Madeira Easter Sunshine Break

On the 1st of April 2024, we set off on our family Easter holiday to Madeira, this was the first time we had been to Madeira and we were very much looking forward to what the island had to offer.

We chose to stay in the main resort of Funchal, this resort and island capital sprawl over several miles, we stayed at the gorgeous 4* Alto Lido Hotel on a bed and breakfast basis.

The hotel is around 2 km from Funchal's main centre, easily accessible with a courtesy bus, but it was only 300m from the nearest lido and 150m to the nearest restaurants, bars and shops.

We loved the Alto Lido hotel, it was crisp clean and modern, the staff were accommodating and we loved the raised/rooftop pool area, bar and indoor pool, the hotel also had an amazing spa that my husband and I were able to book at no extra charge and use for sole use too.

The hotel has regular evening music entertainment in the bar area, which was nice to return to after a meal.

On our first night arriving late into Madeira (we were the first Jet2 flight with their new route out of Liverpool!), we were lucky enough to stumble on Come Together restaurant a few minutes down the road, the food was wonderful as was the service, so much so we also had lunch there on another day and our last nights evening meal, there was also a fabulous fusion, steakhouse, Mediterranean and Splendida restaurants all within a few minutes walk on our doorstep.

We hired a car for 3 days, the roads are excellent around the island and very easy to navigate around the island with lots of well lit and signposted tunnels cut into the mountainside. We visited numerous places on our list such as Santana in the North East, a lovely little village with traditional houses, Machico, Canico, Camara De Lobos (famous for where Winston Churchill holidayed), plus Calheta, Seixal beach, Funchal (where we took the cable car up and the toboggan down and then walked back to the old town), Puerto Moniz with its stunning pools/lido in the North West and Cabo Girao the Madeira Skywalk, a glass platform at 580 metres above sea level, the highest sea cliff in Europe.

My “Top Ten” Tips for a trip to Madeira are:-

1. Take the cable car up to the gardens in Madeira, pre-book the tickets in advance and go on the day when there are no cruise ships in port or just one, you can check these online

2. Take the famous Madeira toboggans down the hill, these carry 2 people, you can then walk down to Funchal, or take a taxi or a bus

3. Visit Funchal Old Town and stay for lunch, here are some fabulous restaurants where you can sit outside and people-watch and have a meal, sample local dishes or fresh fish.

4. Rent a car – the cost is reasonable and it’s a great way to see more of the stunning island of Madeira

5. Opt to go bed and breakfast or self-catering, the food in the restaurants is excellent and very reasonable too versus the UK and other European destinations

6. Take good footwear with you, there are lots of walks you can do in and around Funchal and other resorts, if you wish to do the Levada walks, take walking boots, and a waterproof coat and ensure you are well equipped for whatever the weather throws at you

7. Visit a lido you can turn and pay to go in or you can pre-book these online, many are in and around Funchal, but there are others in resorts like Puerto Moniz etc

8. Sample the local dishes such as Scabbard fish with Banana and Passion fruit!

9. Try the local rum drink Poncha, this sometimes comes combined with fruits or you can add to it as a mixer, more than two can often be too much!

10. Learn some basic Portuguese, the locals love it when you make an effort to speak to them It’s safe to say

Madeira won our hearts and it is a destination I would love to return to time and time again