The pick up went smoothly. Sandro and his friend (more fluent in spoken English) explained everything about the van. In general, things went OK with Sandro's van. During the pickup, he mentioned that the A/C was not working. I understood this to mean getting cold air from the ventilation system, which was not an issue for the rental period (December). But in fact, it was the whole ventilation system which did not work. This created hazardous driving condition during humid and rainy weather when fog in the windshield could not be easily removed. If you rent Sandro's van, please validate if this has been repaired. On the second day of our trip, the water pump stopped working. Sandro was kind enough to meet us during the evening at the other end of the island to attempt to repair the water pump. But he could not. This left us without running water, hot water and shower. We also had some issues with the electric door locks where the fuse kept blowing out, making locking or unlocking the doors impossible. Also, note that contrary to the listing description, there is no coffee machine in the van. An electric coffee machine would probably not be possible because of the minimal solar/electric setup of the van, but a cook top cafeteria would have been a nice alternative. During the trip, I did cause minor damage to the van (rear tail light). Since the drop-off on December 6th, I am still waiting for Sandro to provide the repair estimate from the workshop and reimburse the security deposit, and I am expecting compensation for the non operational equipment of the van (water pump and ventilation system), as per the rental contract. At this time, Sandro did not yet confirm his intent about the compensation. Other than the above issues, visiting Madeira in a van like Sandro's is entirely enjoyable. Roads are often narrow, but if you are comfortable driving manual, and avoid small roads, all is good. There are many places on the island to stop for the night, many with very nice view of the ocean and sunset or sunrise. Recommended!

SANDRO PERSONA GENTILISSIMA E SEMPRE DISPONIBILE, VEICOLO CON QUALCHE DANNO FATTO DA PRECEDENTI NOLEGGI NON SISTEMATO. QUALITA PREZZO GIUSTO

Everything was fine and the owner very friendly and helpful.

We had a great time in Madeira and managed to see the whole island. There were a few problems with the van but Sandro was very quick to solve them. Overall it was a great experience and we will be sure to repeat. We also recommend Sandro as host, we was very nice and ready to help.