Best known for its cornucopia of gourmet food and wine, year-round, mild, sunny climate and breath-taking scenery everywhere you look, Madeira Island is the ideal destination to visit at any time of year. Our walking holiday on Madeira is focused on the south and eastern parts of the island, where you’ll have the chance to stay in small charismatic villages full of friendly locals, explore lush green levada walking trails and feel on top of the world as you perch on the highest peak in Madeira: Pico Ruivo.

When walking on Portugal's Madeira Island, you’ll clearly see how important the dramatic scenery and botanical wonders are to the local people. Well-maintained tropical gardens, seemingly endless irrigation channels with accompanying walking trails and tempting restaurants where only authentic Madeiran cuisine is served are all testament to how much the locals love their home and culture. Discover it all on a self guided Madeira walking holiday.

Despite its sleepy appearance, Madeira knows how to throw a festival. Each February the whole island holds carnival celebrations bursting with samba bands, dancing troupes, street parties and colourful parades which go on for days as you will notice on your walks.

The Madeira Flower Festival is another fantastic celebration. Held each year two weeks after Easter, this botanical event sees floats parade throughout the streets of Funchal laden with a plethora of flowers. There’s plenty more going on during the festival too, including walls built from thousands of fresh flowers, traditional folklore performances, classical music concerts and handmade flower carpets displayed in the streets. This all adds to your walking experience.

Food & Drink on Your Madeira Walking Holiday

Thanks to the surrounding Atlantic Ocean, fish and seafood are prominent in the local cuisine. Limpets cooked with garlic and lemon juice, olive oil and oregano marinated tuna steaks and black swordfish cooked with bananas are all must-try dishes for seafood lovers. Carnivores are well catered for, too, with rustic meat kebabs skewered onto bay leaf sticks, garlic-rubbed grilled pork and Picado (platters of bite-size chunks of beef fried with garlic and red peppers meant for sharing).

Madeira is famous for its wine, with vinho seco (dry white wine) being the most popular and pairing perfectly with the local fish and seafood. For something a bit more adventurous, try a Nikita, made from beer, vanilla ice cream and pineapple.