Madeira – the pearl of the Atlantic, as travel agencies call it, is really the pearl of this ocean. Although the evergreen flowering island lacks beaches, in other respects it cannot be compared to, for example, the islands of the Mediterranean Sea; the variety of vegetation and especially the abundance of flowering plants is unreal. As it is a very mountainous island of volcanic origin, where the rocks begin at the very edge of the sea, the visitor will find an enormous amount of diverse biotope here. From a rocky and steep coast without sandy beaches, the island passes to even steeper mountains covered in the lower areas mainly with banana trees; in the higher ones the most diverse flora and in the very highest places of the island it is just bushes or bare plains. Along the paths and roads, you will come across beautifully blooming exotic plants, or perhaps just the same plants as here, but in far greater abundance. The Gulf Stream affects the entire island; the landscape, vegetation and climate thus differ not only according to altitude, but also according to latitude and longitude. The east of the island is bare, without mature vegetation, but colorfully colored according to the type of rock found in that particular place; dense forests cover the center. However, this island is a real paradise for tourists. Thanks to a rented car (some places cannot be reached without a car), we saw many interesting places during our vacation, starting with barren plains and richly overgrown forests with a lot of man-made water channels – levads and ending. The most beautiful places included, for example, the São Laurenço peninsula in the east, the highest mountain Pico Ruivo, the views around Encumeada or the amazing trail around the levadas in Rabacal, but also, for example, the sea aquarium in Porta Moniz, whose historically and architecturally interesting houses in Santana. I must not forget the sea with its rich life and amazingly clear water.