Madeira’s Fantastic East and North

As from 13/12/21 – we will quote all our 2022 holidays in two stages 

Stage one – the price for land only

Stage two – the flight cost from your selected airport to your chosen destination and return

The combination of the two will add up to the total price we are quoting you.

Your flights

New Experience Holidays, our partners in Walking in Madeira, arrange all aspects of your flights. Flights to Madeira leave the UK on Mondays, and all the major regional airports have carriers going there.

We will endeavour to secure a flight from your nearest airport. and may offer you other cost effective options. Any additional supplement for your flight will be payable at the time of reserving your holiday. The flight is 3.5 hours. Funchal Airport is a modern one, recently built to take account of the increasing number of holiday makers to this all the year round destination.

You will be met at the airport and transferred  to your hotel – a ten minute journey along the fast motorway linking the airport to Machico and indeed many parts of the island. At the end of your holiday you will be transferred back to the airport.

We choose the walks from the many that are close to Machico.

These include-

• Machico to Canical via Viewing point of Pico Facho- a walk along the east coast and into the bustling heart of the port of Canical. This walk normally is combined with the Point Sao Lourenco.
• Boca do Risco and Porta da Cruz.- Along the Levada Canical, ascend Boca do Risco, walk along a high coast path to Larano. The descend to the coast and into Porta do Cruz and its rum museum.
• Levada Riberio Frio to Prazares – a magnificent levada walk – hanging on the side of a valley and through deep forest before descending to Prazares, its cafes and viewing point
• Santana and  the Coast path to Sao Jorge- from the winery -along the coast with superb views to the north and down to the valley before ascending to Sao Jorge for refreshments and transport back to the hotel.
• Levada do Santa Serra and Camacha- a levada with open views and to the municipality of Camacha set high above the coast.

  

• Levada do Marocos- the Mimosa valley- flowers abound on a winding walk along levada do Maracos with the mimosa trees – amongst others – a spring delight.
• The Point of St Lourenco- fantastic geology, a walk not to be missed on this coastal area. The walk ascends and descends to a lovely cafe by the sea. It returns the same way but the views are completely  different.
• Pico Ruivo and Arreirro- the signature walk – only possible in good weather – a fantastic path through high mountains and peaks to Pico Ruivo. Descend to Achada de Texiera – and down into Santana for refreshments. What a walk!

Madeira is an island paradise with fantastic walking on the mountains and coast.

• the sun in winter – always a bonus
• scenery that is unique some as a World Heritage site
• stay in a beautiful historic city – Madeira’s former capital
• flowers everywhere, lots of formal and informal gardens
• our relaxed social approach
• warm evenings that entrance you
• the Madeiran cuisine to delight you
• UK tour guide as well as local guides

• On each Madeira holiday we have two grades of walking.- moderate and easy.
• On the moderate walks – 8/9miles – we ascend and descend at least once per day – up to 300 metres but generally over an hour and a half. Pace is critical – we don’t rush, there’s too much to see, but we do stride out where it is possible. Underfoot conditions in Madeira are generally good – it is volcanic soil and there can be some rocky sections – and we take care on these sections. Footpaths are well marked and accessible.
• On the easy walks – which may also include some sightseeing of villages. towns, gardens and things of interest generally – we won’t walk as fast, have plenty of stops and probably cover 5/6 miles. This will be done over the whole of the day. There will be hills to ascend/descend but we will take these very steadily – we do not rush our clients. As with the walking grade – underfoot conditions in Madeira can be stony – it is – and we take care on those sections. The pace is slower, not snail pace but enough to give you a good stroll, and to allow you to enjoy the wonderful Madeiran countryside..
• Each day you have the choice of either walking or strolling.

Exclusions

Although our leaders are well trained and experienced in dealing with different capabilities of our walking clients, if they have any concerns about any clients ability or suitability to undertake safely any walking activity we plan or they feel that participation of an individual may affect the groups safety and cohesion, then they have full permission to exclude that client from an activity.

They will try at all times to provide an alternative suggested activity, though this may involve the client in additional local cost.

We rarely have to enforce this above recommendation, but it is a sensible and necessary protection for the individual client, the group and the leaders.

It’s all about meeting new friends. Each holiday is designed to be a friendly, relaxed and stress-free occasion. Talking is as important as walking on Secret Hills Walking Holidays. We don’t go in for discos, we may use an event that is taking place in the area we are in to boost the weekend’s activities – but it’s good, old fashioned chat that makes our short breaks successful.

“Make new friends that turn into old friends” – that’s our motto.

You might be surprised by what fun you’ll have with people who are older or younger than you during a holiday with us, and that’s exactly the sort of atmosphere we encourage; people find it very rewarding. It doesn’t matter what your reasons for travelling with us are, we’ve had people who are single, divorced or widowed, people who have partners that are unable to travel, and people who can’t holiday with their friends anymore as they’ve all got married themselves. There are people who want to make friends, see sights, and experience something completely new. Whatever your reason, we’ll welcome you with open arms and our friendly hosts will help you to get the most out of your holiday.

Don’t worry if this is the first time you have ventured to join a group holiday – its always a bit daunting – but we will look after you and ensure that you get used to being amongst friends again. Trust us to to get you back into the swing of things.

Oh – by the way – it’s not a dating agency – over the years we have had people meet and fall in love – but that’s just chance. Our aim is that you make like-minded friends – just relax and enjoy.

Just arrive and enjoy.

There are other walking holiday companies that cover Europe but we believe we offer the best value for many reasons….

• We specialise in organising guided walking holidays for solos and singles.
• We are a small friendly company
• We have a loyal customer base who return again and again (so we must be doing something right) – read our testimonials page on the website
• We offer a lot of flexibility – you can stay extra nights which we are happy to organise for you. We are also very flexible on the walks we provide, adapting to suit walkers and weather conditions
• Our walk leading is second to none. Unlike some other large Walking Companies, we use LOCAL leaders who live in the area and who love their surroundings. They have expert knowledge of everything you need to know to make an area come alive.
• You are safe in our hands – our guides are experts, fully qualified in first aid. Also, because of their local knowledge of the hills, they can respond to any situation that might for example demand cutting short a route. They don’t need to consult maps – they know the hills intimately.
• Our leaders are all easy-going, genuinely sociable people who want to ensure that you have the best time you can with the rest of the group. They make the weekend fun by engaging with all members of a group, and ensuring that everyone feels part of the group experience.
• We give great value for money. Because we recognise that lots of walkers holiday on their own, we have negotiated no single supplement deals with all our hotels to ensure the best possible deal.
• We always use good hotels, selected and constantly reviewed.
• We have smaller groups than some of the larger walking companies because we believe the social experience is much better in a smaller group. People can talk to everyone, especially at dinner where you can all sit at one table in a small group. Our numbers vary from holiday to holiday but an average group size would be 8-12.