Poncha Path: the best poncha in Madeira
An afternoon or an evening between the island's poncha taverns, from the fishing town where the drink began to the valley of Serra de Água. You drink, we drive.
€150 per car for 1 to 6 people, for about 4 hours. Ponchas are paid at each bar.
- Up to 6 guests in one car
- Zero drinks for your driver
- 3 stops or as many as you like
Your driver speaks EnglishPortuguêsРусский
The price, per car
| Route | Time | Price per car, 1–4 people | Price per car, 5–6 people | Status | Book |
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| Poncha Path: the poncha bars Private tour | 4 h | €1501–6 people | On request | Book: Poncha Path: the poncha bars | |
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Private tour
Poncha Path: the poncha bars
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| Extra hour on a half or full day Your own route | 1 hper hour | €40/hnight €46 | €45/hnight €52 | On request | Book: Extra hour on a half or full day |
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Your own route
Extra hour on a half or full day
All details
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Staying longer? Add hours at the extra-hour price. Pickup is included in Funchal, Caniço, Santa Cruz, Machico, Câmara de Lobos and Ribeira Brava.
Prices checked on 25 September 2026. Every price is per car, in euro, for the whole group.
The stops
Câmara de Lobos. The fishing town west of Funchal where poncha was first made, in the 18th century, to warm the fishermen on long nights at sea. At the Taberna Boa Hora, an old grocery with more than 150 years behind it, the Barros family pours the regional, the pescador, tangerine and passion fruit, with peanuts and broad beans on the side.
Cabo Girão. Between the bars, the glass skywalk at the top of the sea cliff, a short drive up the hill.
Serra de Água. The valley on the road north from Ribeira Brava. The Taberna da Poncha, open every day from 9:30 to midnight, has peanut shells on the floor; at Rancho do Vale, by the first roundabout, the owner makes a poncha à pescador in front of you.
An evening on the Poncha Path
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17:00
Pickup at your hotel
At a hotel your driver waits at the main entrance, and for a holiday rental in a narrow street we send a map pin the evening before for the nearest point where the car can stop.
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17:20
Câmara de Lobos
The first poncha, then a walk by the harbour.
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18:30
Cabo Girão Optional
The view from the cliff before dark.
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19:15
Serra de Água
Half an hour inland for the last two taverns.
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About 21:00
Back at your hotel
Or dropped in Funchal's old town, on Rua de Santa Maria.
The rules on the Poncha Path
- 18 and over to drink. Children ride along: Portuguese law bans alcohol for anyone under 18. Child seats are free, so tell us each child's age when you book and we fit the right seat.
- No open drinks in the car. A bottle you buy travels sealed in the boot.
- Water in the car. We bring it, and you'll want it between the stops.
Poncha questions
What is poncha?
Madeira's drink of aguardente de cana, the island's sugar-cane rum, with lemon and honey or sugar, beaten hard with a wooden stick called the mexelhote. The pescador is the plain original; the regional adds orange, and bars also make passion fruit, tangerine and mint. It usually comes with a dentinho, a small snack on the house.
Afternoon or evening?
Both work. The afternoon run starts at about 14:00 and has the most light at Cabo Girão; the evening run starts at 17:00 and ends in the valley after dark.
Is poncha strong?
Stronger than it tastes: the base is sugar-cane rum. Two or three over an evening is plenty for most people.
Afternoon or evening? Tell us your date.
We reply within 60 minutes, 07:00–22:00 with the pickup time and the price for the car. Booking is on request, and we confirm your date in that reply.
Poncha Path: the poncha bars €150 per car, 1 to 6 people