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)

48 Hours in Tromso - The Arctic Circle

November in Norway can be both rather unpleasant and rewarding. You get about 4-5 hours of daytime, it gets dark after 14:30 and it is cold and gloomy most of the time. But, if you're lucky, you get the most amazing Northern Light display and when it snows, it looks absolutely pristine and you are all set for lots of winter adventures! 

We embarked for a week long Winter Whales liveaboard in November 2019 and made use of this time to explore Tromso for couple of days before we leave the comfort of land and ground for a week.

Tromso is in the Arctic Cirle which means you're kinda in the Polar Circle so it is cold. We packed in as much as we could in 48H and it's pretty doable as Tromso is small and compact. So here is a list of what we did in Tromso!

Northern Lights

You can't leave without witnessing the magic of Northern Lights. We were very lucky. On the night we arrived in Tromso, the weather was perfect for viewing. The best way is to follow a tour that takes you far out to get the best display but if you don't feel like paying for a tour or too tired to spend the entire night (till after midnight) to wait for the Lights, you can still see them in Tromso. 

One option if you don't mind paying is to go up the cable car station. Of course you cannot guarantee the Lights will be there, and the city light pollution may not be great for photos, but I can imagine it'll be a nice view over the city with the lights.

We went to the cemetery at first and true enough, we saw the Lights almost immediately and pretty early in the night (around 20:00). There is still a fair bit of light pollution but the Lights were strong.

From the cemeterty

Another better option away from light pollution is to head to the Lake Prestvannet. The lake was frozen solid when we went so we could walk out to darkness to view the Lights. It is about a 30min walk from the city center or you could take a bus there and walk back.

Highest point in Tromso

Another great activity is to head up to the highest point in Tromso for a view from the top. You have 2 options: Take a cable car up and down or hike up and cable car down. The walk is called "Sherpatrappa" and it is signposted to the start. Do take note that if you choose to go during the winter, make sure you are properly geared up for it. That means crampons as the walkway would be icy and snowy. We were not equipped with crampons and hiking up was a fair bit dangerous as some parts were icy and slippery. That being said, really enjoyed the hike. It took us about 45mins to 1 hour to get up but I suppose with the proper footwear, you can do it in a faster pace. We saw a couple Norwegians run up and down. View up from the top was amazing! We decided to take the cable car down (NOK 142) as it was impossible for us to walk down without crampons. 

Making snow angels

Tiniest bar in the world

I'm sure everyone has hear of the hotdog stand in Tromso. It is the tiniest bar in the world (so it says). It is a famous tourist spot and one of the few places where you can actually get a cheap eat! Tromso is expensive so a EUR5 hotdog is considered cheap. We didn't think the hotdogs were any special but the owners were lovely people and the mulled wine was actually the star of the stand! At EUR6, it is no cheap affair but the cinnamon warmth and crushed nuts drank around an open fire gave a very wintery nice feel. They do have vegan hotdog as well (again nothing to sing home about)

Dog Sledding

You have to try it! Ian was the most skeptical of this activity when we booked it but at the end of the trip, he was totally sold! Mind you, it is HARD WORK to stir the sled and make sure the huskies to run astray or topple the sled.

We went with Arctic Adventure (NOK 1,850 per pax) for a half day self-drive adventure. Recommend going with the 1st morning group given the short day light to get the most out of the day. They also have night sledding with opportunity to see Northern Lights. Of course there is no guarantee, so we decided to go with the safer option so we get the full on experience.

A 30min bus ride later, we arrived at location and changed into the proper attire. Make sure you are dressed warmly underneath and protect your head and hands. A quick tour of the kennel and we are off! We had 90mins riding the sled, changing between driver and passenger a few times along the way. It was so much fun when the ride goes smooth and fast without stopping. You have to be physically fit and have enough stamina to ride and steer as you would need to help the huskies move the sled up slopes or turn. And of course the view was amazing!

At the end of the ride we were provided with hot drinks and chocolate cake. 

Museums

One of the recommended visits is to the Polar museums - which we did not do due to time. There are pretty good reviews around the museum so might be worth a visit!

MACK

Local brewery with many selection of beers. Be prepared to pay 9-10EUR for half a pint of beer. This is Norway afterall!

Always wanted a photo with the polar bear

Brown cheese

We had to try it! Not sure I'm a fan of it. Still undecided about this. I guess it is a little less underwhelming as we thought it might be. We thought it might be a very polarizing taste but it was a bit middle of the road average. It does not taste like cheese at all but rather a very caramel taste to it.

Food

Most people would try reindeer or game meat in Norway as it's popular in this part of the world. Even Whale meat is on the menu. We don't eat meat and definitely not into whale so can't say much. Do note that most restaurants are closed on Sundays (or closed really early) so your only options would be hotel restaurants or eat early or get some food from the supermarket.

Accommodation

It is expensive in Tromso. But it is well worth it to find somewhere close to the city center. We found our place (Viking hotel) on airbnb and got a surprise upgrade upon check in! We ended up with a nice 1 bedroom apartment which we enjoyed very much. There are chain hotels in town if you're into those, or airbnbs do offer pretty good deals.

Overall we enjoyed our short time in Tromso. The town is small but quaint and has a very nice, cozy feel to it. Walking along the main street is a good way to spend some time as well.

 

Destination Summer Vacation - Malta

Malta is made up of 3 islands - Malta (Main island where the airport is located), Gozo (second biggest island with a more laid back vibe, beautiful beaches and activities) and Comino (the smallest island in between Malta and Gozo where visitors go mainly on day trips). It is a relatively cheap island/beach getaway in Europe where you're almost guaranteed sunny warm weather throughout the year (even in winter it doesn't get below 10C.

 

We visited in August 2019 for 10 days to experience its diving and wonder around some sights and nature.

 

Diving in Malta

It's consistently listed as one of the Top 10 diving destinations which piqued our interests in the first place as it is a short flight away

We did 1 cave dive together with the P-31 day and that was one of the best. Both are located in Comino, so a day trip to Comino needs to be arranged. From Gozo, it would have to be requested and most likely require an additional fee for fuel. It is a shallow dive which gave divers the opportunity to really spend time exploring the wreck and it was so much fun! Also, we were the only group there which made the experience even better.

Here's a short video from our P-31 dive. Enjoy!

 

 

We did 2 other wrecks in Gozo - Karwela and Cominoland at the south of Gozo. These 2 were at 35m, which means you only had limited time with the wrecks. The water temperature was also cold (21C) at the wrecks. After P-31, these were not as impressive to explore as they were rather open wrecks and with such depth, you reach De-co quick.

We entertained ourselves underwater by making bubble rings

Marine life and corals are not spectacular in Malta so don't expect to see big schools of fish. We did 2 other dives near the salt pans but those were nothing to be excited about. The other highlight would be the Blue Hole however we didn't go due to weather.

  

There are more wrecks in Malta to explore but most of the good ones are really deep and require more qualifications to explore.

 

We went with Bubbles and they are a reputable operation with good equipment for hire.

 

That said, diving in Malta is cheap by European standards. You can get a 6-pack diving for E190 and equipment rental for about E15/day. These would be shore diving. Boat diving would require additional fee.

 

Base Camp Gozo

We based ourselves in Marsalforn which is a popular tourist area. So expect seafront restaurants mostly catered to tourists although the prices were all the same and not overly expensive. We couldn't find any local eateries close to Marsalforn.

 

Marsalforn is a nice and quiet sea side town to be based in. There are swimming areas all along the coast. You can arrange all your activities out of Marsalforn easily.

Salt pans of Gozo

 

Getting around

During peak season, there are more regular buses that run throughout the island, bringing you to key areas in Gozo. E2 per trip with fixed schedule. You could also get a taxi although taxis are a bit on the expensive side. Between Malta and Gozo, the ferry runs very regularly.

 

We also used a new car sharing program in Malta GoTo Car where you pay by the minute. The pros are paying only for what you use, no need to worry about finding parking (you park in designated GoTo spots), insurance is included and no need to pay for fuel (they are electric cars). So you don't have to wait in line at the car rental office. Cons: you may not be able to find an available car - e.g. in Gozo, they are less popular than in Malta. The minute starts when you unlock the car, meaning you are paying whilst inspecting the car. If you're stuck in traffic, the costs can easily add up.

 

We chose this as we didn't need the car on most days (diving days) and weren't sure where we would go to so paying for a 10 day rental was not viable as the car would be idle for days. When you book an activity, transport is provided for so a car was not needed as well.

 

Our overall experience was generally good for GoTo Car. We bought a tourist package for 150min and had to top up a bit more at the end for the extra minutes we used. It was about 0.28cents per minute. We encountered a few problems with some of the cars (wouldn't start, wouldn't stop) and some of the cars were in pretty bad condition, but no issue driving them on the road. Navigation with the app didn't work for us though but we had Google. It is easy to use, just download the app and you can lock and unlock the car with the app. It's a great initiative and I hope more people would use it in Malta mainland where the traffic is quite bad at times and the amount of cars is quite high.

 

Activities in Gozo

Climbing - it's a relatively unheard activity in Gozo but Gozo does have some great climbing locations! We booked our half day climbing (E45/pax) with Gozo Adventures and totally enjoyed it! They also offer many other activities like kayaking around the island (which was cancelled due to weather).

The valley where we climbed

 

E-biking - Biking enthusiasts would be pleased to know that the roads in Gozo are very good for cycling. And there are uphills and downhills to enjoy. We chose to rent e-bikes because it would be easier for me to do more cycling around the island (due to the terrain). We went with Gozo Segway and chose 3H for E15/bike. You can also hire the e-bike for a full day (10H). Great people and the e-bikes are in good condition. Boyfriend even cycled uphill without assist.

Ta Mena - Every Sat at 13:00 and Thurs at 16:00 (only summer) they have a tour with wine and food tasting for E16+18% per person. We enjoyed it very much as the tour was very informative and the wine and food tasting was great. We sampled 4 different wines and a variety of local produce (tomato paste, cheese, local biscuits). The whole session lasted about 90 minutes and you can purchase their products at the shop after.

 

Ramla beach and Calypso cave - we e-biked around the east coast of Gozo to Ramla beach and then hiked up to Calypso cave for an amazing view of the coastline. Ramla beach is very popular and as such was very crowded, but the water and beach were clean and comfortable. There are a lot of beautiful beaches around Gozo which we unfortunately didn't have time to explore.

Xaghra - we visited here on our e-bike tour as well. It's famous for the historical site Ggantija and some of the underground grottos.

 

Diving - as mentioned above, Gozo is a good spot for diving!

 

Victoria - The city center of Gozo is a nice area to explore with the citadel and just walking along the streets.

Citadel in Victoria

Colourful windows in Victoria

Activities in Malta

Blue Grotto - it is a very popular tourist spot where you board a boat which takes you in and out of the caves for a tour. To fully experience it, you should aim to get there really early for the first boat. We were pretty late (10:30am by the time we arrived) and it was packed. So we only walked along the coast for the view and skipped the boat tour. Do note that parking is a mess there and you may have to wait some time before you get a spot. We went with GoTo so didn't have to worry about parking.

Marsaxlokk - the famous south seaside town. There is a market which opens to public on Sundays and a lot of seafood restaurants. This area is known for seafood so don't miss it when you visit. However, it is very crowded and touristy as well. Pretty much sandwiched as we walked through the market and at lunchtime, it is very difficult to get a place in one of the restaurants. You can also join one of the boat tours to another famous spot St Peter's Pool. Again we skipped this as a lot of boats were full and we were not as well prepared for the trip. It would have been a better idea to head there yourself (drive there) as you will have more time and can go earlier to avoid the crowd.

Valleta - the old scenic town. You can get across from Sliema with regular ferry. If you go at the right time, you can witness the canons as well. Great views across from Barrakka Gardens

Canons in Valleta

Swimming with Tuna - we discovered this last minute and was attracted by the chance to swim with these big fish! Only a few companies offer this and they are usually done in the morning - also the best time as the feeding happens in the morning so you get to see them swim close to the surface. It is a bit of an ethical dilemma doing this as we found out the tuna were captured (not breed) for profits. Malta is one of 2 countries where they offer such tuna pens (the other being Australia), and each pen holds 100+ tunas (as large as 100kg each). It is a rather unpleasant fishy feel as each pen is covered with a layer of fish oil (due to the feed) and you smell so fishy and oily after the swim. It took us days and many showers to finally feel clean. Even your equipment needs lots of washing.

The Popeye village which we visited but didn't enter. It's now a theme park

We missed out visiting Mdina due to time but from pictures, it looked worth a visit!
 

 

We also liked just walking along the coast from St Julian's to Sliema. There's swimming holes all along the coast and you can just jump into them anytime you feel like cooling yourself down!

Street of Malta

St Julian

Accommodation

Staying in Malta and Gozo is relatively cheap. Even more so in Gozo. We got an apartment off Airbnb for E20/night in Gozo, with a pretty good location. The downside to the apartment was no air-conditioning (in the mid of summer the apartment was way too hot as the room was without much ventilation and the ceiling fan didn't really help), wifi is almost non-existent although it was advertised as with Wifi (it only worked if you stand really close to the balcony and tap into the network of probably one of the neighbours). We thought we had the apartment to ourselves (Airbnb description seemed to say so) but the owner came back one night and stayed in one of the spare rooms. Not a problem but was a little unexpected.

 

In Malta, accommodations were a bit more expensive especially in the touristy areas but nothing too pricey as well. We stayed in St Julian's and found a cheap Airbnb room for about E35/night - good location and nice host.

 

Food

Food in Malta is very similar to Italian. In Gozo, we had lots of pastas and pizzas. Prices are pretty European standard, around E10-13 for a plate of pasta. Be careful of the size! An appetizer size pasta is big enough as a main course for 1. We made the mistake of ordering a main course size pasta (additional E3) and it could have fed 2 people!

 

We recommend Pierre's in Marsalforn - the pasta and pizza were good and decently priced. And the oysters were very fresh

Granola Gelato has the best gelato in Gozo!

Café Reale in Xaghra - great pizza and the best hot chocolate I've had in Malta!

Madoka Japanese in Malta - small menu but great authentic Japanese food

Okurama Sushi in Malta - a very popular buffet place in malta but the food quality was good too

So tender seafood salad

Seafood pasta was so good

The best Hot Chocolate in Gozo (and Malta!!)

Octopus stew

All in all, the restaurants in Marsalforn sell pretty much the same food items. Maltese food is pretty heavy and meat oriented, so after many days of eating them in Gozo, we decided for a change in Malta and went oriental.

 

In Malta, especially in St Julian's you get happy hour in almost all bars/restaurants between 4-6/7pm. Drinks for for 1-1.

 

Some other famous Maltese food:

Rabbit is a national dish in Malta and if you're a rabbit person, do try it!

 

Aljotta (Fish soup) - we had that a couple times and if they do it right, it is delicious!

 

Pastizzi - these are flaky pastries filled with peas or ricotta cheese. Tasty treat that is widely available!

 

Gozitan Ftira - it is a pizza with potatoes as toppings. It's pretty good but also very heavy.

 

Ftira pizza

Pastizzi

Happy hour

Some of the Maltese products you should buy home are - Tomato paste and peppered cheese. Malta also has got some good wines - if you have baggage allowance, do buy a few bottles from Ta Mena.

 

Impressions

Between the 2 islands, we prefer Gozo as it is a more relaxed atmosphere and lots of outdoor activities to be done. We spent more time on Gozo than Malta but still felt like we could have spent a few more days! We missed going to the Blue hole, some other beach exploration could be done. With a bit more research and planning, we could have done more but were still happy with what we did.

 

Malta island felt more "city-like" and cultural, where activities are more based on visits than adventures. It's also more populated than Gozo so can feel a bit rushed at times.

 

We didn't do a day trip to Comino as many people would have done to visit the lagoons. We went there as a day diving trip for P-31 and the cave and did pass the lagoons which looked like a theme park to us with loads of big boats parked. Any sense of tranquillity or nature seemed shattered by the many boats (some of which sped pass without any regard for diving boats).