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Madeira Island Tour: Culture, Food, and Hiking
Embark on a private gastro hike to explore the island’s culture, cuisine, and biodiversity. Experience local cuisine, hike scenic trails, and learn from a certified guide. Make a positive impact on local communities.
Embark on a private gastro hike to explore the island’s culture, cuisine, and biodiversity. Experience local cuisine, hike scenic trails, and learn from a certified guide. Make a positive impact on local communities.
Duration:
5 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- ER203 - Our Gatro Hike will take us for a walk on one of the Levadas of our island, in an area where you only find nature and don’t find the large amount of tourism as in other places. Accessible to most people who visit us, and we can take a walk with 5.5 kms or with only 3.5 kms depending on what our customers prefer. In the end, we ended up…
- ER203 - Our Gatro Hike will take us for a walk on one of the Levadas of our island, in an area where you only find nature and don’t find the large amount of tourism as in other places. Accessible to most people who visit us, and we can take a walk with 5.5 kms or with only 3.5 kms depending on what our customers prefer. In the end, we ended up next to one of the most emblematic places in our mountains to taste a Poncha (local drink) and learn a little about its history. Then we will taste one of the traditional dishes of our island.
What's Included
- Private transportation
- Carbonated beverages
- Alcoholic beverages
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Tea and coffee
- Private transportation
- Carbonated beverages
- Alcoholic beverages
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Tea and coffee
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Gratuities
Meal Options
- “Skewered” - Local food made of beef on a skewer over the coals, accompanied by french fries, salad and fried corn
- “Skewered” - Local food made of beef on a skewer over the coals, accompanied by french fries, salad and fried corn
Additional Information
Experience the island’s rich culture, cuisine, mountain trails, history, and biodiversity in an authentic way. This activity offers the chance to dine like a local, visiting the same restaurants frequented by residents. Savor a regional kebab, enjoy a poncha, and explore trails less traveled by tourists. Learn the island’s history from a certified guide…
Experience the island’s rich culture, cuisine, mountain trails, history, and biodiversity in an authentic way. This activity offers the chance to dine like a local, visiting the same restaurants frequented by residents. Savor a regional kebab, enjoy a poncha, and explore trails less traveled by tourists. Learn the island’s history from a certified guide who is a native. Contribute to the social and economic well-being of local communities, promoting sustainability through this activity.
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
(48 Ratings)
5 stars
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1 star
Global548920
Mar 6, 2026
Welcoming start to our adventure in Madeira - The gastro hike with Claudio was an amazing start to our adventure in Madeira. First, we took a levada walk through a forested area and next, Claudio was able to incorporate the breathtaking sunset at Pico Arieiro. Lastly, we ended our evening at a traditional Madeirian restaurant, a real treat! Claudio was absolutely wonderful in every way. He was flexible, knowledgeable, kind, patient and prepared. We completed this experience as a small group of three - myself, my sister and my niece, age 11 and he was attentive and accommodating. Claudio even helped me find the perfect spot for my GoPro to capture the sunset in a time lapse. We were so lucky to find Claudio as our guide and also secured two other full hiking days with him. Thank you Claudio for making our time in Madeira so special.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mugurel
Jan 27, 2026
Great experience - Awesome time spent with Claudio! Very friendly and full of local tips and information, he’s the perfect guide for this lovely island. We had a great time
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Samantha_d
Jan 24, 2026
Great local guide - Great hike through lovely countryside. Claudio was an excellent guide. Authentic poncha and delicious beef skewers finished off a very enjoyable experience all round.
Review provided by Viator
Voyager58585147022
Jan 23, 2026
A really great time! Thanks Claudio! - Claudio was really friendly and smiling from the get go! (Even just having done a half marathon the day before). He was so informative about Madeira making the drive to our walking destination both fun and interesting. His knowledge of the things he loves made for a memorable experience. Including where to go for some local food and drink... Delicious!! Yes, we would absolutely recommend a private tour with Claudio
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mandyb897
Dec 30, 2025
Fantastic private levada hike with an authentic local food stop - We did the Gastro Hike with Claudio and couldn’t have asked for a better experience. It was a private half-day levada hike, just the two of us, on a privately owned levada, which made it feel really special and unrushed.
The hike itself was easier than I was expecting and would be suitable for most levels of fitness — especially as, being private, we could go entirely at our own pace. Claudio struck the perfect balance between letting us enjoy the walk and sharing his excellent knowledge of Madeira’s wildlife and natural environment, all delivered with great humour. He was clearly very experienced and reassuring, and he carried full safety and first-aid equipment, which added to the overall sense of being well looked after.
The highlight after the hike was the stop at a local, very authentic restaurant, where you cook your own meat and sausages on skewers over an open fire. Simple, generous food, local sides, beer, wine and Poncha — exactly the kind of place you’d never find on your own and clearly popular with locals.
A brilliant combination of nature, learning, good company and proper Madeiran food. Highly recommended if you want something relaxed, personal and genuinely local rather than a big group tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kemp_graham
Nov 25, 2025
Authentic Madeiran Gastro Hike - An excellent trip that was well organised by the owner and guide Claudio. A little apprehensive about starting at 4pm but it turned out to be excellent timing with a 5km walk along a private levada followed by visiting some stunning viewpoints over Funchal as the sun set and then a local restaurant where we had the opportunity to try poncha and a fantastic, authentic espatada meal.
Claudio proved to be an excellent guide with great knowledge of Madeira, its history, people and traditions. He also had great knowledge of the flora and fauna of the island and pointed out interesting plants as we walked the levada.
I would highly recommend the trip for anyone wanting a more personalised introduction to Madeira and it’s culture, people and food.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cd772
Nov 11, 2025
Amazing espetada after a gorgeous sunset! - This was our second tour with Claudio. This ine started with a short levadas walk where we learned a bit of history before heading to a lookout point to see a gorgeous sunset (away from crowds!) then on to poncha and our espetada dinner. The poncha in the local pub was excellent, definitely a difference from the tourist areas. As for the local dinner experience, that steak was the best dinner we had on the island! I opted for the sangria which was also really good. The whole experience was such a great time, excellent conversation as well. Highly recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
694albanh
Nov 9, 2025
Fantastic Tour away from the Mainstream - The tour with Cláudio was fantastic. We were picked up at our accommodation and had a very nice chat on the way to the starting point of the short hike. To our surprise, it was a private tour with no other guests. This meant we had Cláudio's undivided attention and could ask him anything we wanted to know. The hiking route was wonderful and a real insider tip. We didn't meet any other tourists along the way and the nature was stunning. Both the poncha and the traditional food were also a great experience. So if you want to do and experience something special away from the mainstream, Cláudio is the right choice!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Martin_s
Nov 6, 2025
Excellent. - We booked a private tour with Claudio as he has great reviews, and he offered an experience that looked a perfect match for our love of walking, talking, eating and drinking. We were not disappointed!
At the pace of a gentle stroll through some beautiful woodland, we chatted away with Claudio about Madeiran life, history, landscape, 'drunk uncles' - and more.
As for the poncha and cooking our own meat on a stick: that didn't disappoint either!
This tour is perfect for tourists who prefer to identify as curious travelers. It's informative, not a lecture; it's relaxed, but not boring. It's right up our street, just our cup of tea, and one that you would happily do again the very next day..
Review provided by Viator
Martinsc8735gc
Nov 6, 2025
We loved it! Which was confirmed when we got back and realised that we'd been having too good a time to snap any photos. - We booked a private tour with Claudio as he has great reviews, and he offered an experience that looked a perfect match for our love of walking, talking, eating and drinking. We were not disappointed!
At the pace of a gentle stroll through some beautiful woodland, we chatted away with Claudio about Madeiran life, history, landscape, 'drunk uncles' - and more.
As for the poncha and cooking our own meat on a stick: that didn't disappoint either!
This tour is perfect for tourists who prefer to identify as curious travelers. It's informative, not a lecture; it's relaxed, but not boring. It's right up our street, just our cup of tea, and one that you would happily do again the very next day..
Review provided by Tripadvisor
