Walk and Eat Madeira - John Underwood

Levada Walk Madeira

Advantages: Beautiful Scenery, Numerous Tour operators
Disadvantages: Best not tackled alone unless experienced walker.

The levada in madeira, are an intregal function in the islands crop production, diverting mountain water all over the island through a series of channels ( levadas). Pretty cool huh? Well along all the levadas are small walk ways as the locals used to use it for transporting goods around the island too... I have been on a couple of these walks and did both extremes, the first walk was one that is widely used by tourists, and is pretty easy going. The views across the volcanic mountains are amazing and the constant smell of eucalyptus was a welcome surprise, it also make a kind of bluey haze, well its did when i was there, but it was mid summer. The walk led to a view point, I cant for the life of me remember the name of it ( shame you cant add pics on here) but...wow, even better there was a random local in the middle of nowhere ...

CHAOS1979 22.04.2008 · Read full review
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Review of Levada, Funchal, Madeira

Madeira - Paradise

Advantages: Fantastic in every way
Disadvantages: None as far as I'm concerned

- there is a small local restaurant called Restaurante do Mar (simply the Restaurant by the sea) which offers simple but tasty local food at very cheap prices. And wherever you go here, you can get orange juice which is ACTUALLY FRESH- not this "fresh" juice peddled by supermarkets, which has actually been generated in a factory somewhere and then driven hundreds of miles in a lorry. And proper fresh orange juice is fantastic. The whole eating and drinking experience of Madeira just served to remind us what filth we are forever being served up in the UK. My only word of warning would be that when you venture into the Old Town area in the east of Funchal, there are a cluster of tourist-oriented restaurants where you WILL be approached by waietsr desperate to grab some new customers. You don't even need to pause your walking by for them ...

bagoproverbial 05.10.2007 (29.09.2007) · Read full review
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Review of Madeira (Portugal)

Riu Palace Hotel, Madeira

Advantages: A fantastic holiday experience
Disadvantages: Location, in particular for those with mobility problems although the hotel is disability friendly.

looked spectacular we had a cupid running round the hotel, all ladies were given a red rose on entering the restaurant and the whole place was decorated with red flowers and balloons - cheesy but great fun on holiday. There is also a theme restaurant which offers a different type of dining in particular serving the delicacies from Madeira such as espada, which is a long, black, really ugly, but unbelievably delicious fish native to the deep waters off the islands; and espetada which is hunks of garlic marinated beef barbecued on a large bay twig skewer (by large I mean 3ft long). You can choose to eat here one night rather than the restaurant, you just book it at reception. My daughter and I never dined there in the evening so cannot comment from experience. Lunch is served in the Pool Restaurant with tables under the palm trees beside ...

Helenofellon 01.04.2008 (02.04.2008) · Read full review
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Review of Riu Palace Madeira, Madeira