Travel in city Santo

Located off the coast of Africa but also an autonomous region of Portugal, Madeira has its own unique identity.

World Travel Awards has revealed that its Grand Final 2024 will take place in the idyllic Atlantic islands of Madeira on 24 November. The leaders and figureheads of global travel and tourism will gather in the capital Funchal to find out who amongst them has been voted the industry’s best of the best.

As the summer season in Greece officially begins, new properties are set to open to lure visitors to this perennial favorite. The marquee islands Mykonos and Santorini are, as usual, the setting for new vacation options but so are islands across the island chains that aren’t usually in the conversation.

Overtourism could have been 2023's word of the year in the travel industry.

The beautiful islands of Madeira will play host to the 11th annual World Golf Awards 21-22 November 2024. Leading names from the golfing world will join VIPs and figureheads from the golf tourism industry for what will mark the first World Golf Awards to take place in Madeira. The prize-giving evening at Savoy Palace from Savoy Signature, Funchal will form the climax of an exclusive golfing itinerary, which will include golf at the two world-class courses of Santo da Serra and Palheiro.

MADEIRA IS, FOR THE 10TH TIME, THE BEST ISLAND DESTINATION IN EUROPE. PORTO SANTO IS THE BEST BEACH DESTINATION AND THE MADEIRA PROMOTION ASSOCIATION THE BEST TOURISM ENTITY. Funchal will host two international World Travel Awards galas in November this year.

The island destination of Madeira has taken its sustainability credentials to new heights, with all three golfing venues embracing the tourist board’s long-term commitment to preserving the environment. Clube de Golf Santo da Serra has become the latest club in the idyllic Portuguese islands to implement a new eco-strategy, following Palheiro Golf and Porto Santo Golf in making a series of course improvements to enhance the overall playing experience for members and guests. At the centre of Club de Golfe Santo da Serra’s improvement plan is the installation of a new state-of-the-art irrigation system – reducing its water consumption by around 66 per cent so that just 750m³ a day is now needed to help ensure optimum course conditions all-year round. In addition, the club has renovated the four on-course lakes that it uses for irrigation, installing an interconnecting system between all of them to improve access to water so that all areas of the 27-hole layout can easily be watered whenever necessary. It is estimated that the combined capacity of the lakes is around 40,000m³, a volume that will reinforce the storage capacity of the Lagoa do Santo system. Porto Santo Golfe recently strengthened its association with nature when the island that it is named after became a UNESCO biosphere reserve – one of 25 new locations named in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. Designed by Seve Ballesteros and host of the Madeira Islands Open in 2009 and 2011, the club is the perfect example of the harmony between human activity and wildlife.

Predicting the future hasn’t always been synonymous with tarot cards and crystal balls. Centuries before astrology apps and dial-in psychics existed, people who wanted a glimpse into the future worked with what they had—food. 

It just got easier to visit Greece from the United States. Norse Atlantic Airways, a low-cost airline based in Oslo, Norway, announced a new route between New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) and Athens International Airport in Greece on Wednesday. The flight will operate five times per week from May 30, 2024 through Oct. 26, 2024, the airline shared withTravel + Leisure. The new flight has a duration of 9 hours and 35 minutes. Currently, the airline operates service between New York and Athens with a stopover in London’s Gatwick airport for a total duration of 18 hours.  “This launch underscores our commitment to meeting the evolving travel needs of our passengers," Norse Atlantic Airways’ CEO and Founder Bjorn Tore Larsen said in a statement shared with T+L. «We believe this route will not only cater to the demand for travel to Greece but will also create opportunities for cultural exchange and business collaborations between these two vibrant destinations,” 

Most Decembers, I take an admittedly self-indulgent look back at my favorite new and new-to-me hotels. As travelers continued to make up for lost time (even as staffing remained a challenge and the world became an ever more confusing place), hotels continued to dazzle. My hat is off to the places that opened. And my heart is filled with love for those places that have held strong, raised the bar and innovated.

Branching out from the red cupola of the Duomo, the stone-built alleys of Florence’s historic core connect some of the world’s most precious examples of Renaissance art and architecture.

Travel has well and truly bounced back since the pandemic, buoying tourist destinations that were crippled by restrictions and closures.

As pandemic travel restrictions began to ease in the spring of 2021, foreign tourists returning to Madrid discovered the city’s downtown had undergone a makeover.

To be completely transparent, I’m not a fan of big beach resorts. Whether they’re in Florida, Aruba, southern France, or the Middle East, they always seem to have a certain uniformity: the sprawling private beach with lounge chairs arranged like assembly lines, shady cabanas-for-purchase, mediocre lunch buffets, cookie-cutter rooms that aren’t quite worth the price, and public spaces that lack character. It doesn’t matter where you are – resorts have a homogenizing quality that makes you forget that you’re, well, anywhere at all. And that’s no fun. That’s why Villa Le Blanc in Menorca, Spain, was a pleasant surprise.

We’ve all heard of the big hitters, such as Ibiza, Corsica and Sicily, but what about Europe’s lesser known islands? Have you ever dreamt of mixing it up with a windswept, heart-pumping hike on the remote hills of Foula? Or kicking through the sweeps of sand that pass for roads on La Graciosa?

The Algarve Portugal has 300 days of sunshine each year. And it attracts millions of visitors. But sticking to beaches and golf means missing out. With 200km of coastline there's lots to discover. Five ­centuries of Moorish left a rich legacy. And secrets can still be found in the Algarve.

Madeira will surprise you. It's not a staid holiday choice now. It's part of Portugal but closer to North Africa. And it's been discovered. Find out what indie travellers like about Madeira. The information in this article is taken from The Rough Guide to Portugal, your essential guide for visiting Portugal.

Alentejo wine is excellent. The food's extraordinary. And Alentejo itself is peaceful and good value. It may be Portugal's largest region, but it's also undiscovered. Join Neil McQuillian on a foodie tour of underrated Alentejo. The information in this article is taken from The Rough Guide to Portugal, your essential guide for visiting Portugal.