My lovely partner has suggested going on holiday somewhere warmer than the UK for a week mid March. She suggested Madeira, so with zero protest form me we booked flights and a hire car before she was able to see why I was so excited about going there.

We usually have quite active holidays, and have never really done a sun/beach/pool holiday, but as she’ll be about 7.5 months pregnant she suggested I might want to find something to do to tire myself out and entertain myself for a few day whilst she relaxes, so I’ll take a bike a have a couple of days with a guide and hopefully squeeze a few self guided rides in early mornings if there is somewhere to ride nearby the accommodation.

Looking for some recommendations on what we can do for the rest of the time, which area / side of the island to stay on etc.

We will be there Wednesday to Wednesday. I have provisionally booked 2 full days riding on Friday and Saturday. Therefore thinking of staying at a hotel somewhere near Funchal Weds to Sat night so that i can easily get to the ride meet point, whilst I am riding she can swim (is it likely to be too cold for an outside pool mid march?), go for a stroll round the old town, have lunch etc without her needing to use the car. Then when I return from the ride we will be able to go somewhere for dinner and the evening together without much messing around. Any tips on hotels? ideally €75-150 per night. places to eat, things for her to do solo during the day or visit together during the evenings?

We are then thinking of booking a hotel or airBnB somewhere else on the island away from Funchal Saturday to Wednesday (budget €50-100 per night). Not sure where though, and what to do once we are there. The island looks beautiful, but due to her state we will not be able to walk any significant distance, so any recommendations of nice terraces to sit on, viewpoints to drive to, villages to stroll round etc would be appreciated.

Thanks

Most hotels will have a heated outdoor pool, we were swimming outside back in December, the Pestana Carlton is very well located being a very short walk into town and near loads of really nice restaurants, it’s a little bit dated but still really good value and would recommend. Go for B&B, fill up and do your own thing later(get a sea view room). Reids is next door but is well pricey and the new Savoy Palace is the other side which you might just get if you stretch your budget a bit.

Monte Garden is nice up the cable car, Cabo Girau, Whale watching, Pico Ruivo to Airero is a stunning walk.

My wife and I went to Madeira in exactly the same situation though she may have been more like 7 months pregnant. Our taste in holidaying sounds similar – we normally move often and spend quite a lot of time camping.

We stayed at the Allegro Madeira which would be within your budget and offers one last child free stay! The hotel seems brand new and the room and views were excellent. The swimming pool might not be the best for setting length records, looked like more of a sit around or paddle in option. But just down the road there is a lido complex. The hotel is well situated and although it is not in Funchal central there is a bus stop 20m away with frequent buses that take 10min to the city centre. We used the buses for speed and ease despite having a hire car. Funchal central is pleasant enough but not don’t confuse it with a city break destination, there is not that much to see, but an enjoyable place to relax.

It just so happens that Freeride Madeira are within 200m of the hotel too. I only did one days riding with them but it was superb. Don’t know how often you are riding at home but for what you describe consider a gap between your guided days to give the arms time to recover. I would really recommend Freeride Madeira as they are investing a lot in the trails on the island. Riding was superb and plenty challenging. The island is seriously steep, first gear in a car is frequently required. If you have a hire car I would suggest one uplift a day would go a long way!

We considered the walk from Pico Ruivo to Airero but it looked a bit much. We did however go to Pico Ruivo from Pico Teixaura (sp) very easy and the same eventual high point.

We also headed to Porto Moniz which was great but choose your accommodation carefully.

We also stayed at Estalagem Da Ponta Do Sol it is a bit more money but worth it for one night, a really impressive hotel.

Stick to the south coast, it has a much better climate/weather than the north.

Outdoor hotel pools are generally not heated (I have never seen one).
We were there last week and the sea was warmer than the pool. If I had to guess I would say pool was 16c and sea was 18c. Maybe if you stay near “The Lido Area” (Funchal) you could swim in the public lido?

The topography is pretty extreme, so not many beaches. They have two man-made ones Machico (nice sandy bay, almost looks natural, my favourite) and Calheta (bit more concrete looking). they are both shallow sloping, protected from swell and good for swimming. Not really near tourist areas so very quite.

There are plenty of Levada walks you can do an some mountain walks (some long, some short). You can park near the summit of Pico Ruivo and just walk the last 350meters ish. If the weather is good you can see the whole island from here.

Mick

The hotel I mentioned is in the Lido area so fits that recommendation well.

The northern side is dramatic, more rural feeling and spectacular. We enjoyed seeing it but if you are sun seeking agree it is not the spot to head to.

The Levada walks are good but many are one-way and often downhill so may we worth considering which can be done in a circular way or by bus access as a hire car does not help this.

Unless I missed a closer car park you can get to within what is probably 350m vertical of Pico Ruivo but the return walk took us about 2.5hrs including taking in the views at the top.

Oh and get ready to drive in lots of tunnels!

Oh and practice your hill-starts!

@geomickb – I’m pleased it wasn’t just me struggling with that. I was seriously sweating at one point; stopped at a T-junction, car behind me, super steep. The locals are very good at engine braking too in order to avoid cooking the brakes.

Oh that also made me think; IMO don’t bother upgrading the size of your hire car some roads are narrow and tight and they are all well surfaced but something with a bit of power wouldn’t go amiss given the gradients. We spent a lot of time in first gear in our Peugeot 208 🙂

Thanks for the tips so far.

@keppoch I like the look of Estalagem Da Ponta Do Sol. Minimum 5 night stay, so have booked that for the last 5 nights but will keep looking and cancel if needed.

It only looks to be around 25 mins from Funchal, so now considering not staying in the city at all.

Would usually get the smallest car possible somewhere like Madeira, but have gone for something slightly larger in the hope that the bike bag will fit in the boot with the bike still in it to make getting from/to the airport easier.

@keppoch I like the look of Estalagem Da Ponta Do Sol. Minimum 5 night stay, so have booked that for the last 5 nights but will keep looking and cancel if needed.

Morning Peekay – we know the guys at the Estalagem well, it’s a great hotel. I wouldn’t shy away from the north coast as the scenery is more impressive than the south, and it’s less populated. (Mods-I hope this doesn’t break the rules) I work for a small company in the Lakes that specialises in tailor made holidays to the Azores and Madeira. There’s lots of info on our website that might help, or drop me an email if you want some contacts for things like whale watching or canyoning (paul@archipelagochoice.com).

Sorry, just reread your original post! Drop me an email and I can send you some google map links for some car-based days out.

@parkedtiger Thanks for your message. I’ve sent you an email.