These aren’t two versions of the same wine tour. The Full Day Wine Tour is built around the wine itself — three producers and 12 tastings across one day. The Food & Wine Walking Tour is built around Madeira’s customs and everyday culture, with 2 wine tastings along the way rather than a day of wine tasting from start to finish. Everything else — price, pace, what you actually see — follows from that difference.
The core difference, in one look
• Price: €95 for the Walking Tour, €210 for the Full Day Tour.
• Format: on foot around central Funchal, versus a driven route to three producers.
• Time: a few hours, any day we’re running it, versus a fixed 8-hour day on Wednesdays or Fridays.
• What’s in the glass: 2 wine tastings on the Walking Tour — one fortified (vinho licoroso), one table wine — versus 12 wine tastings across three producers and lunch on the Full Day Tour.
• Logistics: no pickup needed, versus a Funchal hotel pickup and a group that’s normally 7 guests.
Full Day Wine Tour: what you get
The Full Day Wine Tour is the one that actually leaves Funchal. It starts at Blandy’s Wine Lodges on Avenida Arriaga, then heads north on the via rápida — about 45 minutes each way — to Quinta do Barbusano in São Vicente, and finishes with a smaller producer in Estreito de Câmara de Lobos on the way back. Three stops, three different growing conditions, in one day.
Lunch is typical Madeiran food, and it comes with its own tasting: white, rosé and red table wine, a newer style alongside the island’s 500-year fortified tradition. That table wine tasting is easy to miss if you’ve only read the tour name — it’s not just a fortified wine day.
It’s a comfort tour, in the best sense — an easy, well-paced way to spend a day on the island, with pickup, the route and lunch all taken care of. If there’s one part of the day guests bring up afterwards, it’s lunch and the place where it happens: for a lot of our guests, it was the best espetada they ate anywhere on the island.
Groups are normally 7, filling one van, and only go up to 12 with a different vehicle on the rare days when demand is high. Pickup is from Funchal hotels only; covering every town on the island would add hours to the day and eat into everyone else’s time at each stop. It runs Wednesdays and Fridays, so it needs to be booked around those two days rather than fitted in wherever suits — and those two days fill up first from June through September, so book earlier than you think you need to.
Book the Full Day Wine Tour or email hello@winetoursmadeira.com to check the next Wednesday or Friday with space.
Food & Wine Walking Tour: what you get
The Walking Tour is less about the wine and more about Madeira itself — 9 stops around Funchal built to introduce the island’s customs and everyday culture, from traditional food to local drinks. Wine plays a small part in that: 2 tastings along the way, one fortified and one table wine, rather than a glass at every stop.
It’s the tour for a first, broad feel of Madeira’s traditions and history — how people here actually eat and drink — rather than a deep dive into how the wine itself is made. That’s what the Full Day Tour is built for.
It’s also the easier fit if you’re staying in central Funchal for only a night or two and want a taste of the island’s culture before an evening out, rather than built around a specific weekday.
Details on the Food & Wine Walking Tour are worth a look if a full day out isn’t realistic on your trip.
Which one fits your trip
If you’re in Madeira for a short stopover, or a cruise call of a few hours, the Walking Tour fits inside that window — the Full Day Tour doesn’t. If you have most of a day free and want to see actual vineyards, meet producers, and try the table wine tasting at lunch, that’s specifically what the Full Day Tour is for. If your dates don’t land on a Wednesday or Friday, the Walking Tour is the one you can actually book.
Budget maps onto the same choice: the extra €115 on the Full Day Tour is the drive, the three producer visits, and the lunch — not simply “more wine tasting” packed into the same afternoon.
And if neither is quite right — you’re travelling as a group and want the island’s wine regions spread across several days rather than one — that’s what the Premium Full Week Wine Tour is for, built on request rather than off a fixed itinerary.
Being honest about the trade-offs
The Full Day Tour isn’t for guests who only want Funchal’s bar scene — that’s what the Bar Hopping Tour is for, not a day built around producer visits. And it isn’t for anyone locked into a day other than Wednesday or Friday.
The Walking Tour isn’t for guests who want to see actual vineyards or get the full producer story — Blandy’s is one stop among 9, not the guided deep dive you get on the Full Day Tour. If seeing where and how the wine is made is the actual goal, the Full Day Tour is worth rearranging your schedule for.
For more on what you’re actually tasting on either tour, our complete guide to Madeira wine tasting covers the four fortified styles and where the table wine category fits in.
FAQ
Which tour has more wine tasting?
The Full Day Tour, by a wide margin — 12 wine tastings across three producers and lunch, against 2 on the Walking Tour: one fortified wine and one table wine.
Can I do both tours on the same trip?
Yes, and a fair number of guests do — the Walking Tour on a free afternoon, the Full Day Tour on a Wednesday or Friday. Both include a stop at Blandy’s, but not the same one: on the Walking Tour it’s 2 wine tastings among the 9 stops, while on the Full Day Tour it’s a private visit to the lodge itself, with the Blandy family’s history and the fortified wine process explained properly. They’re different experiences rather than a smaller and bigger version of the same thing.
Is the Full Day Tour worth it if I’m only in Madeira for two or three days?
If one of those days is a Wednesday or Friday, yes — it’s the tour that actually gets you to the producers. If your dates miss both days, the Walking Tour is the realistic option.
Does the Walking Tour visit any producers?
Just one: Blandy’s, as one of the 9 stops in Funchal, with 2 wine tastings there. The drive north to Quinta do Barbusano and the producer in Estreito de Câmara de Lobos, along with the table wine tasting at lunch, are specific to the Full Day Tour.
I don’t love long drives or long days on my feet — does that rule either tour out?
The Full Day Tour involves time in the van as well as at each stop, not constant walking. The Walking Tour is on foot for its full length but doesn’t involve the drive. Tell us about mobility concerns when you book and we’ll help you pick.
Does the Walking Tour include a sit-down lunch like the Full Day Tour?
No. Each of the 9 stops is a regional food tasting rather than a sit-down meal, and alongside the 2 wine tastings you also try poncha, local beer, and Brisa, the Madeiran soft drink. The table wine tasting and the Madeiran lunch are specific to the Full Day Tour.
Still deciding? Email hello@winetoursmadeira.com or call (+351) 911 911 711 and tell us your dates — we’ll say plainly which tour fits, rather than sell you whichever one’s free.
