Half Day Kayak Tours

Unprofessional service. Our kayak trip with Madeira Radical was canceled at the meeting point due to bad weather. They promised a refund within 24 hours, but it has been days and I still haven't received my money. On top of that, they are completely ghosting my emails and WhatsApp messages. Be very careful before booking with them."

I did my first tour in May with Miguel and OMG, So so amazing!!! It was so good that that when came to Madeira again in June, I booked it again, but with my brother, son and partner. They also had great time with our instructor Ronaldo.One hundred percent recommend. Beautiful views and very exhilarating!! So much fun! Just brilliant!! Thank you so much Madeira Radicals.

We loved this trip. Nothing like what we expected, the nature reserve visit includes an abandoned hotel complex. Our guide was simply the best, really chilled, helpful, funny and encouraged our youngest to jump from the old harbour crane, absolutely fantastic guide!!!

Great way to get another view of the island. The paddling was fun and we had the chance to do a bit of snorkelling although the sea was quite choppy on the day we went. Nelio is a fantastic guide, very knowledgeable and friendly and we felt as though we were in safe hands with him. Would definitely recommend this experience.

We had an amazing experience kayaking with Enric today. We’re already confident on the water but enric made sure we was safe and knew what we was doing and what to expect when we headed out onto the water. We had a nice paddle along the coast (not too far but far enough) to our destination. The snorkelling was amazing, very beautiful fish in all different colours and the types of fish changed as you got closer to the rocks. We truly loved our adventure and would highly recommend. 5 stars from us.

Such a waste of time and money. Not a good place to snorkel (snorkels were nasty and I ended up with a bad chest infection from it). The guide did not care and spend all of his time on his phone, will not recommend

I have never been on an adventure activity that has been so unprofessional. Hardly any instructions, even though he knew people were new to it. The snorkelling section was a joke, and we should not have been allowed to enter the water if it was too unsafe to get out. I am not sure the leader would have known what to do in an emergency, I believe he really hurt his wrist trying to get us back into the boats in the rough sea.

After a chaotic start with no clear information on how we registered, paid and then started the kayak trip we were met with a guide who did not introduce himself, only informed me as a greeting that he was tired. We had the barest minimal introduction to kayaking after a few of us advised that we had never done it before and were immediately underway. There was absolutely no safety information, no information about what was expected or what would happen and clearly no contingency plan in place should anything untoward happen. When we got to the beach where we were snorkeling the sea had clearly got rough and yet the guide chose to go ahead and advise us to jump in to view the fish despite the previous group having issues getting out. Some of the group went in to the sea and managed to get out but we then watched the guide himself get washed off the steps into the sea. There was no safety whatsoever at this point. The remaining group decided to take the long and arduous journey around the rocks to the beach battling against the increasing swell and were exhausted when they finally got back. It was extremely dicey getting everyone back in their kayaks and off around all the rocks in the swell of the sea. To sum up- scary - fortunately nothing did go wrong although we were left with the feeling that the lack of safety information, planning and care could have easily led to something going badly wrong.

Unfortunately, this tour was very poorly organised and not something I’d recommend at all… Once we arrived, the guide turned up at the same time as us and was clearly unprepared. We waited 40 minutes with no explanation or apology while he went back and forth getting equipment. On his last return, it was just with cigarettes and suncream for himself. There weren’t enough locker locks, no bottled water (despite being included), and no safety briefing — just a quick paddle demo and we were off. There were only two dry bags (one crammed with everyone’s phones) and not enough snorkels, so we were told to “pass them around,” which is extremely unhygienic. Even though we left 40 minutes late, the tour still finished at the original time, so the experience was cut short. It felt like a complete shambles from start to finish. Time on holiday is precious, and this sadly felt like a waste of ours.

Had a great time kayaking with my boyfriend and a friend! Started at the harbour in Funchal, straight to the natural reserve of Garajau. The guides Luis and Tomé made sure everyone was staying together by having several check points. Also included in the tour was a bit of snorkeling in the marine reserve. They provide you with life vests, a small bottle of water per person and also equipment for the snorkeling. It was a very nice morning and you have amazing views of Funchal. Thanks again Luis and Tomé ☺️

Overall the experience was fantastic! We were fortunate enough to have good conditions on the sea for Kayaking out to the beautiful protected area for a bit of snorkeling. Overall felt safe during the trip. My only concern would be the instructor seemed quite impatient at times, especially when for some it was their first time sea Kayaking and getting in and out of the sea to snorkel was tricky.

It’s worth it ! My son was thrilled by the reef dives. We also appreciate the kayak course. Finally, the guide was very friendly and knowledgeable.

Amazing experience and great guide (Marco)! We went kayaking and snorkling and it was a lot of fun!! We definitely recommend!

Only giving 1 star because I can't give any less, my partner organised this trip as a surprise for me. We missed breakfast and paid a taxi to get us to the meeting point 15 mins before pick up, 3/4 of an hour later with no one coming to meet us, it was apparent they weren't coming. We tried phoning the contact number and emailing but got no reply. Dont waste youre time booking with these, I'm sure there are many better more professionally ran tour operators in the area

Spotting a pod of dolphins and piglet whales. Swimming in the most beautiful blue Atlantic. Lying on the boat looking at the view

I cut my foot on a rock and it started bleeding and the tour guide didn’t even have a bandaid, let alone a first aid kit. I would hate to think how a serious injury would be handled! A minor thing, but the tour advertises that water will be provided, and we were all handed a 330ml bottle each. This really isn’t adequate for a 3 hour water sport activity in the hot sun. Also, we were told that we could put phones in waterproof pouches. I looked over mine and it had a hole in it. The guide gave me at least another 8-9 to look through and they were ALL ripped with holes in them. The tour guide was slightly standoffish and gave one-word answers to most questions. Sadly I wouldn’t recommend using this tour guide company.

Was great! we had no idea, we'd take a break from kayaking go snorkling in between (surprise!). I feel like they could market that better...

Pedro was our guide and he was excellent. We really enjoyed the kayak out to the bay we snorkelled in. We also really enjoyed the snorkelling. The tour was good value for money and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to get a good amount of kayaking and snorkelling in.

We did the kayak+snorkelling activity I enjoyed this activity but I found it really overpriced 70€ for a double kayak and the guide... (70€ was the total price for 2 people). We had also the pick-up at our hotel (in Funchal). The tour is a straight line from the harbor to the beach (2.8 km). But you can also get to this area just car... Well, when you arrive you have the free time to do snorkeling and they give you the snorkel masks and the tube... but the mask is not great quality so if you have a better one don't hesitate to bring it with you... They had not a waterproof container so you cannot take the towel with you, and they don't give you neoprene suits. So if you are going on a cloudy day in October, you will not be able to spend the full time snorkelling because it's quite cold outside and you cannot get properly dry... Also, it was the first time I paid for a snorkelling activity so I was kind of expecting some explanation or orientation about the different species that we could find there... but... hmmm no. It was totally free and we didn't get a lot of information... Our star moment: we saw a big marine turtle and we were able to swim alongside her. Amazing ! That said, I did enjoy the activity but I found it really overpriced for the service we received. I think they should improve it or reduce the price... I want to say also that our guide was very kind and he offered to us all that was in his hand.

Henrique was amazing, he was so informative and answered all the questions we asked and more. He made us feel so welcome and safe on our trip. The trip itself was so good, had to give it 5*. He encouraged us all the way. Will definitely be booking again next year. Thank you Henrique for a wonderful day

The guide was really good, it was a lot of fun. I saw a lot of fish with snorkeling, yoh also had to oppertunitiy to jump from a cliff

This was an amazing, amazing experience. Our guide was so patient and knowledgeable, we have no prior experience doing kayaking and he spent time with us making sure we knew what we were doing. Kayak along the coast to a nature reserve where you get out of the kayaks to snorkel. I'm not at all a strong swimmer but again our guide was so patient and helpful. He suggested I can go and explore the ruins since I'm not a strong swimmer and it turned out to be the best part of the tour, he took us around and told us so much about the island and nature reserve. It was so so so cool. Highly recommended, an experience you will not forget

I wanted to get back on the water in a kayak and snorkel off Madeira in the nature reserve and this looked the perfect trip. The sea was calm, the sun was hot and we, mother(70) and gown up daughter, were the only people other than the guide and his pretty young lady who was determined to sit back, cover herself in suntan lotion and soak up the sun. We have kayaked together before so didn't need to practice in the harbour. Our guide struggled manfully with his English but we felt there must have been more to talk about having read previous reviews. Once in the reserve, the kayaks were strapped together and to two of us plopped into the water to snorkel. Unfortunately the sea was quite murky and we saw very little but the experience was good. Our guide then asked us what we wanted to do next, we suggested paddling further along the reserve but this was not possible. After a while of just bobbing about in the sun we said we were happy to return even if it was too early. This is when the most exciting part of the trip began. The sea swell increased and we were carried forward on the waves, white horses abounded, all was fun until we got the reflected waves off the harbour walls. My daughter and I decided it was time to go for it and powered back to the landing, I am sorry to say we did not hang about for our guide who was a considerable distance behind us. We both thoroughly enjoyed the experience even though it was not as expected.

It was a really great trip. We started on point and had full 3 hours of fun! Kayaking was easy to learn and we saw a lot of fish while snorkeling.

We saw the clouds gather over Ilas Desertas and wondered about if the trip would Get cancelled… At the agreed time we met Marcio and he assured we’d go ahead. The three couples all had quite different experience and fitness levels. Marcio managed it perfectly. There was a short set of drills in the harbour basin that gave him insight in how he can expect each team to manage. The least experienced couple got attention, the more experienced and fit ones got guideance and a longer route. The snorkelling was fun as well, due to high winds Marcio adjusted the location but we still managed to see a lot of fish, some bigger schools and some smaller ones. The equipment was well maintained and worked fine in the swell that was over one meter high. My background is 40 years of kayaking and I’ve organized several group events also this current season.

I would 100% recommend this experience. The guide was amazing and shared all his insights about the island, the nature reserve and the fish present. He was incredibly helpful and attentive and did all he could to ensure we had a wonderful time!

One of the best experince that I ever had, courtesy and attention to the customer with an extraordinary professionalism . an experience that I recommend to everyone

Excellent few hours in the water with a break to do some snorkelling and high diving if you’re brave enough. Thoroughly recommended

My son and I did a half-day tour in the reserve near Funchal. It was a fun experience and the guide was friendly! We recommend.

It was an excellent tour and highly recommended. Marcio was a friendly and helpful guide who happily shared his deep knowledge of Madeira while always ensuring that the experience was safe. After a quick lesson in the shallow waters to master the basics we went kayaking out to snorkel near some rocks. It is a fun way to get another view of Funchai from the water.

We recently came back from a trip to Madeira during which we did a few activities with Madeira Radical. The communication was great leading up to the activity, equipment was well maintained, we had a safety briefing and practise before leaving, and throughout the kayak trip were given lots of information about the history of Madeira and the wildlife in the region. Marco was very friendly and knowledgeable and we appreciated his insights and guidance during the trip.

We had a fun adventure kayaking round the coast and hearing about the history of Funchal's ports and roads. Unfortunately the water was too choppy to see fish so the snorkelling was disappointing but couldn't be helped.

Nice day out. Definately bring footwear that you dont mind getting wet as the beach is just big pebbles. Nothing exciting about the trip, but we learned to Kayak. The man included some photos to keep as a memory.

Helpful local hotel pick-up, friendly guide and coach. We had a great experience in shore lines only accessible from the water. Thank you.

Booked the half day kayaking including hotel pickup in Funchal the evening before. Same evening I sent a message via booking system (viator.com), asking for pickup time - no response. Sent another message 1hr before the trip should start asking for information asap - no response. Waited 40 min in the hotel lobby - nobody showed up. E-mailed viator.com for refund - got my money back within a couple of hours. Still no explaining message from anybody :-( IMO there are two things you should never do to your customers: punch them in the face or ignore them.

We had booked the paddle tour along the coast to the cliffs, unfortunately we ended up at a ruin beach with swimming and snorkeling.

Super fun event including snorkeling and rock diving in beautiful location with good guidance from a guide

It was phenomenal! A very well spent day with my friends! We saw huge varieties of fish with snorkeling! An experience to repeat!

It was a nice trip. In the beginning we would have liked some more information about the course and the kayaking. It was more like “you’ll do it”. Unfortunately we did not get any water as described. I would have liked it if we had got our own bag for our things. Only the guide had one and packed our phone. It was kind of annoying to always ask for our stuff and all the phones in a bag I think is not so shatterproof either. At the bathing spot we got snorkeling equipment. We convinced ourselves that they would be disinfected after every tour... let's hope so. A few explanations about the fish we could see would have been nice. After that it went back again. Kayaking is a bit strenuous but doable. Overall it was a nice trip with room for improvement.

Cool little round by kayak and time for snorkeling. You can see beautiful fish. And kayaking is no problem even for Beginners

Nos deux guides étaient vraiment sympathiques, le trajet en kayak pas très long (20 minutes aller et 20 retour) donc parfait pour une première. Nous avons eu beaucoup de temps pour nous baigner et observer les poissons avec le matériel fourni. C’était top ! Je recommande 🔥👌

Dynamic and fun experience, friendly and helpful guides. The diving moment entertained everyone Advised

Very friendly and fun tour guide. You can also jump from a 12m high ledge on the coast where you stop. Kayaking was only slightly strenuous and also very fun.

It was a great experience to go kayaking off the coast on the sea. Seeing Madeira from this perspective has something!! The guide was super nice and really good. Took pictures of us with his camera and then made them available to us. Really great. It's a little exhausting, though.

Nice kayak right and buggy riding done. Kayak was nice and were taken to beach for swimming. In addition also ridden buggy this was great. Hugely beautiful trip in a very small group through the mountains! Definitely both recommended

It's okay if you have a morning off in Funchal. It's an easy route from the port running along the seafront of Funchal about 3 km to a rocky beach under an abandoned orphanage where you snorkel 45 minutes (with goggles, if you go take yours) and return. They put the Kayak, the oar and the vest (they are not clean, they smell damp), I recommend to wear t-shirt xa wet, escarpines or similar and cap and sun cream.

Very good experience! The guide, Márcio, was very friendly, explained basic kayaking maneuvers first before leaving. After a route of about 40min, during which he taught us historic parts of Funchal from the water, we stayed about 40min longer at the start of the Garajau marine reserve before returning. It made us a spectacular sunny and windless day, so perfect day! Thank you Márcio ;)

Very friendly guide, professional, adapts to your pace and level for the kayak tour. It will teach you a lot about fish species , monuments you will pass etc... Thank you very much for this visit 🙏🏽

Super kayak trip, you go in pairs with a group. Halfway through the kayak trip you have a reserve where I can swim/snorkel, see the fish of all dixht. Then you go back. I really enjoyed it and definitely enjoyed it 😊