Madeira, Portugal

 

After our quick stop in Madrid, we headed to Madeira for ten days. Between the mountains, ocean views and winding roads, we really enjoyed our time exploring this incredible island!

We began our trip by meeting up with some family friends on the south side of the island in the town of Funchal. After seven weeks of spending a lot of time together as a family, we were really excited to get to spend time with friends. 

A lot of our time in Madeira was spent just enjoying being together- whether that was going out to eat, exploring different parts of the island or just letting the kids play together. It was such a fun change of pace to have people to share the experience with.

Madeira is a place where the drive itself is part of the adventure (from the point of view of someone who never actually did any driving in Madeira!). The roads are steep and winding, and around every corner it seemed like there was another incredible view. One of our favorite viewpoints was Cabo Girão viewpoint, which had incredible views looking out over the cliffs and ocean.

The kids really loved playing on the black sand beach in Seixal, and we all enjoyed visiting the natural rock pools in Porto Moniz. We actually went back to Porto Moniz again during our time in Madeira, and even though it was too cold to swim both times, we still loved watching the waves crash over the rocks.

We rode the funicular up to Monte and explored the Monte Palace Gardens, which ended up being such a fun place to wander around. Between the tropical plants, winding paths, and little corners to explore, it was a place we could have spent even more time. Another highlight was heading up to Pico do Arieiro, where the views were absolutely amazing. It really showed a completely different side of the island compared to the coastline. And it was really special to be able to look down through the clouds.

For the second half of our stay in Madeira, we moved to the north side of the island. We kept hearing from locals that the south side has the sunshine and good weather but the north side has the most stunning views, and we definitely found that to be true!

We spent our days exploring some of the most beautiful parts of the island. We visited Fanal Forest, which felt mystical with the fog rolling through and the moss covered trees. We also did the Vereda dos Balcões hike which led to beautiful views and the boys got to feed birds at the top- definitely a highlight for them! 

We found a few waterfalls that were a bit off the beaten path, which meant that there was almost nobody there and we got to just enjoy the beauty without the crowds. And one day we ended up in a little beach town where we got to enjoy a seafood lunch right along the water with the waves crashing up onto the sidewalk.

Madeira is one of those places that is hard to fully capture, but it really left an impression on all of us. Between time with friends, new adventures and just being together in such a beautiful place, this ended up being such a fun and memorable place for our family.