My daughter (13) loves the all inclusive resort type vacations... the rest of us ( family of 4 with son being 10) like to also add some more cultural, city visits, sightseeing... this year, I am trying to make everyone happy with our summer plans. We need to go in the summer due to school vacations... I though Portugal may offer us the possibility for the seaside resort but then we could also include Lisbon, maybe Porto etc and have a good overall vacation that pleases everyone.
I found some great resort options in the Madeira region but wondered if that would make it harder to then add some mainland Portugal options. Any other areas I should look at?
We are looking at 2 weeks
Any help is greatly appreciated!
Posted by
Chicago
8178 posts
Madeira is a 2 hour flight from Lisbon the mainland. Given you are trying to make everyone happy I can not see going there.
Posted by
OP
1172 posts
With 2 weeks, I think we could afford to have a 2 hour flight in between. Do 5-6 days in Madeira and then 5-6 days in Lisbon.
Any other good beachy areas that would be closer/on mainland so we could drive/train to Lisbon?
Posted by
Washington DC
28247 posts
Madeira is magnificent. I haven't been there recently enough to give you specific information, but there are fabulous walks (basically flat after you get to the starting point) along the levadas, which are narrow irrigation canals. The terrain is dramatic; Google for photos. There's at least one company that does walks along the levadas, which relieves you of the possibility of figuring out transportation, but with advice from a book and/or the tourist office you could probably figure it out for yourselves. You shouldn't just go without local inpu, because a few of the walks might be problematic for folks with issues about heights.
The island has bus service that will allow you to see rather a lot even if you decide not to rent a car; I assume car rentals are available, though I haven't checked. I'd suggest paying some attention to the location of your proposed lodgings vis-à-vis the Funchal bus depot, from which buses fan out to the rest of the island. Otherwise, you may end up needing to us a lot of taxis. Of course, with 4 of you, a taxi wouldn't be much of a splurge.
Oops: Almost forgot to mention a characteristic of Madeira that may take it off your list: It has no natural sandy beaches. For that one must head to the neighboring island of Porto Santo, but it is 2 hours away by ferry, so not a quick trip.
Also--and perhaps because of the beach situation--it was my impression back in the 1970s and 1980s that visitors to Madeira tend to be middle-aged. If part of what your daughter likes about all-inclusives is the presence of a lot of kids her own age, Madeira may not be a good move at this time.
There are some other folks on the forum who've been to Madeira; surely some have done so more recently than I have. I hope they can confirm/update my comments.
Posted by
Cascais, Portugal
1826 posts
The Algarve has resorts with amazing beaches. That said, it’s not my favorite part of Portugal and would be very crowded in the summer.
The Caparica beach outside of Lisbon is very popular and there are beaches north of Lisbon in the silver coast area. There are resort hotels in Cascais, but they cater more to golfers than children and teens.
You also might want to look at Tróia, outside of Lisbon. It advertises itself as being for families and I’ve been told it’s a lovely area. Porto has Espinho and Foz close.
With two weeks, there is so much to see on the mainland, I wouldn’t try for Madeira, but that's just my opinion.