Madeira is a mountain with beaches

Parking is a NIGHTMARE, and this is the first thing to know. Everywhere I went the parking was not easy. People park everywhere, even in the curves on narrow streets, which is dangerous too. At Seixal the beach is a bit down from the road, there is a village, and there the parking was complicated. I parked on the street like the others, but when we left I saw some cars with a ticket, I assume for illegal parking. At Calheta it was better, but I went early in the morning, otherwise everything is complete. We rented a car and this was a good decision. We were able to see many points of view and other interesting sites, the landscapes are gorgeous everywhere. There are many activities on the island, some need a 4x4 but many of them you can do with the rented car. One more thing to know, the island is a mountain. Everywhere you walk you go up and down, be prepared. People are saying Madeira does not equal beaches, but they have beaches, many beaches. Calheta has one with imported sand, and there are more with black sand, like Seixal. Some beaches are rocks and not sand, they have a kind of concrete plateau with no sun beds and no parasol, and this I dont get it, is impossible to sit there without a parasol. The humidity is pretty high. At 25 degrees my tshirt was already a bit humid, not wet, but pretty uncomfortable. This year was hot, everyone was saying they never had these temperatures, something like 29 degrees with the humidity. It does not seem much but in reality it was hot. We stayed near Forum Madeira. There are some restaurants around but not simple portuguese ones, so we took the bus to go to Funchal. Easy, the buses are there all the time, around 2.10 euros a ticket. In Funchal center there are many great restaurants. We ate at 4 Elements, simple portuguese, very good and very good prices. Another time we ate at Fernando's Restaurant, also in Funchal, I love it, I took sardines and they were well done. A bit of wait, but this is a good sign, is not frozen food. At the beach restaurant in Calheta (the Calheta beach restaurant) the appetisers are pretty expensive and low quantity. One time we took the garlic prawns, a bruschetta and one more thing, and we left pretty hungry. We went there a few times - because this one is basically on the beach - , the main course is the same price, they have a good pizza, and we found a chicken steak sandwich very tasty and much cheaper. Near where we stayed there is Lume Pizzeria, napoletano, we ate there a couple of times and the pizza was perfect. There is even an american diner, The Red Car American 50's, they have great burgers. In summer vacation we like to go to the beach a few times and alternate with activities and visiting the island, and Madeira is good for exactly this. So yes, I would go back, just not in the hottest weeks. Not sure I would go back to Madeira, because by comparison, i still like better Lanzarote but this is only me.