Advertiser disclosure
Advertisers are not responsible for the content of this site, including any editorial or review that may be published on it. For complete and up-to-date information about any product featured, please visit their website. We maintain business relationships with certain partners mentioned in our communication tools. While we may receive compensation if you sign up for a product or service through our affiliate links, our reviews and content are based on an objective assessment. Value estimates are established by Milesopedia and are not provided, endorsed, or verified by the issuing financial institutions. †*Terms and conditions apply.
As part of our trip to Portugal, we had planned a stay in Madeira, this mountainous Portuguese island that is a hiking paradise for all skill levels. Without a doubt, it was the biggest highlight of the trip!
To get to the island, we took a flight of about 1 h 45 from Lisbon, on TAP Airlines: tickets reimbursed by the travel credit each of us received from our HSBC World EliteMD MastercardMD, which we signed up for last winter.
Early in the morning, we had breakfast at the ANA Lounge at Lisbon Airport, thanks to my Business Platinum CardMD from American Express.
We landed in Madeira around 9:30 a.m., on this legendary runway built on stilts that gives you the impression of landing in the open sea.
We picked up the Fiat Panda, whose small engine would struggle on several incredibly steep roads, reserved and paid for with the points from our Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite + Card. Then we set off toward Funchal, the capital.
After a very! hearty meal at Restaurant Londres (boiled pork, liver, potatoes, cabbage and other vegetables in abundance), we settled into the first booked accommodation, a private room in a small hostel-type establishment with a shared kitchen.
The stay was reimbursed with the points from our American Express CobaltMD Card, as would be our two other accommodations. Our accommodations had been booked on Hotels.com to earn toward a free night, first going through Rakuten to collect a 2% rebate.
The next morning, we headed to Pico do Arieiro, a fantastic hike above the clouds. In the evening, we came home exhausted but amazed.
We noticed that Pereira d’Oliveira, a Madeira wine producer offering free tastings, is located right across from our accommodation. We went in, joined the group of French visitors who had just arrived, and were served 3 samples of this sublime nectar… a lovely little end-of-day bonus.
In the evening, we went up to the roof of the Hotel Madeira for the view of Funchal all lit up.
On Saturday, we took the road toward Ponta de Sao Lourenco, this long peninsula battered by the wind, which forms the eastern tip of the island.
In the evening, we enjoyed a free Coimbra-style Fado concert at the Jesuit College of Funchal, just steps from our place. A truly lovely evening.
On Sunday, we headed west. After a short visit to the legendary Reid’s Palace Hotel, the one where Empress Sissi used to come to treat her chest ailment, we dined 100% local at Viola in Camara de Lobos, where we seemed to be the only tourists.
It was quite an experience: large skewers of beef and chicken hanging above the table, polenta, a knockout little house wine and plenty of atmosphere! We even tried our first mandarin Poncha, this spirit-based drink typical of the Madeira archipelago.
On Monday morning, we set off for the Levada das 25 Fontes. The levadas are an astonishing 2,000 km network of irrigation channels, often built along cliff faces and accompanied by pretty, and sometimes vertigo-inducing, green trails. During our stay, we walked several of them, each more beautiful than the last.
On Tuesday, we visited the town of Porto Moniz and its strange volcanic pools.
On Thursdays we go to the top of Pico Ruivo, the roof of Madeira. Spectacular hike on a path entirely paved with large stones, which took us to almost 2,000 metres above sea level.
We wrapped up our stay in style in Portugal. Our final accommodation, the Casa das Proteas de Sao Jorge, delighted us, both for its rustic-chic decor, the quality of the meals served, the kindness of the hosts and the enchanting setting of the surrounding countryside.
After a short visit to the TAP Premium lounge, we left Madeira early the next morning, telling ourselves that we would surely come back one day!
Here are the credit cards used for this trip, each one having provided a benefit:
A few resources to help you:
Here are a few points of interest from this trip to Madeira with points:
To maximize your Membership Rewards earning, check our complete American Express Membership Rewards program guide and our best American Express Membership Rewards credit cards ranking, updated monthly by the Milesopedia team.
Savings this way:
You can change your preferences or unsubscribe at any time by clicking one of the links available at the bottom of each newsletter.
If you are already subscribed and would like to unsubscribe, you can click the link at the bottom of one of our emails.
