Porto Moniz - Enchanted Terraces: Open 4x4 Tour

Francisco picked us up from our apartment as well as other guests along the way. He is a really chilled guy and explained everything really well, including safety while standing in the Jeep only when off roading . Wherever we stopped be explained where we were on a map and made lots of unplanned stops to show us the amazing flora and fauna on the island. It was a fantastic day with amazing weather taking in all the view points. He was kind enough to take pictures for everyone. The only let down was the lunch which was less than average quality. Overall we highly recommend this tour and especially Francisco who is a top guy!

That was a day of frustration and waiting for me. The main problem with this tour is that you need to simply sit in a car. You sit and you look through a window - that's what you are mostly going to do in this tour. How interesting is that? The itinerary included a few places where tourists had to stop in order to either go to a toilet or buy souvenirs - so much fun, if only we could save time and buy souvenirs in Funchal where the choice is bigger, oh wait - we could but we had to do it here anyway Next we spent at least an hour riding a bumpy mountain - that was terrible because there is nothing to see there - only forest on both sides, nothing to do expect for trying to hold yourself on your seat. All that led to nothing - I thought we would see something amazing on the top, something worth all the way up - no, that was it. The only justification for the bumpy road was they had 4x4 car and they needed to use it. If you like to be shaked - then it's a great tour for you. Finally many hours later we arrived to Porto Moniz and we had only 1.5hrs there. It was already lunch time, so some of this time is spent on eating. Then there are two lava pools and of course you want to swim there, after all this is the main thing Porto Moniz is known for. It takes time. You also want to take photos and see the rest but no - time is up and you are going to have another long way back to Funchal with a stop at some bar to taste wine Seriously, if you want to see Porto Moniz - better take a bus from Funchal, it takes a long time to get there but it's still cheaper and faster than this tour and you'll have more free time there

This was a really enjoyable day with our guide, Juan, who was particularly knowledgeable about the flora of the area. The scenery here is beautiful and driving up the mountains was quite an experience. Our jeep broke down at one point, fortunately we were at a small village coffee shop when it happened. A replacement reached us very quickly and we all considered it part of the adventure. At the top of the mountain it was so foggy we were unable to walk through the forest, but we did get to make a levada walk that was lovely.

Very nice journey that gave me strong desire to come back to Madeira and discover its beauty with my own feet. The guide-driver was uplifting and enthusiastic, I didn't realize till the last moment how well the itinerary was thought. If I did I would not buy this mediocre ice-cream to my daughter and would wait for the final stop at the local bar :)

Have to say this is one of the best tours we have ever been on. Pick up was exactly as agreed and our guide, Nuno, was superb throughout the day. He has unbelievable knowledge of the island and made several unplanned stops throughout the day to highlight native species of plants, waterfalls and other points of interest. The off-road section of the tour was brilliant, expect a lot of bumps along the way, but surely that's the point of off-roading. Can't believe how we crammed so much into one day, and every stop had a reason, to see something new and varied - so many more opportunities in a smaller vehicle to take routes a coach could never travel. Once again a brilliant day, well planned, good company and an exceptional guide. Very highly recommended.

Oops, Nuno did this tour and Rue did the enchanted terrace tour. Both guides were amazing. Since I talked about Nuno is the last review, this time I will talk about Rue. He was extremely helpful making sure everyone was safe and was able to do the Levada walk. He even gave my husband his walking stick to use. He had flashlights for everyone. Wonderful guide, very personable and would highly recommend the tour and him. Please realize that I flipped the enchanted terrace review and the levada 25 fountain review, but both guides were fantastic and both tours were also fantastic.

Highly recommend this trip! It was absolutely incredible, did some off-roading, intro to Levada walks, saw lots of waterfalls, wonderful sights and magnificent views. We did s few day trips during our holiday and this was definitely the best one.

First off, the guide himself was excellent -- friendly and helpful. No complaints there. The description of the tour on the site however has cost two stars... The tour description currently reads Full-day private tour. We assumed -- like other private tours we'd taken -- that meant that it was private. In fact, we shared with another couple. Also not mentioned, and would have made us reconsider, there's more than an hour driving over seriously rocky roads where you'll be properly shaken around as the car squeaks around at 10mph. Probably would have been fun for 20 minutes, but it's safe to say we were simply enduring that for the most part. On a cloudy day there's also just nothing to see during this part. If you're happy with sharing, and you're happy with some seriously seriously bumpy off-road parts, I'd recommend this tour. If you're not, you may find yourself misled by the description. The scenery visited was excellent.