Funchal?

Skint_Catt

Hi, can anyone help please?

We booked & paid the deposit for our honeymoon to Funchal the day it got flooded (before we knew!)

Anyway, we both still want to go but I am worried in case it's still not back to 'full working order' as this is a very special holiday for us. Can anyone help with the current state of the town? We're about to pay the final balance but don't want to until we know what it's like there at the moment & whether our hotel is still operating (no word from the travel agent at all) I'd rather lose the deposit than the full amount.

Thanks, C xx

jd87

I would suggest reading the Foreign Office advice for Portugal found here: http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/europe/portugal

It does seem to suggest some central areas of Funchal are still affected.

You should also speak to your Agent/Operator/Hotel and ask them about the situation.

Skint_Catt

Thanks, will take a look. Found some photo's from the week after the floods & looks pretty tidy already, so I think the hotel may be the main problem if it was affected. I'm guessing as the TA hasn't bothered to communicate at all with anyone going to Funchal that they'll just fob me off so I wanted some independant opinions!

Of course I feel very selfish asking purely about my honeymoon - my thoughts are still with the people who died & were injured.

jd87

Perhaps drop the British Consulate an email too? http://ukinportugal.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/other-locations/madeira/

cubegame

Hi there. I've been monitoring the situation as we're going there next week. It appears that in all but the most rural areas you would not even notice that anything had ever happened.

bellajack

We returned from a week's holiday last Friday and had a fab time. You honestly wouldn't know such devastation had taken place. Old town all cleared up, cable cars working and trips over the island still in full swing. I know some of the levadas in the hills are closed for safety reasons but apart from that no apparent problems. Hope this helps and you have a great time.:)

daveyjp

Do a search for Madeira webcams - I looked at one recently and the only thing which gave away that something wasn't right was a lack of flowers in the beds on the roundabaouts on the road down the prom!

Cruise ships are stopping there so all must be OK.

cubegame

I'm not sure if the OP has gone out yet but I thought I would bump this one up anyway. We got back after 10 days and to be honest you wouldn't really know the floods had ever occurred. It was our second visit so we could compare.

The only area which seems to still have visible effects is the Encumeada valley in the centre of the island where the main road had been completely washed away. It has been replaced by a temporary road while they rebuild and it will add about 5 minutes to a journey through there.

Otherwise there are a few walks which are closed but there are still plenty to go by.

We extensively explored and know the place very well so if you need specific advice please ask.

Skint_Catt

cubegame - that's fantastic - no, I'm not due to go out until mid June

Any recommendations of where to eat/not to are always useful! Plus anything you think of that isn't worth doing as well as what is. We do have free hire car so it'd be nice to do some unescorted trips out if you can suggest anywhere off the beaten track?

Thanks for the post

C xx

cubegame

Skint_Catt wrote: »

cubegame - that's fantastic - no, I'm not due to go out until mid June

Any recommendations of where to eat/not to are always useful! Plus anything you think of that isn't worth doing as well as what is. We do have free hire car so it'd be nice to do some unescorted trips out if you can suggest anywhere off the beaten track?

Thanks for the post

C xx

If you've got a car don't bother with any escorted tours because in my opinion they tend to try and do too much in too short a time. If you're not confident they are cheap enough at 15 euro per person to do to get an idea of where to go back and re-explore in the car. Driving is generally a breeze though and the roads are very very quiet apart from Funchal at rush hour.

I guess you will be staying in the hotel zone of Funchal and not the old town. Two restaurant recommendations (both in the hotel zone) I could make would be the White House Pub (Rua de Casa Branca) which has a nice restaurant behind the very quiet pub and the Ristorante Tricolore (Avenido do Infante on the first floor of the Monumental Lido Shopping Center) which is a very nice Italian which also serves some Madeiran cuisine. We ate at both 3 times during our 10 day stay. Having eaten at lots of places in the old town on our last visit there weren't any which blew us away.

Things to do:-

If you like gardens, definitely go to the Jardim Botanico and also the Monte Palace Tropical Gardens. If you like Orchids, there are two orchid gardens nearby the Jardim Botanico. It is probably too much to go to both.

Don't miss the drive to the top of Pico do Arieiro, the third highest peak on the island. It's often cloudy up there but on a clear day it's stunning. Don't just go to the car park though like the coach trippers do - start walking down the ridge on the clear path and try to make it to the first tunnel. You can walk all the way to the top of the island Pico Ruivo but it will be hard in hot June.

It is also a must do to take in a little bit of walking on Levadas too. The best two are meant to be the Levada Caldeiro Verde and the Levada do Furado. Both of these are closed at present but may be open again when you get there. Either way, invest in a Sunflower (https://www.sunflowerbooks.co.uk) guidebook which has loads of walks in it.

Skint_Catt

Thanks for that! Have taken notes

Not sure whether we're the old town or the hotel distraict - we're staying at the Quinta da Penha on Rua Imperatriz Dª Am!lia?

We love walking so the sunflower book sounds good as does the Pico do Arieiro.