cottage with free wine

(6) adventure-filled. So much to do! Hiking, diving, snorkelling, surfing, mountain biking, paragliding. Endless

Where do we start? What do we do? Below I share what we did and our thoughts. This trip was taken in September 2020.

Visit Madeira has a lot of information on things to do, what are the covid rules, what you need to take note or any festivities happening. It is a good source of information to start hunting for adventure.

The page on walks is full of various routes you can choose with different levels of difficulty and terrain. This was a starting page for us to look into what hikes we can do and I can recommend some of the best!

PR1 - Must do hike in Madeira. You will NOT regret it. The most dramatic cliffs, mountains and scenery. It is a difficult hike but does not involve scrambling so anyone with a relatively good physical stamina and form will be able to complete it. It took us 5-6H to complete the whole loop. Go before the sunrise to view the dramatic cloud cover as the sun rises. Do take note that it is COLD in the early morning hours so bring a jacket but it then gets really warm as the day heats up so layering is key.

Waiting for the sunrise at Arreiro

At the highest peak

PR11 Balcoes - this is a very short walk, easy entry level but it is the destination that wows you. The walk takes you inside the forest and you end up at the edge overlooking the valley. At the right time of the day, you will encounter the cloud cover which provides an even more dramatic scenery. Go early for the cloud covers.

The balcony at the end of PR6

PR8 Sao Lourenco - this is the eastern most point on the island and you can see the shift in terrain. More deserty than the luscious greens of the island but still provides such a wonderful view of the ocean coastline. It is pretty bare out here so bring sun protection! I would suggest to go early as most people start after 10 or 11am.  

Sao Lourenco

Sao Lourenco

PR6 25 fontes - this is one of the recommended hikes but to be honest, not too impressed by the hike. The 3 hikes above had already blown us away by then. This follows the levada down to the bottom where you will see the waterfall. The waterfall was pretty nice, not too dramatic (probably because there wasn't enough rain?). Then at the end you reach a spring - which honestly speaking was a bit anti-climatic. But still makes for a good walk. The weather was not great when we did the hike and totally poured towards the end.

The waterfall of PR6

The house of Santana - I find it a bit gimmicky but we had a car so we drove up north. I would say skip it if you don't have the time or don't wish to spend it driving up north an back

Mountain biking (the easy trail)

Adventure sports - like canyoning, mountain biking, paragliding, diving etc.

We went with LokoLoko for our canyoning and mountain biking adventures. Nice people. We had 6 on the canyoning trip and I must say it was a lot of waiting than actually doing the canyoning as you need to clip on and clip off each of us to slide, glide, jump. It sounded a lot more fun than it actually was though the last part where we slid down the rock face was the best part. The mountain biking was fun but I am very bad at mountain biking so at one point I left the boys and went on the road whilst they humped it down. They enjoyed it though.

We found out we could paraglide in Madeira whilst we were there! And of course, with such nice weather and the scenery, we had to give it a try! We went with Madeira Paragliding. It was EUR75 each and very much weather dependent - so give them a call, drop them a whatsapp to enquire if they will be flying. It is a very chill setup and the instructors/pilots are super professional.

Blessed with great weather for flying

We also went for 2 dives - nothing spectacular but it was good to be back in the water again. 

Helming the wreck

A visit to Fanal - magical forest. Almost like stepping into fairytale setting! Best to visit when fog covers the area which will truly give you that magical feeling but still a beautiful place to visit anyway. We were not so lucky to have the fog cover but those trees - amazing!

Huge tree in Fanal

View of Fanal

Replica of Christ Redeemer

Went to the glass balcony and walked on it. Pretty nice view

Porto Moniz - this is the paid pool (not hot water)

Porto Moniz - this is the free pool (not hot water)

Of course we spent quite some time in Funchal - walking the tourist streets and visiting restaurants there. Another very touristy thing to do (and one which actually caught our eye from a TV show) was the toboggan ride. You take a cable car to the top, and a toboggan down halfway - and you either walk the rest of the way or taxi it. To be honest, it was a lot less exciting than it looked on TV. Apparently, they slowed the speed due to an accident so everything was a bit slow-moed.

When you enter Funchal, you will walk past the tourist walking street where you have lines and lines of restaurants to choose from. Basically every restaurant offers similar choices - the most famous is the black scabbard fish with passionfruit/banana. We tried but well, it's fish.

Poncha - a famous local alcohol. Passionfruit(my fav) and lemon flavours

Really liked all the colourful doors along the walking street. And remember, do not buy fruits from the indoor fruit market - all a scam! Walk out along the street and you'll find a lot of local fruit stalls selling the same at a fraction of the price!

We found our favourite restaurant in Calheta where we spent the 2nd week - Manifattura Di Gelato - it is an Italian restaurant that has some of the best gelatos and Italian food. Their pizzas are sooo good! We ended up going there for dinner on three nights! And a gelato a day while we were in Calheta! There are a few gelato shops in Funchal as well but I think this is the best (boyfriend preferred the gelato from Funchal but I think it's just the flavour he likes)

Proper woodfire pizza

Pizza for 1 or for 2?

There is so much more the island has to offer - there are good surf spot if you're into surfing. We didn't have the time to check the spots out as they are scattered around the island. Small as it may be, it is still a drive to get from one point to another. Wine tours - we did a small wine tour in Funchal but there are wineries all over the island where you can actually do a wine tour. Our concern is - Drink don't drive, drive don't drink - difficult to enjoy the wine if we're driving. You can also take a cable car down to a restaurant which has its own garden for a tour and lunch. We saw that in the program but didn't try it.

It was the flower festival + wine festival when we were there so there was a flower exhibition and a wine tent! Yes, we went to the wine tent and tasted some wine. They are quite generous with their portion when it comes to One Glass of wine. No complaints.

There's a lot more walks to explore (some are not even listed in the Visit Madeira website) and if you're an avid mountain biker, so much more to explore. Also water based activities like kayaking, SUP-ing or a boat trip around. Not to forget, Porto Santo - apparently it has one of the most beautiful beaches! 

If you're thinking of a destination to visit in Europe, give Madeira a try!

Of course, we visited during the pandemic. Things were obviously different pre-covid times (and indeed our airbnb hostess told us how she missed those old days where there was more of a festivity vibe). Hopefully we will eventually return to those times (though I must admit, I like it that it's less crowded now)