Go East Island Tour

(16 Reviews)
Available Every Day
From€35€29
Available Every Day
From€35€29
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20280
Full-Day
Availability : Every day
Departs: 09:00
Returns at approximately: 16:45

Go East Tour

Full-Day Madeira Island Tour

Adult

29€

 
was 35€

Child

14.50€

 
under age 9

Duration

Full-Day

 
09h00 – 16h45

Stops

7

 
15 to 30m

The Feast of the East

The Go East tour is a great trip, not only to enjoy the fantastic landscapes but also to experience Madeira’s culture, history, and traditions.

We start the tour with a visit to Terreiro da Luta, this area was once the last stop on the only cog railway (Monte Railway) in Madeira. Here you can marvel at the “Our Lady of Peace sanctuary statue” which is supported by 4 Roman columns.

The following stop is at one of the highest points of Madeira at 1818 meters above sea level. It provides a panoramic view of the central mountains. This is an excellent location to take some breathtaking photos. After the mountains, we drive to Ribeiro Frio, into the heart of the Laurissilva Forest (Laurel Forest), which is classified by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage site. The Laurel Forest is a unique habitat with a diversity of rare fauna and flora.

In Ribeiro Frio, you may also visit the famous trout farm, where this particular type of fish grows in the freshwater that comes from the Levada. Afterward, we arrive in Santana. The village is best known for its traditional triangular-shaped houses. These houses are painted in bright colors and the thatched roof is made with straw. The break-in Santana will be longer as it is lunchtime. We stay here for about 90 minutes. There are several restaurants to choose from.

After lunch, we drive to Portela’s viewpoint. It is located at 670 meters high, between Porto da Cruz and Machico. It provides magnificent scenery with mountains that seem to flow down the valley towards the sea. Nonetheless, the most distinguishable element of this landscape is the imposing Penha d’Águia rock formation (Eagle Rock).

After being in the North of the Island for most of the day, we drive to the most Eastern part of Madeira. From the viewpoint of Ponta do Rosto you get to see the North and South coasts of the Island. Ponta de São Lourenço is a peninsula that measures approximately 9 km in length and 2 km in width. Here the landscape is completely different from the rest of the Island. The semi-arid climate and its exposure to North winds have sculpted the low vegetation and explain the lack of trees. In 1982 this area was declared a geological natural reserve with the main purpose of preserving its fauna and flora.

The last stop of our journey is a town full of history. Machico was where Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira disembarked in 1419 when they discovered Madeira. The Historical city center offers visitors a vast variety of shops, cafés, and restaurants. The stunning bay of Machico invites for a walk by the sea. In the bay, you will find a small yellow sand beach that was imported from Morocco.

Tour Stops

Go East Map
1st Stop
L
Terreiro da Luta
1st Stop

Terreiro da Luta

2nd Stop
L
Go East Island Tour
2nd Stop

Pico do Areeiro

3rd Stop
L
Go East Island Tour
3rd Stop

Ribeiro Frio

4th Stop
L
Go East Island Tour
4th Stop

Santana

5th Stop
L
Go East Island Tour
5th Stop

Portela

6th Stop
L
Go East Island Tour
6th Stop

Ponta de São Lourenço

7th Stop
L
Go East Island Tour
7th Stop

Machico

View Gallery

What to Bring?

We recommend you to take comfortable shoes, a sweater, a jacket, a cap and a bottle of water.

Nevertheless, despite our advice, it is our guests’ decision to bring appropriate garments to the tour.

Recommended Equipment

Z

Good Shoes

Comfortable boots or walking shoes with a good grip;

Z

Good Sweater

A sweater to protect you in case of cold weather conditions;

Z

Good Jacket

An all-weather jacket is a perfect choice for the island tours;

Z

Cap / Hat

Bring a cap or hat to protect you from the heat of the sun;

Z

Bottle of Water

A bottle of water is always useful to keep you hydrated.

16 Reviews
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juneduffy432

Couple Traveller

We had an excellent tour of the east of the island. We drove up to the highest point on the island, with fabulous views. We stopped for lunch in Santana, which was excellent value at 13.5 euros for 3 courses with wine and coffee. Whilst there we saw the replicas of the thatched roof traditional houses. There were a few other stops before finally going to a man-made sandy beach at Machico.

21 February, 2019

isabella1970

Couple Traveller

We booked 2 trips with this company. One took us to the East and the other to the West of the Island. We had Marta for the west tour. She was very informative and told us lots of interesting things and had a great sense of humour. On our second trip, we had an older lady who came across as weary and going through the motions however she was pleasant and polite. Combining both these trips is a great way to see most of the island. The views were stunning and we were actually above cloud level at some of the viewpoints we stopped at. It was so much easier to do this than have the hassle of hiring a car and finding our own way around on what were quite scary roads at times.

28 December, 2018

Vicki C

Couple Traveller

On our recent visit to the beautiful Island of Madeira, we used Happy Tours on 2 occasions a full day East Island tour and half a day Nuns Valley Tour. Both were brilliant and we were lucky to have the same guide ( Luis) each time. We were picked up from our hotel in Canico ( about 15 mins from Funchal). Luis was punctual each day and made both trips fun and informative. He is fluent in 4 languages and gave everyone a lot of information about the island. He was an excellent driver and we always felt safe even though some roads are narrow, winding, and have huge drops at the side. Highly recommend this company. I booked via email and paid the driver on the day. The customer service was excellent and the price is a fraction of what our tour operator was asking at the hotel. Great value for money.

10 August, 2018

Chris T

Couple Traveller

On our first trip to Madeira we decided to see as much of the island as we could. I contacted Marco on Twitter and he sent me all the information on the tours they offer and the specials too. We choose the East Coast, West Coast, and nuns valley tours. The east coast tour was conducted by Rogerio in a minibus with just 6 of us. We went all over the east coast, and also to some places that weren’t on the tour, we had a lovely lunch in a restaurant recommended by Rogerio, and also found a lovely place to buy plants in Santana. Machico was a beautiful place, wish we had more time there. This tour was just over 7 hours long.

12 July, 2018

Paul A

Couple Traveller

Booked the east island tour, picked up on time driver/guide excellent. The weather was appalling but we still managed to visit all the locations promised except the top of the mountain due to snow! Nice cafes in Santana.

13 February, 2018
12...
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