Oct 20, 2024
Relaxing and Interesting Local Bar Visit - We took the Tasca Tour for an afternoon introduction to local bars which served the properly made Poncha, Pé de Cabra (Goat's foot) and Nikita, each with a side dish of nibbles and an explanation of the food and drink from our guide Vitor. The bars were off the beaten track and used by locals who were all welcoming and friendly. The other travellers made for interesting conversation especially once the Poncha kicked in! I will definitely want to try the Espetata Tour on our next visit.
As with the Hit The Road Madeira tours, the administration was great with emails and messages from Elisa and Jeff for pickup and times.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jun 19, 2024
Drinks and bites like the locals do. - Great experience to visit local bars with Fabio and try out drinks and be served snacks that normally remain under the counter for tourists. All in all, highly recommended for anyone who would like to deviate from the standard path and is looking for “That Special Stuff”.
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Feb 28, 2024
An awesome afternoon in Madeira’s taskas - Fabio was an awesome guide as we experienced the bar scene in small villages outside of Funchal. We discovered that the Ponchas made in these small local bars are so much better than the ones served in the more touristy bars in Funchal . We watched Poncho being carefully prepared with fresh tangerines and the local Maderian rum, also with passion fruit. We tried the Nikita (a frozen pineapple drink made with white wine) and the Pé de Cabra (also known as Crowbar) which was a stout beer with chocolate. We aren’t usually big on sweet drinks, but both of those were delicious! The food served in the taskas were amazing too. We tried some adventurous food, typical to the area such as veal tongue and tripe but were also served chicken wings and tuna salad. We loved the wide variety of food and drinks and spending time with the locals in these charming neighborhood bars. Highly recommend this tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jan 24, 2024
Best Taska Tour of Madeira 🥳 - Such an unpredictable fun it was to experience the taska tour by Fabio on the outskirts of Funchal with all those invitingly cozy taskas, ponchas and delicious different side dishes. Time passed too fast, memories will last. ☺️ would book it again anytime I come to Madeira 🌺
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jan 6, 2024
Do this as soon as you get here… - This is the very first thing I did on my solo trip to Madeira, and it was the best!! Fabio is an excellent guide and company and brought us to some amazing local places. Try everything that he suggests! The food, PONCHA, and sights were things that I would not have experienced otherwise. FABULOUS!
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Dec 17, 2023
Nikita Memories... - My wife and I went on the tasca tour with Nuno on a warm October afternoon. Absolutely loved the experience. Stopped at four different spots, each very local and very off-the-beaten-track of the main tourist areas. Was a nice change of pace from some other areas of the island.
Drinks were great, dentinhos were tasty (god, I love tremocos, still figuring out how to make those at home), and the company was excellent.
Spending a warm evening sitting in the park overlooking Funchal as the sun was setting... nikitas in hand... and good conversation with Nuno and our new friends from the tour is one of the high-point memories of our trip for us. We'll be back!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nov 24, 2023
Sit back and enjoy!!! - What a great time! I did this tour a few times. Both Fábio and Nuno were amazing guides. Each time was amazingly unique in its own way. Don’t shy away from taking this tour more than once (or more than twice…). It’s the best way to go to some hard to find local spots and try all types of drinks, such as Nikitas, Pé de Cabra, and of course the different Ponchas, along with their yummy dentinhos. Some places even had a wide variety of beers not found at many of the touristy spots. Whether you’re a local or a tourist, this is the best, laid back way to get around in comfort while letting someone else take you on a delicious gastronomical journey.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nov 14, 2023
Amazing Tasca Tour with Hit the Road Madeira! - We booked our tour for a Tuesday afternoon but kinda didn't really want to go (and it was really hot for October too!). Let me tell you, that would have been a huuuuuge mistake on our part. The tour was amazing, our guide was amazing, and the food and drinks were fabulous.
We are from the US but fell in love with Madeira, so this was our second trip. I'm from a small country in South America that a lot of Madeirans migrated to back in the 1800s(?), and some of the food that I grew up eating is of Madeiran origin (which I really found out on this tour).
We started at a small tasca where I had the best Nikita ever along with fried scabbard cheeks and other small plates. They had a large selection of dark beers which my husband enjoyed. Nuno kept us entertained with stories about life in Madeira and its history.
At the second Tasca, I discovered that they had a tongue sandwich, my husband was not as excited as I - until he tasted it, and then he ate half of my dang sandwich😟. I may have had a poncha with my sandwich and I am sure there was another small plate or two of something.
On the drive to the last tasca I told Nuno that I came to Madeira intent on having a tosta mixta and was very disappointed with the one that I did have. So, at the next spot he asked me if I wanted my tosta mixta on a bolo do caco- what wizardry is this? why wasn't I told that this was a thing? See, had we not gone on the tour, I would have left Madeira thinking that tosta mixta is just an overrated, not very cheesy sandwich. With my tosta mixta I had a drink that seemed similar to something that we call "flip" in my country, but Nuno called it a crowbar - I think it was made with coffee and Guinness Stout. We also had tripe with potatoes and (I think) chicken livers with sweet potatoes. It was at this point that I discovered that Nuno and I have birthdays a day apart, he told my husband "Don't worry you're safe, you're surrounded by Virgos"🤣
Afterward, we went to Pico de Barcelos where Nuno and my hubby got lost in discussions about volcanos, mountains, weather patterns, and what cloud shapes mean? I dunno.
Anyway, if you are on the fence about this tour, take my advice- just do it. You will go to places around Funchal that you probably wouldn't visit by yourself and you'll get the benefit of the owners treating you really well cause of that YouTube guy - best Vlog in the world or something like that. Plus, Hit The Road Madeira guides are so nice, like just down-to-earth and genuine people- Nuno gave me the best hug when he dropped us off, it made my day.
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