Full-Day Rabaçal Levada Walk from Funchal

What a fantastic day out! Everything was fantastic and so well organised, from start to finish. We went direct to their office and spoke to Isabelle who was extremely friendly and helpful. We chose the Rabacal/Risco/25 Fountains walk as that was the most appropriate for us. Isabelle made it all so quick and simple and it was nice to be able to organise everything face-to-face. Isabelle gave us advice on what we should take with us - always useful. Our guide was Julia and she was lovely! Very friendly, helpful, funny and extremely knowledgeable. Julia gave us plenty of information about the plants and wildlife, as well as interesting facts about the levadas. She made the trip even more enjoyable. There is plenty of walking (up and down), you definitely need sturdy footwear, but what a fantastic day with beautiful scenery. We would definitely recommend Lido Tours (they have a wide range of walks as well as coach tours). Thanks to everyone for a fantastic experience.

Fantastic walk with lovely views and scenery. Pick up and drop off were well organised and Sara our guide was friendly and knowledgeable. The walk has some parts with slippy steps but overall was an easy to moderate walk for experienced walkers. As the description suggests the trip takes up most of the day. I would just be aware that there is a very long unlit tunnel on the walk if you don’t like small dark spaces. The tunnel is relatively wide and high and we used our iphone torches to see where we were going.

Awesome day out hiking as expected started off a little bit damp and cold but that is to be expected. Our tour guide Rubina was extremely patient and approachable also very knowledgeable as you would expect. Great views and scenery with a couple of stops for coffee/lunch. Maybe a little short for the more experienced hiker at around 11km but as our group was of mixed age I would say it is the perfect length for most.

+1

This walking tour into the forest to see the waterfalls but great. There were alot of steep steps which were a bit slippery in places. I was a bit slow getting down them and although I found it challenging, it was worth it. Our guide was amazing and very patient. I didn't feel rushed to keep up with the group, I did it at my own pace. The views and photos we took made this tour well worth the effort. Some advice, make sure you take a jumper as it gets cold and we took some disposable ponchos as it did rain for a bit and they take up less space than a coat. I highly recommend this tour.

Great tour! Beautiful views. Our guide Daniela was amazing!

+1

Disrespectful, obnoxious guide, who insulted me and my children, and threatened to abandon us, 30 minutes to have lunch and see the 25 fountains, which is impossible we were 5 minutes late, the guide made a scene he was obnoxious, and insulting He took videos of me and my children for being 5 minutes late Tour was not respected, 5 hours in total and 2.5 hours of walking instead of 5 hours of walking, a rip-off!!! agency to avoid Horrible experience How can an agency like this exist

I find these type of tours succeed or fail on the organisational skills f the Tour company and that of the guide in most cases. Lido Tours were very good in their marketing & organisation and in Farah they had an excellent Tour Guide. Her local knowledge and generally pleasant demeanour were a big plus and her English (and German) were slick and faultless. The tour is strenuous in parts but it saves a climb back to the start point by using the 800m tunnel which contains the Hydro Electric feeder pipe to bring you to a finish point lower down the mountain. Bring rain gear and boots as the tunnel is wet under foot and drippy. Really enjoyed this walk.

This was a great day - our guide, Reuben, was so friendly and informative. He told us a lot about flora and fauna, and there was a lot of chat about environmental issues and the impact of tourism on these levada trails. The scenery was wonderful - from the wide panoramic views, to the waterfalls, to the tunnels created by the trees overarching the levadas. This isn't a hike - more of an amble, apart from the several stretches of very steep steps. You don't need proper hiking shoes or boots - but the tunnel at the end has a LOT of puddled water on the ground. It's difficult to avoid, so trainers may well get very wet.

Very well attended hike. Almost too busy for me. But very nice impression and a great guide.

Great guide. Which led us through a beautiful landscape. I would love to book this tour again and again