Madeira is a Portuguese island that rises dramatically from the Atlantic Ocean. Often dubbed as “poor man’s Hawaii,” it boasts landscapes reminiscent of Hawaii’s lush, volcanic scenery—but at a much more affordable price. 

It’s a subtropical island, featuring steep forested slopes and spiky peaks. The terrain caused difficulties when the island’s airport was built, and the runway was considered one of the most dangerous in the world due to strong crosswinds, proximity to mountains, and its only 1600m length, which plummeted off a cliff at the end. 

In 1977 a plane overshot the runway and exploded on a beach, killing most of the passengers. Changes had to be made, so the runway was extended by a mere 200m in 1986, and a further 1000m in 2000. 

To create the extension, they used 180 concrete columns, partially over the sea. It was quite an engineering marvel, and it was the first thing we saw when we arrived on the island. 

Our plane landed just before midnight, but with hand luggage only we had a swift exit and walked 2km to our hotel. It wasn’t a particularly pleasant stroll – walking alongside a fast highway with a crash barrier between us and the few cars driving that late at night. 

A big chunk of the walk went under the runway. The road we were on was elevated too, so it was some sort of bizarre multi-storey complex with a port area below us. The columns made it look like a Roman-era theatre complex, with the sea being the show, and it was kind of wild to imagine huge Boeing planes landing above our heads. 

I’d like to say we had a great night’s sleep, but a cockerel outside our window kept us awake most of the night, and then the roaring jets of planes assured we didn’t get a single wink. 

On the plus side, we woke to a fabulous view outside our window, of moody clouds above some small islands just as the sun was rising. The islands are a nature reserve, and they help protect the endangered Madeira Monk Seal – which is the rarest seal in the world. 

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After a tasty, homemade breakfast at our hotel, we set off on a walk to pick up our rental car. It was insanely cheap at just £40 for eight days. In fact, we accidentally booked the rental a month early; luckily, they let us keep the booking and amend the dates, but had we selected the correct month of January, it would have only cost £18, what a bargain.

As always, we purchased full-coverage insurance – it’s just not worth the risk in a country with such crazy roads. If you want to find cheap car rental like us, then check out Discover Cars. 

Driving out of the office we were immediately navigating a 30% gradient road. Craig revved the engine while trying to figure out how sensitive the clutch was and I was attempting to navigate. I quickly learnt not to trust my phone’s map for directions, as it tried to send down what looked like a footpath with a lone chicken strolling across it. 

I’d originally planned for our first hike to be along the coast, but the forecast was looking pretty good, so in a spur-of-the-moment decision, we decided to hike up the highest mountain on the island. 

Pico Ruivo, as it’s known, is 1862m tall, but we didn’t hike from sea-level, instead a steep, winding road took us up a big chunk of the mountain. I began to doubt my decision on the way up when the sun vanished behind dense fog. “Damn, maybe we should have stuck with the coastal hike” I said to Craig, feeling a little defeated. 

As quickly as I doubted my decision, I clapped myself on the back, because we rose above the cloud and I was squealing with joy. 

Madeira’s warm, moist air and cool, lofty peaks mean the island is often blessed with optimal conditions for cloud-inversions, and it’s one of the main things that drew us to the island. 

The walk gradually climbed uphill, following steps and a rocky path around the side of a mountain. The jagged, silhouetted peaks of Pico do Arieiro – the second highest mountain on Madeira, were behind the clouds until we reached a certain elevation, leaving any peak above 1500m to penetrate through the white blanket, like mystical islands.

From the top, we picked a rocky ledge to sit and enjoy our picnic lunch, consisting of a peanut butter and jam sandwich, and a Pastel Di Nata – a heavenly Portuguese custard tart. 

The clouds were mesmerising to watch as they swooped below us, wrapping around peaks and through rocky gullies. 

It was kind of crazy to think that less than 24 hours before we were sitting on our sofa in England and now we were on the highest mountain in Madeira. 

We weren’t sure what to do with the remainder of the day, but what we did know was that the low cloud seemed to be sticking around. 

The conditions were so pristine that we decided to drive across the island, to hike Pico do Arieiro for sunset. So we took a steep mountain road across the island, with impressive drop-offs into the forest-clad valleys below. Yet again we penetrated through the blanket of cloud until we were above it, with crisp blue skies. 

We planned to hike the famous ‘Stairway to Heaven’ route that follows a narrow ridge line. It’s part of a long trail that traverses Pico do Arieiro and works its way over to Pico Ruivo, or vice versa. But it’s been closed for a while since wildfires ravaged the trail and made it unsafe. 

Luckily, the Stairway to Heaven was said to be one of the most impressive sections of the hike, so we were grateful that we could at least walk that part. 

The car park was basically at the mountain summit, so we were actually walking downhill to begin with. On most hikes, you spend a long stretch winding through unremarkable terrain before finally earning that one breathtaking view. But on this trail, the views began from the moment we set foot on it—and the sweeping vistas stayed with us every step of the way.

The stairway to heaven was spectacular – we were walking along a 2ft wide path with a sheer drop on either side. My vertigo was completely unaffected thanks to some feeble ropes that tricked my brain – or maybe I was just so distracted by the mind-blowing view that I didn’t even realise how deadly the drop was.

But, had I slipped with a bit of momentum behind my step I could have easily rolled under the railing and vanished into the abyss. 

The route felt like a fairytale, as if I was walking along the spiky back of a dragon – my dreams and reality seamlessly blurring into one. 

The sun was sinking lower so we found a perfect area on a terracotta coloured slope to sit and watch one of Mother Nature’s great shows. 

We brought along a flask of tea and of course, another round of pastel de nata’s, and we were joined by some bizarre little birds. I don’t know what attracted so many of them to this one ridgeline, but every five minutes or so, another one would casually walk past us. 

The sun gradually slipped below the layer of clouds, casting a golden hue over them. It was a beautiful sunset, and the horizon gradually turned a deep orange colour, resembling a fancy cocktail with colourful layers. 

We slowly walked back to the carpark, stopping often to catch our breath from the steep hill – and soak in the view. Every time we looked back the horizon became even more vibrant, and with one last look, it was time to say goodbye. 

I didn’t want to drive at night, but it was unavoidable, and we made our way back down the steep mountain to reach our accommodation where we’d be staying for the next week. 

Driving in Madeira was eventful to say the least, and as we veered round right bends we’d be confronted by a parked car on our side of the road, and another car driving towards us! 

Then our satnav would say “Turn left” down winding alleys, so narrow that I would be able to touch both walls if I outstretched my arms. In a split second, Craig would have to avoid the turn, while I frantically searched my map for an alternative route. 

It was pretty nerve-wracking, but we eventually joined the highway and arrived at the parking spot for our accommodation – which was directly on a road with a 30% gradient. With our wheels veering into the curb and gear one engaged, we filled our arms with boxes of food and supplies and began a strange walk to our studio apartment. 

It was dark so I used my head-torch to guide the way down little alleys and hundreds – literally hundreds of steps into the depths of a banana plantation. 

It sounded very idyllic in the advertisement but now we were starting to question our decision. Our legs were tired after a full day of exploring and almost no sleep, but eventually, we arrived at a traditional house positioned above a gushing waterfall. 

The studio was small, and a tad on the chilly and damp side, but it was clean and had everything we needed. 

All we could hear was the gushing waterfall, even with the windows closed, it was perfect. There were no cockerels or roaring jets, just the sound of nature so we could finally get a good night’s sleep before another day exploring the beautiful island. Although I was very aware that our first challenge of the day would be climbing back up those damn stairs!