Portugal Tours in January 2027

We had a wonderful time. Had enough down time and enjoyed all the tours and guides. Fredy was always trying to find us new things to see. We had spectacular weather too.

G Adventures provides a great way to travel in a small group with like minded travellers. We loved Portugal. The guide made a huge difference with his knowledge and enthusiasm. We will def be using G again!

Our guide Benny was everything I have come to expect from an Explore Guide. Genuine, enthusiastic, interested and interesting. All questions were answered; about our itinerary, the island, our hotels, recommendations for restaurants, food (including allergies/intolerances), drinks, customs, flora and fauna. Benny's knowledge of his homeland is encyclopaedic. I had been to Madeira many times before, and of course the island has changed, whilst maintaining it's essential qualities that I have long treasured. For my husband David, it was his very first visit. Luckily for me, he fell in love with the place too, and we are already trying to fit in a return visit asap. I was suffering from injuries to both achilles tendons and had thought I would be unable to take part in any of the walks, but decided we would still go on the holiday anyway and make the very best of things. I rang the Explore office about a week beforehand to fill them in and asked them to pass on the information to our guide. I was delighted to find at our initial meeting that Benny had indeed been advised about our situation. Having discussed things with Benny, we gave it a go, and loved the walks that we did. We had a few days off to allow recovery on the days between the walks we did. The walks were stunning in terms of locations. The terrain was very varied, the variety of flora and fauna was better than expected, given the time of year. The three hotels in which we stayed were in excellent locations, they were spotlessly clean, the staff were very friendly and helpful. The last hotel, in Funchal was a little "tired" but the staff have explained that this year they are undergoing an extensive program of refurbishment to the public areas and to the rooms. Again, I stress, we had NO complaints. We actually stayed there a few additional days after the end of the tour, and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. I would not hesitate to recommend our guide Benny, this tour, and Explore Holidays in general. Five star ratings from us both!

From the start of the trip, Benny our trip leader was just amazing. He adapted each days walk to the weather and made a few changes. He accommodated for every person on the trip making sure if they couldn’t complete the walk they were taking care of. He booked restaurants for every night giving the group of choice if they wanted to all eat together. He made the trip interesting with his knowledge of the island and what it has to offer. Madeira is a beautiful island and this trip was a good way I’m getting around and seeing what it has to offer.

Madeira is a beautiful island with a great variety of scenery and history to be explored. The highlight of our walking holiday in Madeira was the dedication of our tour leader Benny. He was passionate about the Island, its history and culture and went out of his way to share with others. I would recommend this holiday to anyone who likes to explore an area. A great place to start.

Benny the tour leader was excellent and tried his hardest to accommodate the varying needs of all of the different members of the group. He gave lots of information about Madeira & provided a great variety of Madeiran snacks every day for every one to try which was much appreciated! The hotel in Santana was very damp and our room was cold as there was no heating and they had run out of extra oil heaters but the breakfast was v good, the other hotels were fine for the purpose of a walking holiday where little time is spent in the room.