North Madeira tour: wine tasting at Quinta do Barbusano

★★★★★★★★★★ 5.00 (5 reviews)

Free cancellation

1/11

Duration8h 30m

GroupUp to 6

LanguagesEN · PT +1

PickupAt your hotel

Drive the north coast from Funchal to taste wines where the vines grow

A guided 4x4 tour of Madeira's north coast departing Funchal, visiting Porto da Cruz, Santana, and ending at Quinta do Barbusano for wine tasting. The route strings together a working sugar cane mill with its original steam engine, a viewpoint over the entire northern coastline, traditional thatched-roof houses still lived in, and red, white and rosé wines from a local quinta. Your guide speaks English, Spanish or Portuguese, pickup is included, and the day runs eight and a half hours.

8h 30m

Step-by-step itinerary

North Madeira tour with tastings

Start from Funchal
Visit Santa Cruz: church and market
Stop at Engenho de Cana-de-Zucker mill
Taste traditional Poncha drink
Cross Laurissilva forest paths
Visit Santana and local thatched houses
Enjoy panoramic view at Boca das Voltas
Lunch break at Arc de S. Jorge restaurant
Short walk after lunch
Pass through Boaventura, Ponta Delgada, São Vicente
Visit Quinta do Barbusano for wine tasting
Return to Funchal in late afternoon

The Experience

The tour leaves Funchal and moves north through Santa Cruz toward Porto da Cruz, where you stop at a sugar cane mill that still operates with Europe's oldest steam engine. You can taste the regional poncha—a watermelon-based spirit—here if you choose to order it. From there the route climbs through the Laurissilva forest on winding paths toward Santana, where you walk through the village's typical houses with their distinctive thatched roofs, many still inhabited. The driver stops at smaller settlements along the way: Boaventura, Ponta Delgada, São Vicente.

The Boca das Voltas viewpoint is the visual anchor of the day—a mirador overlooking the entire north coast, where local fruit sellers often set up. Lunch happens at a local restaurant nearby with homemade food; a short walk afterward helps settle the meal. At Quinta do Barbusano, the final major stop, you visit the property and taste red, white and rosé wines from their own production. The afternoon returns you to Funchal as the light shifts.

You travel in a small-group 4x4, which is what the winding northern roads and the tight village streets demand. Your guide is live—English, Spanish or Portuguese depending on the departure you book—and pickup from your Funchal hotel is included. The day is full but not rushed; the route itself is the point, and the stops let you step out and stand in the places rather than pass through them.

What’s included

Hotel pickup in Funchal.
a live guide in English, Spanish or Portuguese.
visits to the sugar cane mill in Porto da Cruz and the water mill.
entry to see the typical thatched-roof houses of Santana.
the Boca das Voltas viewpoint.
a visit to Quinta do Barbusano with tasting of red, white and rosé wines.
all fees and taxes.

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyInfant seats availableNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditionsNot for back problems

Operated by Adventureland Madeira

Is this one for you?A small-group 4x4 tour suits travelers who want the north coast's full arc—the working mill, the forest, the villages, the viewpoint and the wine—without driving themselves or piecing together separate stops. The winding roads and tight village streets are why the 4x4 matters; the guide's knowledge of where to stop and what to linger on is what turns a long drive into a day.