Half-day Small-group Madeira Village Safari From Funchal

We were the only couple in the trip so had the jeep and guide to ourselves. Ernesto was a great driver/guide. All of the places we visited were interesting and the off road drive was exciting.

We did the half day tour from the cruise terminal. Pedro was our driver/guide and he did a wonderful job. He was very informative and friendly. I would highly recommend this tour and Pedro as the driver.

Hotel pick up was on time, by our very knowledgeable and Fun tour guide, who spoke excellent English and ensured you were included at all times. A very worthwhile interesting tour, would thoroughly recommend to anyone.

This was an excellent tour - the guide -John - made all the difference with his knowledge of the island as a whole but also the farms and forests and generally the very wide variety plants flowers and trees which is very much what Madeira is about. Highly recommended tour.

The tour was great! It was adventurous and we had beautiful scenic countryside and mountain views. The small group was perfect and our driver (Paola?) was very interesting and gave a lot of information about the area.

We had a wonderful time. John, our driver and guide, was so friendly and entertaining, and he was a mine of fascinating facts and stories about the island. I thoroughly recommend this experience.

So easy to book online always feel confident in booking with Viator and have done for past few years

On time pick up very friendly guide Michael so amusing informative guide stopped to hello to a couple of lovely friendly dogs on the way and the local stop off for Poncha was great the off road fun and bumpy but had to be done great views and did what it said on the can thanks

Our guide was very knowledgable and good fun but unfortunately I can’t remember his name but he took us to some great locations

A fun relaxed way to see Madeira. John, our host/driver, was very welcoming and friendly. His knowledge was exceptional and he always went out of his way to make sure everyone was enjoying the trip. Highly recommend.

We did the nuns valley half day jeep safari tour, plenty of view points and two off road sections. John was our driver, he gave us plenty information during the tour. Well worth it.

Great few hours touring the middle of Madeira. Paolo my guide was very friendly and informative. I learned a lot more and will be back for a different tour next year.

An amazing experience and the guide was absolutely excellent. He gave us lots of information along the way - We had a wonderful opportunity to see the island as a whole with some fabulous views! I would definitely recommend it

Great day, great views! Milton was an excellent guide! Off road was really cool. Highly recommend! Poncha stop also on the tour which was excellent!

Great guide and interesting places and fun off roading

We had the best (half) day with our guide Gabriel. He was very welcoming, knowledgeable and a top guide to learn a lot about the island. We would highly recommend this tour. Even if you have (like us) a rental. You’re able to see places places you wouldn’t see on your own! Thank you very much for the great experience!

Great fun and fantastic views on our jeep safari. Scary roads but saw places we were unlikely to see otherwise. John, our driver, made sure it was an adventure to remember (for all the right reasons) 😁

We took the half day tour and had great time. They picked up at our residence near Funchal. Great service and many nice spots to visit. Highly recommended

Outstanding tour with a brilliant tour guide and driver John. We got to see and do so much. Really fun especially the off road part!! A definite highlight of our family holiday in Madeira and highly recommended. 5* experience

Great morning out . New guy took us out and was apologetic about his English prior to trip. However his conversation was excellent 👌 as was his driving up challenging roads and dirt tracks. Thoroughly enjoyable time spent exploring the beautiful countryside and landscape of this fantastic island. The cliffs at Cabo Girão been just one of the highlights 😀

Had a brilliant half day safari with our guide John. John was very knowledgeable about the area, the architecture, fauna and flora. All in all a very enjoyable trip.

Ernesto was a great guide! Showed us great spots and the entire tour was beautiful

Pick up direct from hotel our guide was Henry “a little bit crazy” as he describes himself we had a great tour high up into mountains great view points and stopped for Poncho at local bar Fantastic off road experience

10/10 Fantastic Half Day tour with our Driver ‘John’ , Honestly cannot fault anything , Very knowledgeable & friendly driver . Right amount of time at each stop . Definitely recommend.

We had the jeep all to ourselves and Miguel was an excellent guide. Never hurried us at any of the stops snd was a great help in explaining local traditions.

Had a great afternoon with our friendly driver Miguel. Went to locations with great panoramic views. Drove through villages with narrow streets, Visited the glass bridge , stopped at a traditional bar in a mountain village where we sampled the local Poncha. Also went off road for parts of the trip. I thoroughly recommend it and will do it again on my next trip to Madeira.

Our guide Pedro, picked us directly from the cruise terminal. He was early and waiting for us. He has loads of experience and was very knowledgeable having lived on the island all his live. We booked the half day tour and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Book with confidence. Thanks Pedro for a awesome morning!

Travelled with 2 other couples in a Safari jeep for a half day tour of mid/south part of island. Covered exactly what they were supposed to and were on time etc. The guide was very professional whilst also being very funny and helpful . Great enjoyable trip.

A fantastic half day with Michael in the Jeep; interesting, informative and lots of fun with breathtaking views. I accidentally hit my head (stupid me), Micheal administered caring first aid and rang the hotel later to ask me if I was ok; he went above and beyond! Thank you Micheal, you were a superstar!

This is a roadtrip to the area surrounding Funchal in a jeep. You will be seated in the back of a jeep: and need to be able to climb into and out of it. The position can be uncomfortable if you have knee pain or other leg issues , definitely not good for customers with mobility issues. The road trip was a lot of fun as you travel inland thru roads, narrow streets, up steep slopes and eventually off-road thru a forest! We enjoyed our tour of Madeira! Wish there was more information with the trip, like data about the island and since when it was inhabited, etc.

We booked this excursion through Viator after carefully reviewing multiple options. The cruise line offered a very similar experience at a higher price through their own vendors, so we felt confident booking independently. The excursion organizers reached out the day prior with meeting instructions, directing us to exit the cruise port and walk toward flowerpots 52 and 54. This is an area where the experience could have been improved—clearer directions (such as exiting the terminal and turning left) would have saved time and confusion. Several participants, including us, initially walked in the wrong direction before turning around and eventually locating the meeting point. Once we arrived, the guides informed us that our assigned vehicle and driver had not yet arrived, so we waited a bit before getting started. The tour began shortly after, but the vehicle itself appeared somewhat run down, and the driver seemed to struggle with operating a manual transmission at times. One positive aspect was that our vehicle had a removable top, which other groups (who booked through the cruise line) did not have. They actually commented on how nice that feature was. However, due to rainy weather and the nature of the terrain, there was very limited opportunity to fully enjoy that benefit. The tour route included several stops: a fishing village (with time for souvenir shopping and restrooms), a nuns’ village, a cable car area, a scenic viewpoint, and a restaurant/bar stop where local poncha and wine were offered. While the stops themselves were decent, the overall experience lacked depth in terms of information. Our driver provided minimal commentary, and most of the explanations came from the lead driver, who would walk over to our group during stops. At the restaurant stop, we felt some pressure from the organizer to purchase drinks, as we were repeatedly asked if we were going to buy something. This came across as a bit pushy and detracted from the overall experience. Overall, the excursion wasn’t terrible, but it did not fully deliver on expectations—particularly the “off-road adventure” aspect, which felt less engaging than advertised. Additionally, there was a missed opportunity to provide more meaningful insight about the island throughout the tour. Given the experience, I would not choose to book this excursion again, though it may still appeal to travelers looking for a casual overview rather than a more informative or immersive tour.

Excellent trip. Gabriel our guide was brilliant. Kept up well informed and brought us to some excellent viewing spots and we also stopped in a bar ip in the hills for a local poncha which was the best we had on our entire trip. We had such a good laugh on the trip. Really a good three hours spent.

Wonderful way to spend a half day in Madeira- collected from hotel, brought to some beautiful places like the 500 metres above sea level glass floor lookout- some fun off roading too- good value go for it- our tour guide was excellent

We had a genuinely excellent time on the 4x4 safari and would comfortably say it was one of the highlights of our trip to Madeira. John, our guide, was superb. Clearly very knowledgeable, but never in a way that felt over-rehearsed or forced. He shared a lot about the island, not just the usual points of interest, but also what life is actually like there, which made the whole experience feel more real and less like a standard tour. He also has a very natural sense of humour and judged it well. Easy to get on with, and he was particularly good with our five-year-old son, which made a big difference for us as a family. The driving alone is worth mentioning. Some of the terrain is fairly serious, but John handled it with complete ease. We felt entirely safe throughout, which meant we could enjoy it properly rather than just hang on and hope for the best. All in, a really well-run experience. Interesting, relaxed, and properly memorable. We’d recommend it without hesitation, and if you can get John as your guide, you’ll be in very good hands.

nice half day tour up in the mountains

Great overall experience and got to see a lot of the mountains of the island in a short period of time. Highly recommend.

This was terrific fun! Our driver & guide, Rodrigo, who spoke excellent English, was very assured & aware behind the wheel. The itinerary packed a lot into a few hours, with several off road experiences when we were invited to stand in our vehicle when safe to do so. The views on our journeys & at our viewpoints were fantastic, & we had a pitstop at a cafe bar in the mountains to sample freshly made Poncha! Overall, excellent value & a happy memory.

Am excellent jeep safari with John our driver and two other couples. Very informative and we saw some fantastic views. John the driver explained everything really well. Well worth the trip. The offroading was exhilarating aswell. Would definitely do a full day next time we visit Madeira.

Being picked up direct from the hotel made the trip easy and relaxed. Confirmation and clear timing with helpful advice arrived the day before. Myself and my 13yr old son were in a Jeep with 2 passengers from a cruise. John the guide was a brilliant host, sharing information regarding the Maderian way of life with regards working the land, showing us all types of plants, trees flowers and fruits. Lots of stopping off places, to take photos and to walk around. We asked him questions to find out more about the island itself. The landscape and range of views was breath taking and going off road part of the way, was exciting. I would recommend the trip to all ages, and it made no difference being in a mixed group. The time passed quickly and really ideally I would have booked 2 trips this way across the week ...perfect way to see the island away from the central tourist parts.

Took a safari tour with Rodrigo! What fun! 6 of us - family of 4 (with kids 15 & 12) and 2 friends (of many years!). We were lucky to get a tour as we left it a bit last minute. Rodrigo was fun, relaxed and knowledgeable and took us to places we would never have go to on our own. Would definitely recommend! Louise, Hollie, Maisie, Matt, Gill & Tara

Fantastic! We spent a great afternoon with Rodrigo, he was brilliant 😂. The trip was interesting (bananas!!) and we all learned a little….the off-roading was hysterical and raised a fair amount of squealing from adults & teens! Thank you Rodrigo, you are a star ⭐️⭐️

Fun & informative trip with Ernesto. He collected us on time and made the trip a highlight. We were sorry we hadn't booked a full day - but we really enjoyed the adventure

We take the ride with John. He told us everything about Madeira. Very joyful person, he is doing his job with love. We absolutely do recommend a safari ride!

Very informative. Takes you to several parts of the island that you couldn’t get to walking on your own. Guide is very responsive. Experience the local drink ( your cost) and the glass overlook where you can see for miles (again your cost). The four wheel part of the excursion is on a road that isn’t a road. It is barely a track. You will be jarred to the bone for a few minutes. Some people find that exhilarating. Others not so much. If you are taking this tour, be prepared and be ready so you don’t sit and complain and ruin everyone else’s good time

It was a good tour experience. We had better tours and worse. Not recommended for elderly people who may find the sitting arrangement a bit challenging. Otherwise it is well worth it.

John picked us up from our hotel on time. We really enjoyed him as a tour guide (and driver of the 4x4!) as he was super knowledgeable about our surroundings and very friendly. We stopped a few times for views and were able to take photos, toilet breaks etc. there wasn't any walking involved and the drive takes you to all the important and scenic stops. We would definitely recommend! Thanks again John!

A half day jeep safari from Funchal with Safari Madeira and Silvio as our driver. In 3 hours you don't get that far from Funchal but it was very good time spent. First a 25 minute stop at a favourite haunt of Winston Churchill. Although you wouldn't know it unless you noticed the Winston Churchill Hotel, the Winston Churchill restaurant, the Winston Churchill bar and the Winston Churchill petrol station. Ok, maybe the last one I made up, but you get the gist! It's a pleasant little fishing village to have stroll around, plenty of bars and restaurants too. After that a steep climb on very narrow roads high up in to the forest to our next stop overlooking the valley of the nuns and the isolated village in said valley. They grow a lot up here, bananas, chestnuts, salad, potatoes, avocados, lemons, limes, sugar cane etc etc. Apparently the Madeirans will make an alcoholic drink out of any fruit they can grow! It's a marvellous view. It's also the start of a fairly short but fun off road section. After bouncing along for a while, we're back on 'normal' roads i.e. very steep and narrow, to a village bar where we sampled the local drink - Poncha. Made from local fruits, such as limes and lemons plus local honey and local rum, it's a potent but tasty drink. Only get it if it's made fresh like it was for us. Finally, back though picturesque villages to the Sky Walk at Cabo Girão. Only €3 allows you to experience excellent views along the coast and the glass floored sky walk. Although the glass floored bit was OK, it was the views that were worth it. It wasn't at all crowded when we went. There's a cafe and shop there too. Overall, a fun 3 hours to spend to see at bit more of Madeira. Our driver Silvio was great, knowledgeable, friendly and a safe driver.

Great experience were met at the port - go past the cruise tours they were located around bay 2 or 3. Very polite informative team - open top jeeps -fab stop at a bar on-the way recommend both the local drinks nikita and the poncha - excellent - bumpy ride along the off road recommend to stand up if you can! Open tops jeeps win here! Lovely back home at the port prompt and in good time for an afternoon to walk round the town. Thoroughly recommend this 1/2 day trip! Thanksto all the team.

Both myself and my wife are restricted to a walker and a cane the jeeps were too small and too high for us to get into, we could not go on the tour the driver told us that the tour money would be refunded our booking #1290834733