Why another Guidebook in times of mass tourism?

Why I Created my Madeira Guidebook

When I first set foot on Madeira, I felt it immediately: this island isn’t just a place to visit. It’s a place to experience. And that is exactly why I created this guidebook – 8 years later. 

I love to share knowledge. I love to capture moments through photography. And I love to design and combine things in a way that makes them easy to receive, to digest—and hopefully beautiful to look at. This guidebook is the result of all those passions coming together.

But there’s another reason.

I see tourism, not only on Madeira but everywhere, becoming more and more a mass movement. People “do” a destination, check it off their list, and move on—without ever truly getting in touch with the land and her people. Without listening to the stories, noticing the quiet details, or feeling the deeper connections a place can offer.

Madeira deserves better.

This island is diverse, layered, and full of surprises: rugged mountains, lush forests, dramatic coastlines, and a culture shaped by centuries of exchange. To reduce it to “Poncha, bolo do caco, and the wicker sledges above Funchal” would be like looking at the cover of a book and never reading its pages.

My guidebook is different. It doesn’t tell you where to eat or which hotel to book. Instead, it invites you to look deeper—into Madeira’s nature, history, and people. To notice the small things you might otherwise overlook: the patterns in volcanic rock, the way the Laurissilva forest gathers clouds, or the quiet wisdom of someone who has lived on the island their whole life.

I hope that by sharing these stories, curiosities, and island wisdom, I can contribute to a more conscious way of traveling. One where curiosity replaces consumption, where discovery matters more than “doing it all,” and where we leave a place a little richer in spirit rather than lighter in checklist.