Câmara de Lobos Walking Tour and Poncha Tasting With a Local

Everyone knows the brandy story: Câmara de Lobos is where Hennessy once bought grapes and where Churchill set up his easel to paint the bay. But the drink that actually runs this fishing port isn't French cognac. It's poncha, made with sugarcane spirit, sugarcane honey, lemon juice and a wooden stick called a mexelote that you twist in the glass until everything binds. And the best way to drink it isn't sitting in a view bar full of tourists. It's walking the back lanes with someone who knows which taverns are the real ones.

That is exactly what the Câmara de Lobos Walking Tour & Poncha Tasting with a Local, bookable through GetYourGuide, delivers: roughly two and a half hours on foot through the village with a local guide, ending with a poncha made in front of you. Price from around 41 dollars (confirm the euro figure when you book, since the platform converts by country).

What the tour involves, step by step

The meeting point is down by the seafront, near the promenade. The guide starts here on purpose: you take in the whole bay at once, with the brightly painted fishing boats packed hull to hull. These boats, called xavelhas, still head out at night for black scabbardfish, caught hundreds of metres down. Look up at the terraced houses climbing the slope and you're looking at the village doing what it has always done.

From there the route slips into the narrow streets. You pass the small chapel of Nossa Senhora da Conceição, the market, the corner where fishermen mend nets in the late afternoon. There's a short climb to the Ilhéu viewpoint, with the cliff and the open water below. This part is optional: if your legs aren't interested, tell the guide and stay down at sea level. The paths are uneven cobblestone, so footwear matters more than you'd think.

The poncha, made in front of you

The moment that justifies the tour comes at the end, in a traditional tasca. The guide takes you to a neighbourhood bar, not a terrace aimed at coach parties. Here you watch the poncha come together: sugarcane spirit in the glass, the honey, the freshly squeezed lemon, then the mexelote twisting hard until the mix turns smooth. The first poncha is included. If you want a second, or want to try a Nikita (ice cream, beer and pineapple, sweet and oddly great in the heat), that's at your own expense. Use the chance to ask the owner how long he's been doing this. The answer is usually measured in decades.

The best part of the experience isn't the drink itself, it's the context. Drinking poncha alone in a bar is easy. Drinking it after the guide has explained why this village smells of sea salt and cane spirit, and why the men drink it before heading out to fish, changes the whole thing.

Practical tips

• Footwear: trainers or shoes with grip. The cobbles are slippery and there's that one climb.
• Clothing: light, but bring a thin jacket. The wind off the bay picks up late in the day.
• When to book: the morning session has fewer people and the light on the water is cleaner for photos. Afternoons fill up with day-trippers from Funchal.
• Cash: carry small notes for extra ponchas and a plate of limpets or fried scabbardfish at a tasca.
• Cancellation: the booking usually allows free cancellation up to 24 hours before. Confirm directly with the provider.

How to get there

Câmara de Lobos sits about 9 km west of Funchal, ten to fifteen minutes by car on the expressway or the older coast road, which is the prettier choice. Frequent buses run from Funchal to the village. If you're coming by taxi or transfer, most GetYourGuide packages offer hotel pickup in the area; check the departure point options (Câmara de Lobos, Caniço or Funchal) before you pay.

Before or after the tour

If you're left thirsty for more poncha, Bar Number Two, known as É Prá Poncha is a local institution worth it for the atmosphere alone. To stay in the village, Quinta da Saraiva makes a solid base, and for a different kind of lunch the boat or cable car ride down to Fajã dos Padres, tucked at the foot of the cliff, is worth the trip.

To understand why this port pulled in everyone from cognac houses to Churchill, read our guide to Câmara de Lobos and the story of its fishing port. And if you've only got one day, the 24 hours in Câmara de Lobos itinerary slots this tour neatly between the fish and the harbour.

Is it worth it?

If you've drunk poncha on a terrace and thought you'd cracked the village, you hadn't. This tour is short, it's cheap, and it's the difference between seeing Câmara de Lobos and knowing it. The local guide is what separates a photo of the bay from an afternoon you actually remember. Book the morning session, wear proper shoes, and leave room for the second poncha. You'll want it.