Reviews

Levadas and Views

Madeira is a beautiful island and the hikes were just the right length to get in some good exercise but still be able to enjoy going out and about on foot afterwards.

A fabulous trip

This holiday lived up to expectations! It was wonderful to see the whole island with varied walks and hotels and a really friendly group who gelled well from the outset. Bruno was an excellent guide who looked after us well and imparted much local knowledge as we passed through different terrain. The views on the coastal paths were spectacular, and the levada walks, especially the waterfalls one, were unique. We had to adapt due to a storm on the first day making the peninsula unsuitable, but Bruno quickly planned an alternative, and the rest of the week was dry and warm, with some days of sunshine, and some mist on occasion which added to the atmosphere.

Varied walks, knowledgeable guide, great overview of Madeira

We had a very enjoyable week in Madeira with our group of 14 and guide Nelio.
We thought the trip worked really well to be able to stay in 4 different locations across the week to really see all parts of Madeira and allow short transfers for each walk. We enjoyed all the walks and liked the variety – coast line, forest, levadas etc.

The biggest disappointment of the week however was not being able to do the main walk of the week on the final day (Pico Arieiro to Pico Ruivo) – due to a fire in the middle of the walk a few weeks previously, as well as bad weather.
But the alternative walk Nelio took us on (a levada from Fajã da Ovelha finishing with a steep descent on PR19 Caminho Real do Paul do Mar) was a real highlight and finished in the little town of Paul do Mar for beers in the sun and a refreshing swim in the sea.

The walk on day 4 at Queimadas Natural Park (walking along the Levada do Caldeirão Verde) was really interesting and beautiful, but we felt far too busy and quite dangerous. You walk along the narrow ledges of the levada with steep dropoffs, with two-way traffic so you have to keep leaning out over the rope barriers to let others pass. There have been incidents there, and it could do with either making it one-way, or certain times where people go in or come out, so it stops the 2-way traffic which the narrow ledges cannot accomodate and makes progress very slow.

One point that we also felt could improve the trip was the ability to buy/make packed lunches. The first day in Machino we all had to go to the supermarket to buy food for the following day. We all found this difficult as there was little options for easy picnic food. The rest of the week most of us just made a sandwich at breakfast to bring with us.
We thought it would make the trip a lot simpler if the hotels allowed guests to make a small packed lunch at breakfast, or alternatively provide a packed lunch service for a small fee. Apparently Exodus had mentioned to some others in our group that it would be possible to buy prepared packed lunches from hotels.
It was not always practical to go to a supermarket, and they often didnt have appropraite items.

We found all the hotels to be of good quality and enjoyed all our stays.
We loved the pool at Hotel Dom Pedro which we enjoyed on both afternoons. The spa at Hotel O Colmo and Hotel Aqua Natura Bay were great, and it was lovely to be able to use the large pool and facilites at the Pestana Casino for the final few days.
Our favourite hotel of the week however was the Hotel Aqua Natura Bay which was super clean, modern, great facilities, large bedrooms, excellent staff and great location just across the road from the natural pools. The included dinners here were fantastic and beautifully presented.

The transport for the week worked well and although the trip notes mentioned public transport, we had a private mini bus for the whole trip. Although be aware on the trip from Porto Moniz to Funchal, all luggage was stacked up in one big pile at the back of the minibus which made it cramped for the people at the back, and any bags at the bottom of the pile got squashed.

Great walking, Excellent and knowledgeable guide

A great introduction to walking in Madeira with a friendly and knowledgeable guide. All the distances were manageable and the routes were well assessed

Great trek, super guide, mixed hotels

This trip shows you the varied aspects of Madeira’s beauty.

What a variety of walks!

I was expecting this trip to be full of activity and it did not disappoint. The five days which were dedicated to walking around the different areas of the island all had something unique to offer, from the barren coastline in the east to the misty and mystical forests in the north. The climax of the trip was the final day achieving the summit of Pico Ruivo, from where all the previous walks could be seen after the sunrise.

Walking the Island of Madeira

Excellent organisation start to finish. Very good itinerary Excellent guide A good price.

Walking the Island of Madeira

This was my fourth Exodus trip and my first travelling solo. I had very good experiences during the first three trips and thought that I knew what to expect and would be safe travelling solo as a female. I walked Amalfi with Tony, Cinque Terre with Michaela and the Camino Trail with Miguel and they all were very organized and met with the group to have a introductory and informative meeting before we started our walk and would often have dinner with the group each night. This did not happen in Madeira. Our meeting was supposed to happen on Saturday, April 13th, the day before our walk began, but Bruno our leader could not get the group all together. He blamed it on miscommunication from some woman at the agency. Our first meeting happened the morning of our first walk. Our group didn’t start having dinner together until the fourth day of our trip. Bruno didn’t have any meals with the group and travelled from his own home to meet up with us for our walks. He said that Exodus would not cover the cost of a room for him. As a solo traveller, I was getting bored of eating dinner alone and I took this trip because I thought all of the trips ran in a similar way. Bruno didn’t know my name, he called me lady when addressing me on one of our walks later in the week. Thursday was his day off and the group was leaving Port Muniz by taxi and travelling to Funchal. There were two confused taxi drivers who picked us up we were not all staying in the same hotel. The group was split in half, some were staying at a hotel mentioned in the trip notes, while the others were staying at another hotel that was not in the trip notes. All of the highlighted names on the list were staying in the same hotel, my name was highlighted, but when we arrived – there was no reservation for me! I was lucky to be travelling with the one person (Trevor) who took a photo of the list and had the other hotel name. They lovely receptionist at the Terrace Mar sorted it all out and I had a place to stay. Bruno was aware of the mix up at the hotel but never addressed it with me. I was very lucky to be travelling with such a good group of people.
We were on our own to purchase lunches but the grocery stores do not have pre made sandwiches or salads. You buy bread, meat and etc. to make your own. One of the hotels did not have a mini bar but offered to store your lunch in a fridge.
The pace of the walk was a little slow for me but the scenery and the weather was beautiful. After a long day in the sun when you want to grab a cold drink, hop in the pool, Bruno would end the day with a long meeting.

Most Inspirational Moment

The weather and scenery was very nice. The last day, walking Pico Arieiro to Pico Ruivo was the highlight for me.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Bruno needs some training or lessons in hospitality.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Madeira has gorgeous scenery and the weather was beautiful. If you are travelling solo and don't mind uncertainty this may work for you.

Reply from Exodus

We’re grateful that Michelle has taken the time to review the experience she had in Madeira, though we’re genuinely sorry to read that it wasn’t as positive as the previous trips she has taken with Exodus.

We expect our tour leaders to hold a meeting on the first day of the trip, to go over the itinerary and introduce themselves and members of the group, so we’re disappointed that Michelle’s leader, Bruno, did not do so until the morning of the first walk. It’s uncommon for this to happen, and we are following up with our local team to see why the welcome briefing didn’t go ahead as usual, and have reminded our leaders of the importance of holding it on the first day.

Similarly, we expect our leaders to make arrangements for group dinners, as we appreciate that especially for solo travellers the social aspect of our trips is really important, and have reminded our local team of this. We’re aware that Bruno’s family lives locally, which is why he returned home instead of eating with and staying with the group; again, this is unusual for an Exodus trip and we have asked Bruno to stay with the group in the evenings on future departures. We would of course cover the cost of rooming for Bruno, as we do with all Exodus tour leaders.

Bruno has received very positive feedback from Exodus customers on previous departures, so we were surprised that Michelle didn’t have the same experience of his leadership; we will certainly be addressing this with Bruno, and are confident he will return to his high standards on future trips.

We understand it will have been surprising that Michelle’s group were split between two hotels in Funchal. Funchal can get extremely busy at peak season, which poses problems for booking groups into a single property. As a result, we book as many group members as possible into the regular hotel we use here, and notify later bookers of the different property they will stay at in Funchal. We’re confident that this system works well, but we recognise that there was somewhat of a mix-up on your trip, for which we do apologise.

Regarding the lunch arrangements on this tour, these are clarified in the trip notes, though we regret Michelle’s disappointment with them and are looking to arrange for groups to be able to put together their lunches in the morning at the hotel.

Again, we’d like to thank Michelle for her feedback and hope that we’re able to welcome her back on another Exodus trip soon.

– Danny Bell, Exodus Product Manager

Walking the Island of Madeira

I felt it was well organised to give a good experience of hiking in Madeira.

Walking the Island of Madeira

The trip was well planned and executed, very few minor issues with accommodation check ins, easy itinerary changes to allow for weather- whole trip ran incredibly smoothly and guide was great.