Madeira Island is in my opinion one of the most awful places to go on holidays. Who wants to go to a beautiful island with a gorgeous nature environment situated in the Atlantic Ocean? I have heard many visitors of Madeira saying that it is a great holiday destination … and this is unfortunately true. Madeira has majestic mountains, a wonderful climate, and beautiful views … all in one, for goodness sake! Now lets be honest … do you really want to go to such a place?? Come on! Who does that?

Can you believe that there are travelers who prefer to go to Madeira instead of going to the Dominican Republic or the Caribbean? And why? …. because Madeira has breathtakingly views? Well I got news for you … these views are just what they are … breathtaking! They are too beautiful! I do not believe anyone would want to experience that? Do you?

A few years ago I thought the lack of sand beaches here on Madeira was a good thing …. but then I saw the neighbouring island of Porto Santo … and unfortunately …. it has more than a 8 km long sandy golden beach. Aaarrggh!! The horror!! A paradise-like island with a tropical waterfront that is washed by warm, crystalline ocean-waters. Blehh! Such a place is only for those who wants to refuge to a quiet location for a nauseous relaxing holiday.

But hey … there is still more! Are you sure you want to continue reading this? If you do … then it is at your own risk! (more…)

A Swedish film report about Funchal, Madeira. Filmed in April 2006. Unfortunately the footage only shows the standard attractions such as Mercado dos Lavradores, fish-market, cable car to Monte, toboggan, wine lodge and a short hike on a levada. Meanwhile there is much more to see here on Madeira. (more…)

The German television company WDR has broadcast at the beginning of this month in their weekly travel program Wunderschön! (Beautiful!), a 90 minutes report of Madeira “Blumeninsel im Atlantik” (Island of Flowers), presented by Tamina Kallert.

WebTV Madeira “Blumeninsel im Atlantik” (90 min. German)

Although it is in German and 1 hour and a half long … it is worth to watch this webTV program.

One thing I noticed when watching this German travel report ….. from it you can learn what visitors want to see and visit. Remember, this is a 1 hour and a half long TV program, so it should cover the most important attractions and things-to-do that a German traveler will be looking for in Madeira. I got a good impression of what that is … but I leave it up to you to find it out yourself. I am curious if you come to the same conclusion as I did.

After watching the TV report one will learn that all the attractions that were covered by the German Wunderschön! group had one thing in common …. they all missed one characteristic …. namely “modern”. Talking in Internet-terms … if you could tag all the attractions mentioned in the TV program … the word “modern”, “new-flanged” or “futuristic” would not be one of them. In the German travel coverage I missed things like modern entities such as Story Center, Casa das Mudas, Madeira Magic, Santana Theme park, trip with one of the catamarans, double deck buses, shopping malls/centers, and also none of the modern hotels were mentioned.

My conclusion is that visitors prefer to experience the old-fashioned. Searching for old traditions and typical things that they do not get to see in their home country or have been lost during the modernization. Just ask a Madeira visitor to name the characteristics of Madeira …. and you will hear most of them mentioning the same subjects that were covered in the German TV program. This is a lesson that one can learn from.

My advice to (future) entrepreneurs on Madeira: learn first the Madeiran (old) culture …. search for images of (lost) traditions …. and if you can restore (part of it) back …. then you will be a winner in the area of tourism.

Here is an idea that can help Madeira Islands banana producers boost up their business and make up for the lack of exports and banana subsidies.

Underwear made from banana fibers
(Thanks mom, for sending me the link ..)

Do you know the best garden to visit? Where the best Madeirense food can be found? Or do you fancy trying something new?

Well … we just created a Facebook page for all curious and underground things that can be found in Funchal (capital of Madeira). It is called Secret Funchal (on Facebook)

Secret Funchal invites everyone to share the hidden, and also “not-so-hidden”, gems of the city. The objective is that all Funchalenses that are active in Facebook joins and share their knowledge of the city. However … FB-ers from outside the city are also most welcome.

Lots of people that are visiting Madeira are looking for new things to do in Funchal. Experience is that they are always searching online for different things … that normally one would not find out about.

Join Secret Funchal …. but don’t forget to keep it a secret ….

Warning: the following photos contain horrifying** images of Madeira …. (more…)

An excellent video by Luis Jardim and Rui Martins … in order to show the world that the Island of Madeira is back in business. (more…)

Two photo galleries (a maybe more will come) to honor all the rescuers, police personnel, firemen, civil workers, emergency personnel, soldiers, victims and others for their great effort in rescue, support and restoring back the island as it was.

There is a real sense of unity and dedication as the community here on Madeira works together to overcome the recent events. The rate at which this being achieved is quite phenomenal.

All these people are the real heroes of Madeira

Click on the image to go to the photo gallery.