Madeira.  The floating garden, the jewel of the Atlantic, the island of perennial Spring

Madeira is justifiably famous the world over for its unique array of native flora and fauna and its stunning botanical gardens and parks.  In Springtime visit the 'botanical equivalent of the Rio Carnival' -the Madeira Flower Festival!  Year round, a 'Gardens and Sightseeing Tour' will reveal all that earns this magical island its envious reputation within the world of beautiful gardens.

 A visit to Madeira's gardens at any time of year makes for a truly memorable experience.  With our access to every tour operators programme to this wonderful island, using both charter and scheduled services, we can offer the widest range of accommodation and departure airports and most competitive prices of any holiday company.  Our wide knowledge of gardens enables us to recommend itineraries from the simplest half day trip to a comprehensive tour programme, to discover all Madeira has to offer the garden  enthusiast-either on organised excursions or with the flexibility and freedom of self-drive.

  Enjoy Madeira, and don't feel a need to explore it all on your first visit, since  your first visit is almost certainly not to be your last. 

Christmas Lights in Madeira

Spend a week on this magical island over Christmas and be fascinated by the spectacular sights that the Christmas lights offer.  This wonderful display of colour and light can be admired throughout the whole month of December.

    

Our special Christmas packages include one set menu dinner for guests at the Pestana Bay Hotel  and two set menu dinners for guests at the Pestana Casino Park Hotel (one of these can be taken at the Casino de Madeira followed by a floor show).(offers excl.Dec 24th)

In addition there will be an evening tour of Funchal city centre (part on foot) to admire the display accompanied by an official guide.

For latest prices and availability from a choice of departure airports please ask our reservations team for 'Xmas Lights'.

The Madeira Flower Festival (Spring 2014 & 2015)

Madeira's 'Festa da Flor' is a breathtaking affair.  Beautifully inventive floral sculptures and displays are paraded through Funchal's streets on floats accompanied by local bands and folk dancers.  On the eve of the street procession thousands of children gather in the Municipal Square to make a wish while planting a single flower into the Wall of Hope.  Once the parade is over there are several exhibitions of award-winning floral displays.

For those who would like to visit Madeira for the Flower Festival, please call our reservations office as early as possible, since it is THE most popular time to visit.  Whether self catering, a 3 star hotel or 5 star deluxe, you'll have the opportunity of enjoying the Festival, and perhaps taking in some of the wealth of other botanical splendors during your stay, be it a few days or a few weeks.  Prices for this period inevitably are higher than most other dates. The Adult and Children's parade as usual cover the Saturday and Sunday.  Charter Flights normally arrive on the Monday prior, and 7 night stays depart on the Monday after the festivities. Other days are also possible using No-frills and scheduled carriers, but may incur a supplement, especially for late bookings.

The Madeira specialists.

Our holidays to Madeira are operated by 'Atlantic Holidays' and Classic Collection Holidays. 

Atlantic Holidays is a true specialist tour operator of repute for Portugal and its islands, and part of the prestigious Pestana group, Portugal's most successful leisure company.  Pestana own & manage 42 hotels and are joint owners with the Portuguese Government of 40 historical and regional hotels known as Pousadas of Portugal (much like the Paradors of Spain). 

Classic Collection Holidays, established in 1988 are the UK's leading independent specialist tour operator providing luxury hotel holidays to a wide choice of sophisticated destinations. 

We are proud to be representative agents of these two operators, who together can offer our clients both the very best value and the very best quality holidays to Madeira from the U.K.


Prices:  All tour operators now work on a 'flexible pricing' system, where prices can fluctuate daily, generally increasing as airfares increase closer to the date of departure.  So it generally pays to book well in advance for our best offers.  Sometimes however the holiday prices will be reduced for last minute bookings, subject to availability, so if you are looking to travel at short notice we can usually help you find the best available prices with any tour operator. 

As a guide, these are sample 2014 lead-in holiday prices per person, sharing a double or twin room, bed and breakfast basis for 7 nights from London Gatwick:

3 stars e.g Dom Pedro Garajau from £359

4 stars e.g Four Views Oasis from £399 & Quinta Do Sol from £429

5 stars e.g Pestana Grand from £489

Single room supplements from £12.50 pppn (3 star)

Half Board available for supplement.  Flexible dining options

Regional airport supplements apply for all other UK airports.(please call for quote)

 Gardens of Madeira and island sightseeing Tour

 The Gardens of Madeira tour includes 2 half day garden tours and 2 half days plus one full days sightseeing tour of the island. Gardens visited are the Monte Palace Tropical Garden, the Botanical Garden and Palheiro Garden.  There will also be an opportunity to explore or relax on your own. There are several other gardens of note should you prefer to make your own itinerary, including Jardim Orquidea (Orchid garden) as well as the Ecological Park and Forest Parks.  The Laurissilva Forest has been classified as part of the Madeira Nature Reserve, a UNESCO world heritage site.

The exceptional climate and volcanic soil of the island combine to create the perfect conditions for plants, trees and flowers from all corners of the world to thrive.  Cedars, Sequoias, Gardenias, Freesias, Orchids, Mimosa, Bougainvillaea, Jacaranda, Hibiscus, Agapanthus and Poinsettias are just a few of the plants that flourish, creating impressive displays.

The tour may be booked as an add-on to any featured hotel of your choice from the Atlantic holidays brochure from just £179 per person added to the cost of the holiday chosen.   

Latest available departure dates may be obtained on request. 

Walking Holidays

For those who enjoy walking, a delightful walking program is also available

Levada walking is unique to Madeira.  Narrow irrigation channels cover the whole of the island in a cleverly devised network.  Our carefully selected walks follow these paths and lead you through farmland with banana trees, sugar cane and vines and past terraces that appear to hang precariously on the cliff edge.

The paths pass beautiful rushing waterfalls and gorges, precipitous cliffs and marshy high moors.  The unspoiled valleys of the north take you back to a time before evolution. 

Walks range in level of difficulty from  easy/flat through moderate to difficult. Duration can be from 2 hours up to a full day. For the full excursion programme of pre bookable walks please contact us for a link to the relevant website.

Please note that minimum numbers are required for some garden and walking tours to operate.  On all other dates, and where a tour does not reach the minimum number required, your tour company representative will be pleased to assist with booking excursions  on a daily basis.

For brochures, information or booking of any Madeira holiday, please call our helpful reservations team on (020) 8858 6677.  Alternatively see our email and postal addresses on our home page.