Madeira in January
Discussion
Not been in Jan but have a friend who goes every year and loves it. Think it will be high teens temp.
Madeira is really beautiful. We stayed in an Airbnb in Funchal near the cathedral, which was a great location. My friend always stays in the Savoy Palace which he really likes.
Funchal itself is just a nice place just to walk around.
We enjoyed the following:
- Sunrise at Pico de Arieiro followed by a hike. I think you can hike up the the peak itself but we did the lazy version and got a minibus. When we went (May) it was COLD up there (despite being 25 deg down in Funchael. Make sure to take multiple layers, hat and gloves. Seriously.
- Dolphin watching tour. Wow. Multiple pods of 6 + dolphins. Truly incredible. And very respectful captain and guides.
- 4 x 4 full day tour of the island. We did it with True Spirit tours. Great way to see everything with a knowledgable guy. We had a nice Belgian guy called Chris who had moved there a couple of years earlier with his family and knew more than a lot of the locals!
Caveat the peak and dolphins that we went in May so worth checking if they are worth doing in Jan...
Food and drink are good and cheap - there's a load of good restaurants serving local cuisine in the old town. We also had a good Indian. There's a local "celebrity" chef called Julio Pereira - we never got to go to any of his restaurants as couldn't get a booking, but the food looked great.
Madeira is really beautiful. We stayed in an Airbnb in Funchal near the cathedral, which was a great location. My friend always stays in the Savoy Palace which he really likes.
Funchal itself is just a nice place just to walk around.
We enjoyed the following:
- Sunrise at Pico de Arieiro followed by a hike. I think you can hike up the the peak itself but we did the lazy version and got a minibus. When we went (May) it was COLD up there (despite being 25 deg down in Funchael. Make sure to take multiple layers, hat and gloves. Seriously.
- Dolphin watching tour. Wow. Multiple pods of 6 + dolphins. Truly incredible. And very respectful captain and guides.
- 4 x 4 full day tour of the island. We did it with True Spirit tours. Great way to see everything with a knowledgable guy. We had a nice Belgian guy called Chris who had moved there a couple of years earlier with his family and knew more than a lot of the locals!
Caveat the peak and dolphins that we went in May so worth checking if they are worth doing in Jan...
Food and drink are good and cheap - there's a load of good restaurants serving local cuisine in the old town. We also had a good Indian. There's a local "celebrity" chef called Julio Pereira - we never got to go to any of his restaurants as couldn't get a booking, but the food looked great.
We went about 15 years ago and have booked again for February 2024, stopping at the Porto Mare. Last time it was just the wife and I. We hired a car and did the whole island in the week. This time with our 12 year old and my Mum. Really looking forward to it. Botanical gardens, the levadas, mountains/valleys etc.
Stayed in Funchal four times. Twice at Porto Mare/ the residence and twice at the Porto Santa Maria. All the hotels we stayed in were very good. We preferred the location of the Santa Maria as it’s in the heart of Funchal.
The Porto Bay is a 20-30 minute walk or a cheap taxi in. We would walk in and get a taxi back if we wanted to be in the main area of Funchal.
However, plenty of places to eat near the Porto Bay.
It’s a beautiful island. However we had limited good weather whenever we went between November and March. Warm yes but not always sunny and we have experienced some heavy rainfall in Madeira.
Not been back since the start of the pandemic. But we do plan on returning.
The Porto Bay is a 20-30 minute walk or a cheap taxi in. We would walk in and get a taxi back if we wanted to be in the main area of Funchal.
However, plenty of places to eat near the Porto Bay.
It’s a beautiful island. However we had limited good weather whenever we went between November and March. Warm yes but not always sunny and we have experienced some heavy rainfall in Madeira.
Not been back since the start of the pandemic. But we do plan on returning.
troika said:
Nice place? Would like a pleasant temperature for mooching around but not too hot and don’t want to go long haul. Neither of us have been to Madeira and would be nice to go somewhere new. Reid’s Palace seems the traditional choice, any other options I should consider?
I spent December 2020 there, and December 2021, and December and January 2022 - I like it a lot!Weather is generally pleasant down in Funchal towards the sea - for example warm enough to be looking for some shade if you sat out for long. Obviously there can be times when it clouds over or rains, but those were few and far between. Evenings you can be out in a jumper.
However once you get up into the hills behind the sea front then it can be cloudy and drizzling and so any forecast for Funchal depends on where you are and where they are forecasting!
Where to stay - the main hotel district is along the coast to the west of the town, and has a full range of hotels of every type - the oddest being the casino hotel which was designed by the Brazilian modernist architect Oscar Niemeyer and is a full on 1970's 'Dr No' experience inside with curved corridors so you cannot see the end.
However the hotel district is like any other hotel district - full of hotels and not a lot else, and although it doesn't look far from town on a map there is a reasonably steep hill from there down into town that means you would likely want to take a taxi back.
Whereas if you stay in the centre of Funchal that it is far easier to take a walk out into the town or along the seafront, find a restaurant or bar, etc. but on the other hand you are far more limited with the hotels and most are older town centre properties and don't have swimming pools.
If you are there at the very beginning of January they will still have the Christmas decorations up, and Funchal (and Madeira) does go a bit mad with them.
Brilliant, thanks. Have booked this place. Any nice restaurant recommendations etc much appreciated. Got an anniversary to celebrate!
https://www.castanheiroboutiquehotel.com/
https://www.castanheiroboutiquehotel.com/
Be interested to hear how you get on - we've been 4 times pre-covid, but in late summer/early Autumn. Tempted to go back in February but slightly lower temps and chance of more rain (slippery shark tooth paving puts the OH off) makes us less keen, and 4.5 hour flight from jockland quite long for just a week for us.
For special occasion dinner, take a look at the Design Centre - had a couple of great meals in the past there, and work colleague of my OH had a big birthday meal there and really liked it - not cheap, but stunning location. They can be a bit sniffy though IME - my OH fell out with them over that
Beef and Wines is good for a decent meal, and Dois Amigos in town for more traditional fare.
Riso is another restaurant that used to get good reviews, and a walk along the front to Camaro do Lobos past Praia Formosa will work up an appetite.
Don't bother with the Green Train and Cabo Girao - not as impressive as it sounds IME.
We thought about staying at the Castanheiro but gave it a miss in the end - does look nice though. It's not far from the Bazar do Povo which is a pilgrimage for us normally - Woolworths on steroids and helpful if you forget to pack anything.
We preferred staying nearer to the old town rather than on the tourist "strip" to the West.
Cable car to Monte is great for views, but the gardens won't be at their best that time of year.
The local beer, Coral, is decent and make sure you try Poncha and its variants.
Don't go to the fruit market - it really is as bad as all the reviews. Only place I have felt harassed in the 4 visits I have made to Madeira.
You will be amazed by the civil engineering on the island - plenty tunnels and bridges.
For special occasion dinner, take a look at the Design Centre - had a couple of great meals in the past there, and work colleague of my OH had a big birthday meal there and really liked it - not cheap, but stunning location. They can be a bit sniffy though IME - my OH fell out with them over that
Beef and Wines is good for a decent meal, and Dois Amigos in town for more traditional fare.
Riso is another restaurant that used to get good reviews, and a walk along the front to Camaro do Lobos past Praia Formosa will work up an appetite.
Don't bother with the Green Train and Cabo Girao - not as impressive as it sounds IME.
We thought about staying at the Castanheiro but gave it a miss in the end - does look nice though. It's not far from the Bazar do Povo which is a pilgrimage for us normally - Woolworths on steroids
and helpful if you forget to pack anything. We preferred staying nearer to the old town rather than on the tourist "strip" to the West.
Cable car to Monte is great for views, but the gardens won't be at their best that time of year.
The local beer, Coral, is decent and make sure you try Poncha and its variants.
Don't go to the fruit market - it really is as bad as all the reviews. Only place I have felt harassed in the 4 visits I have made to Madeira.
You will be amazed by the civil engineering on the island - plenty tunnels and bridges.
troika said:
Brilliant, thanks. Have booked this place. Any nice restaurant recommendations etc much appreciated. Got an anniversary to celebrate!
https://www.castanheiroboutiquehotel.com/
Looks a nice place, and I have walked past it a few times as it is near the Museum of Sacred Arts (not as dull as you might think...), and the museum cafe is good for a lunch.https://www.castanheiroboutiquehotel.com/
One restaurant I liked and have been to a few times (but might not be posh enough for your celebration) is Olivia in R. dos Tanoeiros as it is a bit out of the way of the tourist area and gets busy with youngish locals of an evening. I also enjoyed Taberna Madeira in Travessa João Caetano which does some decent more traditional food, and is again busy with locals at the weekend.
Avoid any of the restaurants along the street with the painted doors - they are just tourist traps.
If it is a sunny day then a mid morning stroll up to Barreirinha Bar Café above the swimming lido for a coffee or a nice sharp homemade lemonade is nice or for lunch when I strongly recommend their enormous toasted sandwiches - goat's cheese and red onion chutney was my favourite. It gets busy though, but if there are no seats ask the staff for a buzzer rather than lurking around like many tourists who then get upset when they think they have nabbed a seat as someone leaves only to be turfed out by the staff for someone with a buzzer.
Rei da Poncha is a good place to try the local poncho drink. The bar on the roof of the Sé Boutique Hotel does a nice cocktail to enjoy with a view of the sea at sunset. Obviously any of the many cafes for a pastel de nata which they do in nice small sizes and are great with a "café garoto" (an espresso with a small shot of hot milk / foam).
Enjoy.
We stopped off for the day last year as part of a cruise and really liked it. There are several webcams and as mentioned above they seem to go mad at christmas
https://www.youtube.com/live/PLlx4fdSwmQ?si=wIY8U1...
https://www.youtube.com/live/PLlx4fdSwmQ?si=wIY8U1...
troika said:
Brilliant, thanks. Have booked this place. Any nice restaurant recommendations etc much appreciated. Got an anniversary to celebrate!
https://www.castanheiroboutiquehotel.com/
A good choice! We stayed there in May this year. It's probably the best choice in the centre of Funchal as far as I can see. https://www.castanheiroboutiquehotel.com/
Its own restaurant is very good and wonderful for breakfast, especially in the courtyard if it's warm enough in January. They put on a bit of local entertainment during the evenings. The rooftop bar and pool is brilliant with a fantastic view over Funchal bay (if you ignore the burnt out building to the left).
I never use spas but I enjoyed their downstairs indoor pool a couple of times.
The dolphin tour was mentioned above. We chose a small catamaran, the Atlantic Pearl, with a maximum of about 16 people, not the large catamaran with 80 or so people piling on board. It looked awful. The Atlantic Pearl was only slightly higher in price with a very pleasant and experienced crew. We saw of pod of about thirty Atlantic dolphins, several of them riding the bow waves and diving down deep into the clear Atlantic. That was a great experience. However I don't know if the dolphins go on their holidays in January.
We're going back to Madeira over Christmas but this time are going to the Cliff Bay hotel having experienced a pleasant afternoon there.
Edited by BoomerPride on Tuesday 26th September 09:21
We have been twice to Madeira, both times to Funchal and both times staying the very first week in January, so the 4th or 5th. It's very quiet that week, but all the Christmas stuff is still up and remains up until the 5th of 6th. And they do like a huge metal Christmas Tree ! Also, the houses above Funchal are all lit up as well.
The weather is pleasantly warm, but can be rather wet sometimes.
I can recommend the Blandy's Madeira wine tour which is smack bang in the middle of Funchal; it's not a huge place, but it's cheap enough and you get a couple of glasses at the end, so that's pretty much the price of the tour covered.
A Tuk-Tuk tour is good as well, and they will tailor one to places you want to go if it's not on their standard ones.
And, this thread gives me a change to post this picture I took from our hotel's garden, with the giant chess pieces on the horizon:
The weather is pleasantly warm, but can be rather wet sometimes.
I can recommend the Blandy's Madeira wine tour which is smack bang in the middle of Funchal; it's not a huge place, but it's cheap enough and you get a couple of glasses at the end, so that's pretty much the price of the tour covered.
A Tuk-Tuk tour is good as well, and they will tailor one to places you want to go if it's not on their standard ones.
And, this thread gives me a change to post this picture I took from our hotel's garden, with the giant chess pieces on the horizon:
We’ve just had two weeks in Madeira so thought a few observations might help anyone thinking of going.
We stayed at the Pestana Promenade, around 3 miles west of the centre.It’s a bigger hotel than we’d normally choose but it was recommended by trustworthy friends and it was really good, right on the seafront, great staff, good food and a big warm pool.
We did some of the usual tourist stuff, cable car, toboggan run, glass bottom viewing point, tourist bus trips but saved plenty for another visit. There’s plenty of scenic walks in the hills and mountain areas but they were out of bounds until I have a replacement knee op. The bus services are frequent but often standing room only. We mainly used taxis, plentiful and not expensive. Nice clean vibrant town centre, we had some great meals in the old town.
I was surprised how many hotels there are, no doubt mainly old folks like us but balanced out by plenty of younger folks. We were told the weather is usually good, some friends have had a timeshare there for many years and we struck lucky although it did get too hot for sightseeing some days. Overall we liked it, planning to go again next year.
Edit…by town centre I meant Funchal, the capital.
We stayed at the Pestana Promenade, around 3 miles west of the centre.It’s a bigger hotel than we’d normally choose but it was recommended by trustworthy friends and it was really good, right on the seafront, great staff, good food and a big warm pool.
We did some of the usual tourist stuff, cable car, toboggan run, glass bottom viewing point, tourist bus trips but saved plenty for another visit. There’s plenty of scenic walks in the hills and mountain areas but they were out of bounds until I have a replacement knee op. The bus services are frequent but often standing room only. We mainly used taxis, plentiful and not expensive. Nice clean vibrant town centre, we had some great meals in the old town.
I was surprised how many hotels there are, no doubt mainly old folks like us but balanced out by plenty of younger folks. We were told the weather is usually good, some friends have had a timeshare there for many years and we struck lucky although it did get too hot for sightseeing some days. Overall we liked it, planning to go again next year.
Edit…by town centre I meant Funchal, the capital.
Edited by Nyloc20 on Wednesday 25th October 11:47
To update, we had a great week. Weather a little mixed but nice temperature nonetheless. The Castanheiro hotel was very good. Excellent position in the old town, nice bar, good food and rooftop pool and bar etc.
We had some excellent food. Went to the design centre for the special meal. Absolutely superb. Upgraded the wine pairing to the sommeliers choice, the whole thing was great and fantastic value for the quality. Also ate at both Akua and Kampo. Both fab and would return to either in a heartbeat. Akua reminds me of Wright Brothers in Borough Market. The chefs table at Kampo is great fun. My unexpected find was Portaliano. A delightful little Portuguese / Italian restaurant which serves fantastic food at very reasonable prices, went there twice! Special mention also goes to the cafe at the Museum of Sacred Arts. We walked past on Friday evening and heard a great jazz group playing outside. Full of locals, felt very welcome, stayed for a few of beers and enjoyed the music. Happens every Friday, highly recommended!
We’ll be heading back for sure. Yes, it can feel a bit ‘old’ in places but there’s plenty of life around. Thanks all for the recommendations.
We had some excellent food. Went to the design centre for the special meal. Absolutely superb. Upgraded the wine pairing to the sommeliers choice, the whole thing was great and fantastic value for the quality. Also ate at both Akua and Kampo. Both fab and would return to either in a heartbeat. Akua reminds me of Wright Brothers in Borough Market. The chefs table at Kampo is great fun. My unexpected find was Portaliano. A delightful little Portuguese / Italian restaurant which serves fantastic food at very reasonable prices, went there twice! Special mention also goes to the cafe at the Museum of Sacred Arts. We walked past on Friday evening and heard a great jazz group playing outside. Full of locals, felt very welcome, stayed for a few of beers and enjoyed the music. Happens every Friday, highly recommended!
We’ll be heading back for sure. Yes, it can feel a bit ‘old’ in places but there’s plenty of life around. Thanks all for the recommendations.
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