Head To This Island For A Maui Experience Without The Crowds
By Dawn Hammon
VACATIONS
Maui is spectacular, but it also comes with a pretty steep price tag. If you're looking for an alternative with a similar climate and landscape, consider Madeira instead.
Madeira is an autonomous region of Portugal, so it shares the currency, language, and politics of mainland Portugal. It is easy to access with flights from North America or Europe.
Like Maui, Madeira is blessed with an amazing year-round climate.The average temp ranges from 61-73 degrees, making it easy to hike along the 15th-century irrigation canals.
Visitors to Madeira can also paraglide, golf, horseback ride, take Jeep tours, sail, swim, kayak, scuba dive, jet ski, or surf, all while seeing gorgeous architecture and nature.
Madeira has half the visitors of Maui, but hosts shimmering waters, a lush and ruggedly mountainous interior, exotic flowers, and the largest Laurel forest in the world.
Madeira is globally known for its poncha cocktail, a combination of rum, honey, sugar, and citrus juice. Madeira’s food and lodging prices are also less expensive than Hawaii.