Portugal Food Tours

Hi Explore, I think I counted that was my 21st Explore holiday. The hotel was in a great location near No 48 bus to Monte and 1 and 2 buses to Funchal. Also near the Lido and a supermarket. The only problem I found with the hotel is that you could not turn the air conditioning off at all - it was set so that it came on periodically during the night to refresh the room which woke me up with cold blasts. I had to put the two blankets on my bed. Also, I found the mattress too hard. Apart from that the staff were friendly and helpful. Philip our guide was great, a bit more info about loos when we stopped would have been helpful. I could not always hear him when standing with the group, his voice did not carry and you had to be very close to him to hear what he had to say, probably also something to do with my hearing maybe! I would have loved to have had more time to visit the orchid garden at Boa Vista near to the Botanical gardens but time ran out. It is only open on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday according to the hotel.

Felepe was our tour leader. He was friendly, organized, always on task, very patient, and very knowledgeable about Madeira. He had a very strong passion for his country and the people. He taught us many things about the culture and ways of living in Madeira. It was a very enjoyable week

Benni our leader was excellent enthusiastic cheerful and loooked after our group . The hotel selected (as usual one was having work done ) was too far away from main town so there were no places to wander to nearby other than a main road without a pavement ! Fortunately for the evening meals a minibus was provided to take us from hotel to Funchal ( even if you wanted to go elsewhere in Funchal ) but there wasn’t one provided on the free day . Fortunately could use local buses or taxis / uber

Very varied and excellent itinerary with food and wine tasting on several occasions. Beautiful scenery and a very knowledgeable guide who enabled us to see most of the island. I love the small group size too and enjoyed getting to know people

An excellent trip to explore and discover Madeira. Staying in one hotel, in a convenient Funchal location, was a bonus. Best moments for me were the swim in the volcanic rock pools of Porto Moniz, the walk above the clouds to Pico do Arieiro, and, not least, the amazing travel companions and our guide Benny.

Guides brilliant. Trip very well designed. Would have preferred more boutique hotels like in Porto rather than faceless international style hotels. I understand that preserving rooms is difficult in boutique hotels, but it was achieved in Porto.