The month of May begins with a day off, as the entire world celebrates the International Workers’ Day on the 1st of May. But in Madeira, the partying and the celebration never stops. In fact, even on this day, if you are in Madeira, you have an alternative choice: you can join the Sao Tiago Menor Festival, where music and fun is in store for the old town procession celebrating the patron saint of the Island of Madeira.

Lemons crowd Madeira and fill it with its scent. The Lemon Festival (or Festa do Limao), held in Santana between the 9th and 10th of May, is an annual celebration which offers farmers the opportunity to present their products and boast with their 90 tonnes of lemon production, a quarter of the island’s total. For those of you less inclined towards agriculture and more interested in cars, the same dates is when the Belmond Reid’s Palace Classic Auto Show takes place, a beautiful display of the most wonderful vintage cars on the island.

How about some music? Some… loud music, to enjoy the vivid Island life? On the 10th of May, Ribeira Brava hosts the Regional Brass Band Meeting, another yearly event that honors the importance of traditional music through the participation of several Philharmonic Houses.

A tour around the Island of Madeira or a walk around the Laurisilva forest is another “event” in itself, and that is always available and advisable in May. For this, you can always book a Madeira airport transfer or Madeira tour online.

The post The best Madeira events in May 2015 appeared first on Madeira Airport Transfer.

Madeira is part of the Macaronesian region, a particularly biodiverse habitat that exhibits an outstanding wildlife and spectacular endemic species of flora and fauna.

Madeira is an island of flowers – there is even the Festival of Flowers celebrated annually on the Island. The Laurisilva Forest with its wonderful levada paths harbors much of the flora species, abounding in large trees, most of which belong to the family of Lauraceae, the Madeira laurel (or Laurus novocanariensis), the barbusano (Apollonias barbujana), as well as lily of the valley trees ( by their scientific name, Clethra arborea).

Under the cover of the large, protective trees, there is a vast shrubbery: tree heather, cornelian cherries, Madeira blueberry (or Vaccinium padifolium). With the air quite moist and light selectively penetrating the deep forest of the Laurisilva, there are lots of mosses and lichens.

When it comes to animals, Madeira Island also displays a considerable fauna, mostly made up of invertebrates and endemic insects. The Madeiran Large White is an extremely rare endemic butterfly, around 5-6 cm big, white with specks of black. Birds abound on the island, some delighting people with their song, others with their grace. There are three endemic species: Zino’s petrel, the Madeira firecrest and the Trocaz pigeon.

Sealife is predominant when we refer to mammals. Therefore, we speak of whales, dolphins, seals, but also bats as the main inhabitants of the island. The grey long-eared bat has made the island its home, while the deep waters of the Atlantic are populated by the Mediterranean Monk Seal (Monachus monachus, endangered species), the North Atlantic Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis) and the Bottlenose Dolphin.

A Madeira Island tour will give you a glimpse of the earthly paradise that is home to these outstanding species!

The post Flora and Fauna of Madeira appeared first on Madeira Airport Transfer.