Madeira and Porto Santo Island Hopping

Day 1 - UK - Funchal - Ponta Delgada

Titan’s VIP door-to-door travel service collects you from home for your flight to Madeira. On arrival, we drive to our hotel in Ponta Delgada on the north coast of the island - a traditional Madeiran village with a horseshoe-shaped harbour and red-tiled white houses. Our hotel is perched on a clifftop above the village, with terraced green gardens and unobstructed views across the Atlantic.

Day 2 - North Coast Tour

First-time visitors landing on Madeira will be floored by the vivid green blanket of tropical palms, banana plantations and laurel forests that drape over the valleys and hillsides. Hemmed by windswept Atlantic waves, uncrowded pebbly beaches and lost world waterfalls - and blessed with a year-round sunny climate - Madeira is worthy of its crown as the ‘Pearl of the Atlantic’. On an included tour we explore the rugged wilderness of the northeast of the island, stopping at the tiny village of Boaventura. Driving along dramatic coastal roads, we arrive in Santana on the east coast to visit the Madeira Theme Park - an outdoor exhibition that helps to ground our understanding of the history, traditions and engineering achievements that have kept this beautiful green island so self-sufficient for so long.

Day 3 - Ponta Delgada

Today is at leisure to enjoy the hotel, or to join an optional tour to the west coast of the island to Porto Moniz - famous for its sea-fed lava-formed natural swimming pools. You’ll get a taste for why Madeira is such a paradise for hikers as you head inland, driving up to the Paul de Serra - a flat tawny plateau that’s a contrast to the vibrancy of the rest of the island, and the croaks and chorus of the frogs and geckos that surround you.

Day 4 - Levada do Norte

Walkers flock year-round to Madeira’s emerald shores to hike along the Levadas. A spectacular feat of engineering built in the 15th-century, these 200 stone irrigation channels wind up, down and around the hillsides to carry fresh water from the mountainous interior to drier parts of the island. With an expert local guide, on today’s included half-day tour we head towards Campanario to join the island's largest path, Levada do Norte.

Day 5 - Ponta Delgada - Funchal - Vila Baleira, Porto Santo

This morning we travel to the capital, Funchal, to take the ferry over to neighbouring Porto Santo. Madeira's pint-sized sibling couldn’t look more different. Known as the ‘Golden Island’ for its straw-coloured sand and aquamarine waters that circle the island, the interior is also a stark contrast to Madeira - dry and rocky with volcanic peaks sculptured into perfect cones. If Madeira is laid-back, Porto Santo is horizontal. Unspoiled and unhurried, it’s a unique insight into traditional Portuguese life.

Day 6 - Vila Baleira

Today is free to enjoy the resort. If you’d rather explore, the capital of Vila Baleira is close. Beachfront Vila Baleira is a lesson in relaxed. Separated from the sands by just a line of palm trees, the town itself is a charming collection of paved streets, terracotta-topped white houses and cobbled squares.

Day 7 - Island Tour

We set off on a half-day tour of the island, starting at the southwest tip of Ponta de Calheta - the end of the line for the unbroken stretch of sand that suddenly falls away into the sea as the island comes to an abrupt end. We then drive through lunar-like landscapes to the north coast where we check out traditional tools and artefacts specific to the island at the Museum of Cardina in Camecha. After a spot of wine tasting, we close the loop travelling back to our hotel around the north coast.

Day 8 - Vila Baleira

Spend today doing as you please.

Day 9 - Vila Baleira

Today we boot up for an included hike starting at Pico Castelo viewpoint, the only green mountain on the island. Punctuated by dragon trees, heather, juniper and Lebanese cedar we reach the peak, where we’re met with breathtaking views that perfectly illustrate the shape of the island with two volcanic peaks at each end separated by the lower plain. Heading down another trail we’ll reach the path to the island’s highest peak, Pico do Facho. Meaning ‘Peak of the Torch’, this high vantage point was used as a lookout for marauding pirates heading for Madeira, at which point huge bonfires would be lit on the summit to warn Funchal over 50km away.

Days 10-11 - Vila Baleira

The next two days are at leisure to soak up the slower pace of island life.

Day 12 - Vila Baleira - Funchal

Today we board the ferry back to Madeira, this time stopping in the capital Funchal. With orange-tiled houses climbing up the hillside from the busy working port, Madeira’s capital is vibrant in colour and in culture. Peppered with historic churches and lemon, ochre and red painted colonial buildings, the cobbled old town is a wonderful place to get lost in. Lined with red-checked tablecloths, dark wine cellars and rum bars - Funchal comes alive at lunchtime or late at night.

Day 13 - Funchal

Madeira’s other moniker is the ‘Flower Island’, and today it’s easy to see why. Riding the cable car up to Monte on an included tour, we’re greeted with spectacular views that sweep over the rooftops of Funchal and across the Atlantic. Monte is a pretty stone-built village with lovely botanical gardens, home to 2,500 species of plants, trees and flowers.

Day 14 - Funchal

Our final day is free to relax at the hotel or explore the capital independently. There’s also an optional half-day excursion to Blandy’s Wine Lodge in Funchal - a historic family-run winery where you can learn about and taste Madeira’s favourite export.

Day 15 - Funchal - UK

We transfer to the airport for your return flight to the UK. Upon arrival, your Titan vehicle will be waiting for the journey home.