MamaQuack

Not sure how long you have in port. We were lucky to overnight. We spent the first afternoon leisurely strolling the city shops and market. The next day we hired a private driver - Daniel. We saw more with him than we imagined possible. Great, unusual places, great lunch with a spectacular view. Not for everyone but it was wonderful for us.

I would definitely recommend hiring a driver. We loved Daniel. He can and will take you to places not listed in the guidebooks. He gave us a day we will never forget and made the best use of the time we had to spend there.

jd-taxi@hotmail.com is how we contacted him; he is a lifelong resident of Madeira so he knows everyone and everywhere - all you would need do is ask and he will find it, show it or drive you to it. When we reached our lunch destination we were just so spellbound by the view - I would have eaten cereal and been happy. Then they brought out the platters of fresh salad, veggies and I knew I was in heaven. Then the fish and mt husband and cousin were just taken by the beef on the large skewer. It was an unexpected bonus to an already great day. I hope he is available for your travel time.

We were there April 1st and had a 7 hour tour with Daniel. I posted about it on this thread. He took us to an amazing restaurant with a 180 degree view and fabulous local fish (beef on the skewer too) and fresh veggies and salad. We saw things and enjoyed foods that most would not. If you want his email let me know. We plan to return next year and the first thing my husband said was 'make sure we get Daniel'.

Latebloomercruiser,

You are in for such a treat with Daniel. We had the pleasure of his company on April 1. He is knowledgeable, intelligent, charming, interesting and he listens. We were not in a van because it was just the 3 of us. We did not want to do the sleigh but he drove us up to a place where we could watch them come down for a bit - yikes! I almost had a heart attack just watching! Know you will enjoy your day with Daniel.

O.k., have to ask - what is poncha?

Biaria,

We are praying for you, your family, your friends, your neighbors.

Happy Valentine's Day to all. We are very excited about our day in Funchal with Daniel. It will be our 20th anniversary!

We have booked with Daniel for these exact reasons. We like to go at our own pace and do not require marathon touring. Daniel's wonderful wife has helped us so much with our planning. We know it will be a great day and wonderful way to celebrate our #20 anniversary.

Thank you to everyone for suggesting Daniel. He sounds exactly like our Vincente in Rome and our Alberto in Capri - our kind of guy. I know we will be pleased - have emailed him this a.m. Now I am worried he will already be booked - yikes! Will keep you posted. Thanks again to each of you .

MamaQuack

thank you!

MamaQuack

Thank you for taking the time and effort to help all of us. Can you recommend a private driver for the day? We do not generally enjoy organized ship excursions and prefer to go at our own pace with a private driver. We love wine tasting and especially enjoy dining for lunch at local establishments as opposed to tourists spots. Thank you again.

MamaQuack

If you are worried they will be too tired to wait or too hungry you can always order room service earlier for them. Or get sushi or go to the casual restauarant and let them pick from the buffet. But, they may surprise you and want to make the late seating. We had late seating in April and there were many kids there, but it was in the Carribean and no jet lag/time change had to be factored in. I will say this, at least from our experience with our son, once they make friends in the youth group they cannot wait to get away from you and go to the nightly activities.

travellady,

as you know from my post on your other thread we cruised with our 14 year old - he makes friends easily but still checks out the youth programs on every cruise we have ever taken - he absolutely loved what Celebrity did - met lots of kids and had a blast

MamaQuack