Starting with magical Madeira

Our 2025 winter travel started when we arrived in Portugal, flying from St. John’s to Montreal, then an overnight redeye flight to Lisbon, a short 1.5 hour stop and a flight of 1.5 hours to Funchal, Madeira. We were 9 nights on Madeira, in two hotel stops.

We spent the first couple of days exploring the heart of Funchal. On day 4 we embarked on an organized day tour to the eastern and northern part of the island, which included a lunch and wine tasting. We then changed hotels, as planned, to a nice hotel just on the outskirts of the central area, near the Lido area. We then rented a car for three days and did some exploring on our own. This included the spectacular hike at Pico do Areeiro, the highest point on the island of Madeira. We also undertook the Levada walk to the famous waterfalls of 25 Fontes and Risco.

Our first hotel was in the heart of Funchal. Funchal is the capital and largest city on the island of Madeira. It is famous for a number of things, including, a crazy airport landing, a great cruise port, famous Madeira wine, the birthplace of famous Portuguese soccer great Cristiano Ronaldo, beautiful streets lined with the Portuguese tile patterns, a very pleasant climate in a seaside setting surrounded by striking hills which climb to the clouds.

Here are some early pictures……..