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Madeira Adventure: Cable Car, Sea Pools, and Fanal Forest
5.0
18 Ratings
Funchal
Experience a thrilling cable car descent, explore natural sea pools, black sand beaches, and a fairytale forest in Madeira’s Westside.
Experience a thrilling cable car descent, explore natural sea pools, black sand beaches, and a fairytale forest in Madeira’s Westside.
Duration:
8 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Teleférico das Achadas da Cruz - Get ready for some thrills, because here we first go 600m downhill - with the steepest cable car in Europe and a gradient of 98%
- Porto Moniz - in Porto Moniz natural sea pools between black volcanic rocks are waiting for us.
- Praia do Porto do Seixal - Cameras at the ready, because the landscape with…
- Teleférico das Achadas da Cruz - Get ready for some thrills, because here we first go 600m downhill - with the steepest cable car in Europe and a gradient of 98%
- Porto Moniz - in Porto Moniz natural sea pools between black volcanic rocks are waiting for us.
- Praia do Porto do Seixal - Cameras at the ready, because the landscape with beach, sea and waterfalls is really fantastic!
- Ilheus da Ribeira da Janela - The highlight here is the impressive rock that rises from the sea and has an opening that resembles a window.
- Posto Florestal Fanal - Our last stop takes us to Fanal and thus to the “magic forest” of Madeira
What's Included
- Insurance by local law
- Cable Car Entrance fee Achadas da Cruz
- One coffee (bica or garoto)
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- One local drink (Poncha, beer or soft drink like a Brisa Maracujá)
- One small bottle of water (on the ride in the van)
- Local Driver/Guide
- Insurance by local law
- Cable Car Entrance fee Achadas da Cruz
- One coffee (bica or garoto)
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- One local drink (Poncha, beer or soft drink like a Brisa Maracujá)
- One small bottle of water (on the ride in the van)
- Local Driver/Guide
What's Not Included
- Lunch
- Porto Moniz Natural Pools Entrance Fee 3 euros.
- Lunch
- Porto Moniz Natural Pools Entrance Fee 3 euros.
Additional Information
Start your journey with a thrilling 98% gradient cable car descent to Achadas da Cruz. Then, explore the refreshing natural sea pools of Porto Moniz. Next, visit the picturesque Ribeira da Janela with its stunning sea rock, and discover Seixal’s famed black sand beach. After that, head to Fanal Park’s enchanting forest, a fairytale-like world with misty…
Start your journey with a thrilling 98% gradient cable car descent to Achadas da Cruz. Then, explore the refreshing natural sea pools of Porto Moniz. Next, visit the picturesque Ribeira da Janela with its stunning sea rock, and discover Seixal’s famed black sand beach. After that, head to Fanal Park’s enchanting forest, a fairytale-like world with misty trees and occasional surprise appearances by the local cows.
- The remaining hours are allotted for the transportation.
- The Pickup time might vary depending on your pickup location. We will contact you to inform you before your tour starts.
- The cable car can be closed due to weather conditions or maintenance that could be carried out.
- Times are approximate and may vary depending on traffic and/or weather conditions.
- There could be a waiting time during the cable car activity at Achadas da Cruz, we have no control on it. Some stops might get shorten time to arrive on time to the cable car before its closure.
Location
Hotel Porto Mare
Rua Simplício dos Passos Gouveia
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(18 Ratings)
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1 star
Heather_c
Mar 25, 2025
A wonderful tour of the west side of Madeira Island - Definitely go on this tour! Richard was an amazing guide and he knew loads of beautiful spaces to take us too. The walk in Fanal forest in the mist was such a highlight, like nowhere I’ve ever been before. We were also dropped off in Porto Moniz to get lunch and see the natural pools. It was a very relaxing tour and never felt rushed and Richard adapted to the needs of the guests with drop offs etc. We loved this experience!
Review provided by Viator
Mireillet352
Mar 8, 2025
One of our most beautiful trip thanks to Heartbeat Madeira ! - Based on the first spots we had selected, Richard and Katrin built a tailor-made itinerary for us. Both were incredibly kind, extremely attentive, generous, funny.
Everything was top : choice of routes, return airport pick-up, zero waste picnic (with homemade cakes by Katrin), electric vehicle, and little surprises punctuated our stay.
We learned a lot about the island and discovered lots of details (history, nature, etc.) to which we would not have had access without Richard and Katrin's explanations.
We felt like we were traveling the island with friends 🙂
A travel that we will not forget! And the opportunity to work with a local and experienced team! Katrin and Richard made our heart beat for Madeira
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jcomments
Jan 14, 2025
Excellent tour! Highly recommend. - Richard (and Heartbeat Madeira) were excellent - why?
1. Comprehensive - Went to everything on the schedule (I read some reviews and they didn't get to everything and I particularly wanted to go to Fanal. The tour went on a bit longer because of this but I wouldn't have been happy if we missed Fanal which was at the end of the day.
2. Awareness of "the comforts". Provided water in the car, two breaks for local drinks, and pointed out good toilet facilities to use. Note for those who don't drink alcohol - there is a local drink Nikita which is outstanding imho - like a milkshake with pineapple and passion fruit. Richard also pointed out good places for lunch in Porto Moniz.
3. Only 8 people! Some tours take a lot more. We had four couples and we are keeping in touch with one of them.
4. Extremely knowledgeable with a great command of the English language. We learned a lot about the island and my husband also asked about politics, etc. Richard was able to answer everything!
5. Great communication - you will get a thorough email explaining everything.
6. Kindness - Richard dropped people off at the end of the tour at their accommodations. He goes out of his way for people to have a great experience. He translated what was said in English to Spanish as one couple was Spanish.
We enjoyed this tour so much, we booked a private tour for another day to see some of the places we wanted to. That was fantastic as well - so ask if you have particular items you want to see (a bit more expensive but if you have limited time like we did you might consider it...).
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Shaneh2103
Nov 23, 2024
Amazing small group tours of Madeira! - I had absolutely incredible 2.5 days with Richard and Katrin’s Heartbeat Madeira. I did three different tours: the west, the east, and the south. All three tours were nothing, but excellent!
Unlike other companies, Richard’s tour has a max of 8 people per tour in a comfortable van vs. jam packed jeeps. I got lucky and had one day of just myself and other two days with another person. I got personalized attention throughout the trips.
As a Madeira native, Richard showed thorough understanding of the island and every location we visited. He knew backgrounds and history of every place. I highly recommend Hearbeat Madeira to anyone who wants to have small group tours of the island!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Louise_t
Nov 15, 2024
Great day Fabulous tour guide - What a great day we had. Richard from Happy Tours was truly exceptional! When faced with unfavorable weather, he chose new routes. Even though this was our sixth visit and we had seen a lot already, Richard revealed some fascinating new spots we hadn’t encountered before. He is not only knowledgeable but also a wonderfully friendly and charming person. Will definitely be booking again next year, so see you November 2025 Richard and thanks again for a great day.
Review provided by Viator
Karin
Sep 29, 2024
Best decision - Simply indescribably warm, very informative and unique. Whether it's a poncha course at a local, dinner at a paradise spot , Westside tour , São Lorenço... there are no better guides than Katrin and Richard to explore this beautiful island. The additional extras like homemade picnic, a typical pastry in between or a bica or poncha .. we have not had that yet with any other provider .. we have seen a lot and yet there was time for self-exploration in between or a refreshing dip in the sea or natural pool.
Your concept is great.. keep it up 👍🏼😎🫶🏼
Review provided by Tripadvisor
103loanv
Sep 1, 2024
Don’t miss the Heartbeat of Madeira tour - Highly recommend this tour and Heartbeat Madeira. They were responsive and provided excellent communication. The time allowed at each spot was well organized. We were able to see all the sights and Richard was knowledgeable of the area’s history.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hajnalka_h
Aug 7, 2024
Perfect day! - The tour was fantastic with all those locations and also very informative. Richard our guide was amazing, had a great sense of humor, told many stories abut the island and the nikitas at the end were super tasty! Thank you very much for this experience.
Review provided by Viator
G7600ifchiaral
Jul 2, 2024
Madeira nel nostro cuore! - We left for our tour with guides Richard and Katrina, friendly and available to give information about the places and history of Madeira.
First stop Achada da Cruz, we took the cable car with the 98% gradient and a spectacular view of the cliff overlooking the sea. Richard and Katrina offered us a coffee explaining the difference between bica and garoto.
Second stop, my favorite, the natural pools of Porto Moniz... my favorite place in Madeira! Wonderful place where we bathed in a beautiful natural setting of volcanic rocks.
Third stop is the enchanted forest of Fanal, then Ribeira de Janela which with its stacks looks like a lunar landscape and Seixal with its black sand beach and waterfalls.
On the way back we stopped at a typical bar to drink a poncha all together!
Thanks to Richard and Katrina for the unforgettable day!
Chiara and Beatrice (from Italy!)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dmytro_s
Jun 7, 2024
Amazing places, guide and day - I spent a full day on the northwest coast of Madeira and it was a great tour. Richard is an excellent guide and introduced us to the history of the island and many of the towns and places we visited. We spent the whole day traveling, visiting many beautiful places and tasting the traditional poncha drink at the end of the tour. The most wonderful experience, I will definitely recommend it to friends who want to visit the island.
Review provided by Viator
