Canico holiday apartment: Canico. Santa Cruz, Madeira, Portugal

We first stayed here with our 10 year old girl in April 2007 and enjoyed the apartment and the area immensely. We’d stayed in Funchal before but wanted somewhere less like home and this apartment in Canico was perfect. In fact we liked it so much we returned with friends in October.
The property is light, spacious, clean and pleasantly decorated having a large dining/social area and 2 double bedrooms, one en-suite. The kitchen has it all and copes easily with 4 adults. Storage for clothes etc is brilliant. The TV is small but it works, but we didn’t go on holiday to watch tv, in fact we didn’t miss it at all! Breakfast on the balcony is great, but for proper meals the dining area is perfect. The furniture is much better than the stuff you normally find in SC apartments and there are plenty of books to read if you feel the need. There are good views from this 3rd floor apartment and a lift if you don’t like stairs. The car park is under the block and is reasonably secure with electric entry and exit doors. There is also a coffee shop in the block, almost right next to the front entrance. The pool is clean and didn't irritate my eyes. Full marks all round.
The lady owner speaks good English and is very helpful. She gave us some great tips for day trips and where to eat out.
Canico centre is about 10 minutes easy walk. It has plenty of shops including a good supermarket (great wine selection and cheap too!). Our 2 favourite restaurants are Lareira and for Picanha (traditional succulent skewered steak) the Central. There’s a great fish restaurant in Reis Magos right on the beach but that is not really walk-able. In fact you may wish to eat out most of the time, it’s extraordinary value and saves time on the washing up.
We like Canico because it is not a busy town or city but it is still civilised. It’s close to the Via Rapida so Funchal and the rest of the south coast is never far away, but for us the main interest was getting into the mountains and the less developed north coast. Although public transport is very good, for complete freedom you will need a car. This eastern end of the Island has so much to offer; high mountains, stunning coasts, charming towns like Camacha and Machico and great vistas. From the Park at Santo da Sarra you can see all the way to the eastern tip, San Lorenco. So Canico is a great compromise; good road links and fairly easy access to some of the best mountain and seascapes Madeira has to offer.
In short, the apartment exceeded our expectations and proved to be the ideal base from which to explore Madeira. I would have no hesitation in recommending it, and have indeed done so to friends who have stayed there and were equally satisfied.