Full Day West Madeira Tour

Booked this trip at the Kiosk if front of our hotel Pestana Casino Park Ocean. Should have paid the extra 2 euros and gone with the tour company offered by the hotel concierge instead. Pros - the driver was good, knowledgeable, never short on providing interesting information. The stops on the tour were pretty good. It was raining in the mountains so could not enjoy the Fanal Forest. Cheap price - but would have paid more for a better bus. Cons - The minibus was old, air conditioning was weak (air outlets removed), small cramped seats that did not recline, there was an odor the entire trip of musk/mildew that made me nauseous. The rear tires were completely bald. It was as if this company can’t afford to have newer, clean and proper maintained vehicles in their fleet. Lunch restaurant that the driver recommended (Mar a Vista) was horrible - it was like the driver picked the most convenient restaurant for him to park and drop us off. The wait staff were rude, the food was not good - Especially bad was the cod fish lunch- it took extra long to make (which the waiter did not warn us about as wee were short on time) and it was overcooked - rubbery and not edible.

Excellent guide, very informative and friendly, timely pick-up, comfortable coach.

We had a fantastic West tour and couldn`t have wished for a better guide/driver. Benjamin was such a nice guy and his knowledge of the island`s history was amazing. Another bonus was the great weather which I believe isn`t always so in Porto Moniz.

Very well, detailed trip showing all the details of trees, towns, and cities and history with a lot of acknowledge of agriculture

Picked up in mini van just before 9am for a tour of the West of Madeira Island. Location for pick-up had been changed by the tour operator, and we had been sent the revised location, with a link to a map. Transpired that the pick up point was actually about 200m away, and felt lucky that we hadn’t missed the trip departure. Stopped off a few more times to collect others en route. All went smoothly. Van not air conditioned so a little too warm at times, but open windows kept the air moving. The places we visited were mostly interesting and enjoyable to see. We were unable to visit one of the scheduled stops with small waterfalls due to rock falls. Camara de Lobos, or Churchill’s Bay was very pretty and there was a festival of some kind at the time of our visit. We were able to sit within a cast statue of Winston C., painting, for a photo. The view point was amazing. It cost 5 Euros per person, payable at a ticket vending machine by card. NB The toilets here require a cash payment of 50 cents which had some cashless people crossing their legs! Come prepared. The natural pools were great to experience. Some, to the left of Porto Moniz are commercially operated with extensive fact, but quite crowded when we visited. A little further along the coast to the East were other pools without the same facilities such as changing rooms. These looked more appealing and less crowded and had we seen these first we’d have had a swim. Swim shoes annd a changing robe or towel are a good idea for this area. We had lunch at the cafe recommended by the tour guide in Porto Moniz, which we enjoyed and considered good value. The places we visited high up on the island were not to be missed. Amazing scenery and views, and areas we’d like to re-visit and explore more in future. We hadn’t been sure what the temperature would be like as we’d read reports that it could be quite cool high up in the mountains. The temperature did drop to around 17 degrees C, but we were very glad of the cool air at that point and didn’t need the extra layer of clothing we’d taken with us. Tour guide was top notch. Multi lingual, and very knowledgeable of the island. His commentary along the way was very well rehearsed, and timing right on point every time. Some of the roads were extremely tricky, being narrow, twisty, very steep, congested in places, and with sheer drops off the side of the road on very high mountains. However, Joel (?) was brilliant at negotiating the terrain and traffic. I’m quite a cautious driver, and nervous passenger. Although I’d rather the highway speeds had been a little less hurried at times, I felt overall very reassured and comfortable throughout. Really pleased we did this day long tour, finishing just after 5pm. Great value, and we plan to do their East of Madeira tour on a future visit.

The trip gave us a really good snapshot of the western side of Madeira with plenty of stops and opportunities to see various points and places of interest. This was backed up by the knowledge of our driver Chris, who was excellent, giving us commentary throughout the day on the places we visited as well as general information about the island and the way of life there. We would thoroughly recommend this trip and it was great value for money too in our opinion.

We enjoyed this trip very much. Benjamin was our guide and he was very professional and delivered the commentary in both English and German. He drove carefully and gave us useful information at each stop, such as where we could find toilets and refreshments. We thought the west of the island was beautiful although very crowded at times.

This was the best trip I have done in along time and I think it was the driver Emamuel that made it so special, very knowledgeable and a really nice guy. The tour was a good price and we got to see so much. Thank you so much xx

Good to see this part of the island. Friendly and informative guide and safe driving. Personally, would have liked more time in Fanal and less in Porto Moniz but its difficult to please everyone. Minivan is tight and very warm.

The tryp was very interesting. The guide, who explained everything very well, was very friendly and seemed to love his work. We enjoyed it a lot.

Benjamin collected us at our hotel on time. He was very knowledgeable, and happily answered questions, and gave us interesting information about the island throughout the tour. He stopped at view points en route to the planned stops so we could take photos. Options were given for eating & toilet locations. He drove the minibus safely. Glad we took layers/ walking shoes for the changeable weather (temperature varied by 10 degrees), and muddy in places at Fanal. Thank you Benjamin

Our host Romero was so accommodating to me & my 10 year old son. He was very friendly, professional & knowledgeable. His driving was top-notch too (I’m too scared to drive here!!!). The tour itself was great! We saw so much of the island we wouldn’t have on our own without a car & Romero was able to offer tips & knowledge to add to the experience! Thank you!!!

Highly recommend the West and the East tours. Well organised and we saw places we would not have visited on our own. Very informative guides who gave us the history of the places we were visiting. We paid £35 for each day trip and they were excellent value for money. Only 16 -20 on the mini bus so groups are kept small. The places we visited were really varied and interesting. One negative- our 2nd trip mini bus had seats that were too small and anyone over 5ft 7” had to sit at an angle.

A fantastic full day out on a west Madeira tour with Marco as our driver and guide. We visited some real places of interest and Marco was such an informed guide who kept us up to date with the facts about our tour. A very safe driver too, which was a bonus on the twisty mountainous roads and I would absolutely recommend this tour company if you're visiting this lovely island.

Fabulous day. While the weather was not in our favour, we still had a great day. Alberto was an excellent guide providing excellent commentary about all the places we passed through and really went above and beyond in making our day enjoyable. There are several companies offering this sort of trip. Some seem cheap but want you to tour their timeshare as part of the deal. Beware! Others may seem cheap - but if the driver is not enthusiastic, the whole day can be ruined. Also Beware! Ilhatours however were excellent - and we did a total of 3 tours with them and would wholeheartedly recommend. I'm sure we'll return to Madeira one day and would book again with Ilhatours without any hesitation. Thank you to Maria in the office...

This tour was spoiled by the guide,who prioritised trying to sell us a meal at a friends restaurant rather than concentrating on the trip. Twice he gave driver instructions to drive away from a stop when there were still people not boarded. It was left to us passengers to makes sure everyone was aboard. The timing of the stops was very vague ie.Be here 20 or 30 mins. No outline/timing of the trip was given at the beginning and it seemed to revolve round what time we could arrive at said restaurant ,with a couple of random stops thrown in.to accomodate the food orders. Initially he used the microphone, but gave up using this and he couldnt be heard at the back. The transport was very uncomfortable, narrow seats,inefficient air conditioning. I would not reccomend this.trip.

We had a fantastic trip in terms of the scenery and locations visited; however, our experience was significantly marred by the behaviour of the driver, Alberto. From the start, he was rude to all 11 members of our group, especially when a few of us were slightly late. His attitude when two members were delayed by just three minutes while waiting to use the toilets was particularly unnecessary. Throughout the trip, he frequently interrupted the group with overly embellished commentary, much of which was irrelevant to us. His constant shushing and condescending tone left us feeling disrespected and unwelcome. While we appreciate some useful information was shared, his manner and incessant talking detracted from what could have been an enjoyable day. After 25 years of being a guide, we would have expected more tolerance and understanding. Unfortunately, his behaviour greatly reduced our overall enjoyment of what should have been a memorable experience.

I couldn’t do it, first they were supposed to be in a traffic jam, then, after more than an hour, they just forgot to pick me up. I had to text and call them to check the situation all the time. I give them 1 star cause, at party least, they refund me as soon as they realize about the situation.

Today was a wet and sometimes windy , misty day. Tony our driver and guide drove us safely over the mountain tops, and made the tour entertaining and informative. His English is really excellent. He made sure we got the most out of the day despite the weather!

Good way to get an overview of the West Side of the island. The guide was good. Weather not so good. Minibus got very little leg room except front 3 passenger seats.

Really interesting tour in a small group by minibus. Patrick our guide made it all so interesting, giving us lots of information about the plants, agriculture, and places we visited. He spoke great English and other languages too. We had thought about renting a car but this was much more relaxing, as the roads are quite scary in places and you would have to really concentrate if driving. Highly recommended!

All places that we visited in this excursion broadened our understanding of Madeira's unique nature and hard working people who have created this paradise. Thanks to the fact that people working for Ilha tours are real patriots of their island, each story, comment or joke gave additional value to the trip. The wonderful guide Patricia spoke 3 languages, and everybody was happy to get info in his mother tongue. We highly recommend tourists choose excursions/trips from Ilha tours!

Stay away from the tour company Ilhatours operating in Funchal Madeira! Horrible experience! I booked a full day to go to Porto Moniz for myself and my teenage son with this company and they did not show up to pick up. After persitent calls made by the hotel reception on my behalf Maria from the tour company called back 1.5h later and said " sorry the van is full today.. can you go tomorrow? ..." I was appalled because my plans for the day were ruined. After much complaining they proceded to send some peson employed by the company ( I think his name was Joao, he refued to spell it) to give us ride "to catch up with the tour bus" This person was driving recklessly, recklessly enough to make my son carsick, and even cursing in Portuguese thinking that we do not understand and was extremly dipleased with the task he was given. Shortly after he drove us back to the hotel continuing to act unpleasant. We got this instead of "catching the bus" but I was thankful this tour nightmare was over.

The tour was a comprehensive schedule of very interesting sites of the Madeira Island. All the stops were worth the time. The guide was very nice and knowledgeable. However, the minibus seating was a bit tight, and we were full. I would have preferred a more spacious method of transportation for a full day tour. The Hop on Hop off yellow bus in my opinion is a must. I purchased a 5-day, on first day I did not get off, just wanted to see what was there to see, then I got off the places I thought were most interesting such as the Formosa Beach, Stop # 19 bring your swimsuit, you will want to swim in the natural pools and have lunch at the over the water restaurant, the Lido area is walking distance or stop 20 and 21 it has an impressive shopping mall. Stop 7 was my favorite area. The Ritz restaurant has great food and services. There is a lovely park on the other side of the street. And a wine tasting and restaurant, great food just a few yards up. This was my favorite area as far as the city center area. AND Cristiano Renaldo Museum is a must whether you like football or not, hundreds of memorabilia, I never imagined CR7 had this many trophies and so much other stuff at such young age. One of my favorite places to visit walking distance either walk down towards water from stop 7 or visit it from where the yellow busses leave from stop 1, if you are looking at the ocean look to the right and there is it the CR7 museum. Hope you all have the wonderful experiences I had.

Excellent tour today with Alberto. Great commentary along the way and just enough time at each stop. Warmly recommended.

The best: Cabo Girao and Porto Moniz. Great guide and driver. Next time I go to Madeira, certainly I ´ll choose again Ilha Tours for another tour in the island.

This was a good value tour with a great guide / driver, who was really knowledgeable and informative. The island is so varied and this tour shows the north and south coast as well as the mountains. We were really lucky and saw the largest waves we had ever seen in our lives at Porto Moniz. The only reason I dropped one star was that the minibus had very little legroom.

What a great experience! Carlos was a friendly, informative guide and a careful, considerate driver. He showed us some great spots around the west and north sides and told us lots of stories in between. He shared a little of his life here which made us feel connected. The minibus was extremely comfortable though not fancy, and the mic system worked well. Top guy, top tour. Heartily recommend.

Really enjoyed doing the West Tour & Kings Levada walk with Ilha Tours this week. Pick up was right on time for both & the guides were experienced & informative (Tony for the tour & Ali for the walk). Also I can't remember the drivers name for the tour but he was an excellent driver in difficult conditions, especially in the mountains where it was torrential rain with fog & cows roaming randomly! It was interesting to understand the weather/nature/landscape in different parts of the Island & we did have a dip at Porto Moniz even though it wasnt brilliant weather, it was still way warmer than the UK! The levada walk was brilliant despite damp weather & getting soaked going under the waterfall (waterproofs essential) - it was a nice small group of friendly people & nice to finish with a hot cuppa in a cafe with chickens & peacocks roaming around. There are some very steep drops which is challenging for those with vertigo and the path becomes narrow in some places but we all followed Ali's advice & walked safely & the pace was comfortable. The path wasn't too busy, we passed a few people but it was generally quiet and peaceful.

Great trip and well worth the money. Our guide spoke all languages to speak to our diverse group. Sergio Gomez is of particular mention for his humour and ability to add a couple of surprises for us. The final Madeira tasting experience rounded off a great day. Thank you ihlatours and of course Sergio

The tour was (at max.) OK for getting to know the Western part of the island. But there were several stops for only a few minutes, so that you weren't able to really getting to see or know the places. We got picked up late. The minibus was bad. Most of the AC was not working, most of the speakers and also the microphone was not really working and one couldn't really understand what the guide was saying. The guide "spoke" German but as German native speakers we had a hard time understanding him. Luckily, we understood the English and the French part. But if you asked any questions in German there was no good outcome. So for a "German guided tour", we would not recommend it. The driver was good and managed the narrow roads etc. perfectly. We did an East Tour with another company at that was way better.

Hello I was not happy with the tour The stops were very rushed and the ac was not working in the vehicle which made the entire journey very uncomfortable

I'm sure this tour is lovely. However, myself and my daughters will never know as the tour got cancelled and we were never told. We woke up at 7am so that we could have breakfast and could prepare our snacks. We went to the hotel reception at 8.45am, as agreed, and no one turned up. The lovely receptionist make a few calls back and forth and we never got to the bottom of why we were not picked up as we were given too separate reasons- firstly that the tour had been cancelled and we had not been told. Secondly, they had mistakenly listed us for the next day. They seemed like an unorganised and unprofessional organisation and I would never use them again. We ended up going back to the promenade and getting a refund from the lady who had booked us on the tour. She was apologetic and was, herself, annoyed at the company for their lack of organisation.

do not book this company. if you cancel a tour you still have to pay the full amount even though you didn't sign anything. the full rip off! never again!

I highly recommend tours with Ilhatours! We decided to go for an organised trip instead of hiring a car and that was an excellent choice! Our guide Patricia Gomez made it amazing! We’d never visit that much on our own. Not only she showed us tourist attractions and breath taking views, but also introduced us to Madeiran culture. It was definitely worth to visit the island with the local guide. Also Patricia is a great driver, and we felt very safe during the mountain trips. Thanks again Patricia!

We went on three different excursions with Ilha tours, and had great experiences every time! We did a couple of hiking tours with Carlos who was a very competent and skilled guide, he knew a lot about the plants and herbs of the areas, and we felt very safe on the tours even though the weather conditions were challenging. Our favorite trip was the West Coast explorer trip and while this was an amazing experience on it’s own Patricia (our driver) went above and beyond to ensure we had an unforgettable day. We requested a few things that were outside the planned itinerary and she quickly made arrangements to accommodate our requests. She was extremely knowledgeable of the island, very kind and genuinely passionate about her job. Thanks to Carlos and Patricia we have some wonderful memories of Madeira island and we can’t wait to come back for more adventures!

Greatest tour ever, we hope to see our best guide on island tommorow again - on the East trip! It was quite long adventure with a little bit of walking (not to much), plenty of great views, tasting some yum yum liquors, and what's the most important - nice company of our helpful guide with impressive knowledge:) Cheers!

I was on a trip to Western Madeira. everyone was very pleased with the trip. Patricia is a great woman, she talked about what we visit and answered questions. She is very good drivers. Thank you for a great time and we recommend everyone a trip with the girls from this travel agency. Kamila with mather

Highlights Seixal beach, Ribeira Brava, Poncha Taberna (The real deal!) Patricia - the best, most chilled, tour guide in Madeira, knowledgeable, approachable and friendly. Safe driving, good with all group members and a real understanding of people and group dynamics. Multilingual, portuguese, german, english and I also think italian and french as well. Lunch purchased midpoint (with wine included) - very nice. Very reasonably priced tour, comfortable minivan (5 passengers and the driver in total - all masked). Great tour showing all the diverse climates and geography of beautiful Madeira. Will be back...highly recommended.

I was in Madeira many years ago, visiting only Funchal and without taking any tour, so this time I wanted to explore more the rest of the island -- definitely a good idea! We took the East tour (full-day), the West tour (full-day), and the Nuns Valley tour (half-day). The tours were fantastic, we had the opportunity to see many beautiful places all around the island. For the full-day tours we had lunch in two places suggested by the tour. Having lunch there was optional, but it was a good choice: for both places food was good and cheap. Our guide was Lisa: best guide ever. She was very kind and knowledgeable, and for each stop she gave us enough time to explore the place, take pictures, and stroll around. One thing I appreciated a lot are the so many interesting things she told us about the places we visited and the island in general. Having a guide who is not boring but tells you interesting things about the places you see makes a big difference. The overall price for the three tours was good. Strongly recommended experience. Thanks, Lisa, you made our trip to Madeira a fantastic experience!

We were very impressed and happy with our driver Melim. He was very helpful and showed us everything we wanted and more. It was a fun day with him as well - he is easy-going and very friendly!

Too cramped between the seats on a full bus. Very uncomfortable

Great excursion, Luis and Nelio are excellent guides. I highly recommend it. The view was magnificent.

Very good, keep going with your guide!

We loved the tour to the west of the island of Madeira! It was an incredible experience and a great way to see much of the island in one day. The guide was absolutely spectacular — super friendly, knowledgeable and always sharing interesting curiosities about the places we passed, which made everything even more special. We always felt very comfortable inside the minibus, the trip was quiet and very well organized from start to finish. We highly recommend this tour to those who want to take advantage of a day to discover the beauty of Madeira with calm, comfort and accompanied by someone who really makes a difference. Five stars, no doubt!

Good group size, plenty of time at the stops, Skywalk and waterfall at the end were not really necessary (there would certainly have been something nicer/more interesting found). Overall, however, a good tour at a fair price.

Varasimme länsiretken useita päiviä etukäteen. Kukaan ei noutanut meitä luvatusti hotellilta, vaikka odotimme tunnin. Ei kuulemma varausta, vaikka meillä oli retkilippu. Hyvä lomapäivä meni osin hukkaan. Rahoista saimme sentään takaisin etukäteen maksamamme osan. Ei enää tämän järjestäjän retkille!

Punctual pickup from Alberto, who is a very prudent driver. Good weather made the trip to the west a great experience.

Patrick, the guide and was great. Interesting, funny, the right information about country and people, not too much, not too little.