Portugal honeymoon-- Madeira?
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Join Date: Jul 2005
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Portugal honeymoon-- Madeira?
Hello,
My fiance and I will be spending our honeymoon in Portugal next February (I know it's a year from now but I'm a big planner-- and the more I read about Portugal the more excited I get, so I can't help it!) and I'd like some opinions on the best way to spend our 9 or 10 nights in the country. I'm very intrigued by Madeira but am not sure that we could spend the time there that the island really deserves... my fiance and I are big outdoors people and love to hike and explore, so I know we'd love it there. However, there are SO MANY places on the mainland that are must-see's as well. Is Madeira truly not to be missed, at the expense of skipping other amazing places in Portugal??? I'm thinking we'd spend 3 nights there. Any advice is very much appreciated... thank you!
My fiance and I will be spending our honeymoon in Portugal next February (I know it's a year from now but I'm a big planner-- and the more I read about Portugal the more excited I get, so I can't help it!) and I'd like some opinions on the best way to spend our 9 or 10 nights in the country. I'm very intrigued by Madeira but am not sure that we could spend the time there that the island really deserves... my fiance and I are big outdoors people and love to hike and explore, so I know we'd love it there. However, there are SO MANY places on the mainland that are must-see's as well. Is Madeira truly not to be missed, at the expense of skipping other amazing places in Portugal??? I'm thinking we'd spend 3 nights there. Any advice is very much appreciated... thank you!
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Join Date: Jan 2003
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I spent three days (of two weeks in Portugal) in Madeira and certainly didn't regret it; the levada hikes are wonderful and the "chair ride" down from Monte is not to be missed. While I know you could fill the time very profitably on the mainland, it's quite easy to make arrangements for Madeira once you're in Portugal. (I stayed in old town Sintra, by the way; lovely place.)
Happy travels!
Happy travels!
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Join Date: Jan 2006
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Hey there Kris, Lobo Mau has recently posted some thoughts on Madeira in the "things to do in and around Lisbon" thread which can be found here:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...2&tid=34740328
And other than Madeira this thread has a stack load of info on Lisbon and surrounds. Call in sometime and say hello there.
Matt
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...2&tid=34740328
And other than Madeira this thread has a stack load of info on Lisbon and surrounds. Call in sometime and say hello there.
Matt
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I have to agree - we spent 3 days of our 2-week Portugal trip in Madeira and just loved it. Such natural beauty - it reminded us of Hawaiian islands. I'd definitely make the time in the trip to do this. Looking back on our trip, I'd have done 3 nights there and skipped the one night trek to Algarve, where we stayed in Sagres. Claire and David