I live in Funchal - Madeira Island. I can advice

[biaria]

Yes, in fact it is. And as an added bonus it's an easy walk too.

 

You're welcome. Bye.

[Alphen]

We were not looking for an easy walk, just one that we were able to do in a morning, due to our departure at 15.00.

[biaria]

You're right - some walks take full day, including transportation.

[Alphen]

If you don’t mind me asking another question, I have looked at the website for the Monte Cable car and it looks like it is opened the whole year at 09.00. Is this also in December? On the website it is mentioned that it is only closed on Christmas Day, so on the day of our visit to Funchal (Saturday 28th and Sunday the 29th of December), this should be a normal opening? I just want to make sure, because some other references on the web mention an opening of 10.00. We were there in 2010, but I cannot remember the opening hours.

[biaria]

Hello again Aiphen,

 

No problem about the questions, I love to help.

 

Correct, the cable car opens at 9am everyday, except on Christmas Day when it's closed all day. Yes, on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th December they'll be operating on normal hours: from 9am to 5:45pm. In fact, 5:45pm is their last departure, closing at 6pm.

[Alphen]

Hello again Aiphen,

 

No problem about the questions, I love to help.

 

Correct, the cable car opens at 9am everyday, except on Christmas Day when it's closed all day. Yes, on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th December they'll be operating on normal hours: from 9am to 5:45pm. In fact, 5:45pm is their last departure, closing at 6pm.

 

Thanks again for the info, if you do not work for the Madeira Tourist info, they should certainly hire you, or reward you at least, for promoting Madeira and helping those who seek information. :D

 

We have visited Funchal in 2010 and also visited the cable car, but failed to do our homework properly and only took the regular cable car, without noticing the option for the Botanical Garden Cable Car and entry to the Botanical Garden, which we will make up for this year and visit both.

 

Hopefully, if everything goes to plan, our cruise ship will arrive 1 hour before the second one will arrive at 09.00, so we plan to leave the ship at 08.00, immediately upon arrival, walk the 2,5 km to the Cable car, before the Queen Victoria offloads 2000plus passengers on the island and make our way up Monte.

 

Afterwards we will be heading into town. We are still studying the sights, but now aiming to visit the “Zona Velha”, the “Carmo Quarter” and the “Cathedral Quarter”.

 

Do you happen to have any other suggestions?

Edited August 27, 2013 by Alphen

[Alphen]

You're right - some walks take full day, including transportation.

 

We are still researching the Levada walks and found out that there are a lot of companies that offer the walks and that there are more opportunities for a walk on Sunday than we first found out.

 

We also found:

• Valley de Paradise Levada Walk, 5KM, 2hrs

• Nuns Valley Walk, 6KM, 3hrs

• Levada do Norte / Quinta Grande Levada walk, 9KM, 2,5hrs

 

All classified as easy and pick-up at 0900-0930, so plenty of time for us to get back to our ship.

Some more help in choosing a walk, would be greatly appreciated, or should we stick with our first choice?

In the meantime, I am working through all your previous tips since 2009, so that will keep me busy for a couple of hours :D

[wmfabian]

Hi All! We will be stopping in Fungal on Friday, November 15. Silversea offers the cable car up and tobaggon down for $109. If I add up the prices Biaria was quoting, it seems to come pretty close to this. Or do those of you who have done this before recommend we get the hop on hop off bus and buy our own tickets?

 

Also, they offer a tour and tasting at the Blandy Wine Lodge for $79. Same question....

Is this something we should attempt to do on our own?

 

Many thanks to those of you who have gone before us!

 

Willa

[biaria]

Thanks again for the info, if you do not work for the Madeira Tourist info, they should certainly hire you, or reward you at least, for promoting Madeira and helping those who seek information. :D

 

We have visited Funchal in 2010 and also visited the cable car, but failed to do our homework properly and only took the regular cable car, without noticing the option for the Botanical Garden Cable Car and entry to the Botanical Garden, which we will make up for this year and visit both.

 

Hopefully, if everything goes to plan, our cruise ship will arrive 1 hour before the second one will arrive at 09.00, so we plan to leave the ship at 08.00, immediately upon arrival, walk the 2,5 km to the Cable car, before the Queen Victoria offloads 2000plus passengers on the island and make our way up Monte.

 

Afterwards we will be heading into town. We are still studying the sights, but now aiming to visit the “Zona Velha”, the “Carmo Quarter” and the “Cathedral Quarter”.

 

Do you happen to have any other suggestions?

 

Hi Alphen,

 

LOL, the Madeira Tourism has no idea I'm here helping our visitors, unless they read these boards... Talking about helping cruisers find their way around, we're having elections for the Town Hall Council later next month and one of the measures endorsed by my favorite candidate is to create touristic, cultural and gastronomic guides focused on cruisers.

 

Yes, it's a good idea to get the combined ticket that offers a round trip for the Monte and Botanical Gardens cable cars, plus entrance to the Botanical Gardens.

 

You're right in your plan to leave your cruise ship early, otherwise the main tourist attractions will be busier after Queen Victoria's cruisers disembark.

 

Zona Velha (Old Town) plus Carmo and Cathedral Quarters are very good choices for your visit. Let me just add that the Cathedral is closed between 12 noon and 4pm, which is a nonsense in my opinion.

 

If you feel you have the time, you may also like to visit Colegio Church. To get there, you turn to your right as you exit the Cathedral by the front gate. After a few steps you'll cross a road then keep walking in the same direction until you reach the end of the street. Once there, turn to your right again and just a few meters away, and on your left side, you'll see Colegio Church.

[Alphen]

Biaria

 

Have worked my way through about 4 years of posts about Madeira with many tips.

 

Have learned about some sites we now plan to visit in the town center, after our visit to Monte.

 

Few things I noticed;

 

Madeira has had more than its fair share in natures bad temper. Floods and forest fires, just last week we again heard that Funchal suffered fires once more, I hope your island survived this misfortune once more. It is not big news here, since more attention goes to similar fires in California USA and also mainland Portugal and Spain, who are also struck by fires.

 

Another thing I noticed, that only few questions are about the Levada walks. Somehow they don’t attract as much interest, judging the intensity in this thread. This won’t hold us back though, I hope you are still able to answer my questions regarding our choice for the Sunday walk, I tried not to steer towards certain companies, which, understandably, you are not allowed to get into.

 

Many thanks for all your hard work, unfortunately I only found out about Cruise Critic forum after our first cruise back in 2010, otherwise we would have been better prepared for our first visit to Funchal back in the fall of 2010.

 

Kind regards,

Edited August 28, 2013 by Alphen

[biaria]

We are still researching the Levada walks and found out that there are a lot of companies that offer the walks and that there are more opportunities for a walk on Sunday than we first found out.

 

We also found:

• Valley de Paradise Levada Walk, 5KM, 2hrs

• Nuns Valley Walk, 6KM, 3hrs

• Levada do Norte / Quinta Grande Levada walk, 9KM, 2,5hrs

 

All classified as easy and pick-up at 0900-0930, so plenty of time for us to get back to our ship.

Some more help in choosing a walk, would be greatly appreciated, or should we stick with our first choice?

In the meantime, I am working through all your previous tips since 2009, so that will keep me busy for a couple of hours :D

 

The Levada do Norte / Quinta Grande walk offers really beautiful panoramic sights too. I'd say it's in the same level of beauty with Referta.

 

When reading my previous posts, please take into consideration that some info may be outdated by now.

[biaria]

Biaria

 

Have worked my way through about 4 years of posts about Madeira with many tips.

 

Have learned about some sites we now plan to visit in the town center, after our visit to Monte.

 

Few things I noticed;

 

Madeira has had more than its fair share in natures bad temper. Floods and forest fires, just last week we again heard that Funchal suffered fires once more, I hope your island survived this misfortune once more. It is not big news here, since more attention goes to similar fires in California USA and also mainland Portugal and Spain, who are also struck by fires.

 

Another thing I noticed, that only few questions are about the Levada walks. Somehow they don’t attract as much interest, judging the intensity in this thread. This won’t hold us back though, I hope you are still able to answer my questions regarding our choice for the Sunday walk, I tried not to steer towards certain companies, which, understandably, you are not allowed to get into.

 

Many thanks for all your hard work, unfortunately I only found out about Cruise Critic forum after our first cruise back in 2010, otherwise we would have been better prepared for our first visit to Funchal back in the fall of 2010.

 

Kind regards,

 

Unfortunately, we have forest fires every summer, such a shame on such a beautiful island, really heartbreaking. You're right though, the same thing happens on other parts too.

 

For some reason, cruisers don't normally choose to do Levada/mountain walks, but land based tourist do it a lot. As Levada/mountain walking is very, very popular in Madeira, some groups of tourists arrive on the island with a week's program of walks already planned and locals gather in groups to walk regularly. I encourage you to go ahead with your walk and I'm sure you'll be delighted. Who knows... you may even be contributing to spreading the word about walking in Madeira among cruisers :-)

 

Anything you may still need to ask, you're welcome to do so.

[biaria]

Hi All! We will be stopping in Fungal on Friday, November 15. Silversea offers the cable car up and tobaggon down for $109. If I add up the prices Biaria was quoting, it seems to come pretty close to this. Or do those of you who have done this before recommend we get the hop on hop off bus and buy our own tickets?

 

Also, they offer a tour and tasting at the Blandy Wine Lodge for $79. Same question....

Is this something we should attempt to do on our own?

 

Many thanks to those of you who have gone before us!

 

Willa

 

Hi wmfabian,

 

If the $109 Silversea is charging is per person and only includes transportation from the pier to the cable car station, cable car and toboggan ride tickets, plus transportation back to the pier, it's on the expensive side in my opinion.

 

To get from the pier to the Cable car station I certainly do not recommend the HOHO Bus, because when you reach the Bus you have already walked about 3/4 of the way. If you don't like the idea of walking, find out if there's shuttle bus service from the docks to town or take a taxi that will cost you something like 10 euros and takes up to 4 people.

 

The HOHO is a good idea only if you plan to take the tour/tours it provides. In case you buy the HOHO ticket, it will give you access to the public transport and will come in handy for your trip from the end of the Toboggan ride to the center of town. However, if you don't have the HOHO ticket, a ticket bought inside the public bus is very, very cheap - 1.90 euros per person.

 

Please beware that it's only the ticket from the official Yellow HOHO Bus that can be used in public transport.

 

Let me say that the visit to Blandy's Wine Lodge on your own is a much better idea. To avoid disappointment, I advise you to book your wine tasting tour in advance.

 

Have an enjoyable day on Madeira!

[wmfabian]

Hi wmfabian,

 

If the $109 Silversea is charging is per person and only includes transportation from the pier to the cable car station, cable car and toboggan ride tickets, plus transportation back to the pier, it's on the expensive side in my opinion.

 

To get from the pier to the Cable car station I certainly do not recommend the HOHO Bus, because when you reach the Bus you have already walked about 3/4 of the way. If you don't like the idea of walking, find out if there's shuttle bus service from the docks to town or take a taxi that will cost you something like 10 euros and takes up to 4 people.

 

The HOHO is a good idea only if you plan to take the tour/tours it provides. In case you buy the HOHO ticket, it will give you access to the public transport and will come in handy for your trip from the end of the Toboggan ride to the center of town. However, if you don't have the HOHO ticket, a ticket bought inside the public bus is very, very cheap - 1.90 euros per person.

 

Please beware that it's only the ticket from the official Yellow HOHO Bus that can be used in public transport.

 

Let me say that the visit to Blandy's Wine Lodge on your own is a much better idea. To avoid disappointment, I advise you to book your wine tasting tour in advance.

 

Have an enjoyable day on Madeira!

 

Thank you, Biaria!

 

Sounds like we should walk to the cable car (early!) and grab tickets on our own. Can credit cards be used or is it cash only?

 

 

How do we book wine tasting at the Blandy Wine Lodge? Is there a website?

 

I appreciate your help.

 

Willa

[biaria]

Hello again wmfabian,

 

Definitely, if you have no walking problems, do walk from your cruise ship to the cable car station. Then you'll only be paying for the cable car ride (10 euros per person one way) and the toboggan ride (15 euros per person if you share the basket). If you choose to get back to town by public transport, it's very cheap (1.90 euros for a ticket bought inside the bus). There's taxis at the end of the toboggan ride as well, but you'll need to negotiate with them for a fair price (don't accept to pay more than 10 euros to be taken to town or 15 euros to be dropped off at the harbor).

 

Yes, Blandy's Wine Lodge has a website where you can book your wine tasting tour. Be careful and pay attention that you get a confirmation from them, because, apparently, their booking form doesn't always work properly. If you feel that it's taking too long for them to answer, send them a normal email.

[wmfabian]

Hi Biaria,

Thank you for all your wonderful advice!

 

Do we tip the tobaggon people? Will they help us find the bus at the end?

 

We would like to take the cable car up, see the botanical gardens and then the tobaggon down. Are the gardens in the immediate vicinity at the top of the cable car or do we need other transportation to find it?

 

Kind Regards

Willa

[biaria]

Hello again and you're welcome.

 

I just realized I didn't answer your previous question about if you can pay for the cable car ticket with the credit card - yes, they accept payments with credit cards.

 

Still speaking about the cable car, I'm going to add that there's construction work on part of the waterfront avenue and it may take you longer to arrive at the station. It may take you about 50 minutes, but please understand that this is an average estimate, as I have no idea how you walk.

 

Yes, the toboggan men will in fact welcome a tip. Sure, you can ask them where the bus stop is, but it's easy to find - when you get out of the basket you turn to your right and you'll see the sign.

 

The gardens in Monte are not the real Botanical Gardens, to reach them you need to take a second cable car. However in Monte you can visit the Municipal Gardens (free entrance) and the Monte Tropical Gardens (10 euros per person).

 

Another way to reach the Botanical Gardens is by bus #31 or #31A that you can catch along the waterfront avenue in downtown Funchal.

 

All the best.

[Alphen]

Unfortunately, we have forest fires every summer, such a shame on such a beautiful island, really heartbreaking. You're right though, the same thing happens on other parts too.

 

For some reason, cruisers don't normally choose to do Levada/mountain walks, but land based tourist do it a lot. As Levada/mountain walking is very, very popular in Madeira, some groups of tourists arrive on the island with a week's program of walks already planned and locals gather in groups to walk regularly. I encourage you to go ahead with your walk and I'm sure you'll be delighted. Who knows... you may even be contributing to spreading the word about walking in Madeira among cruisers :-)

 

Anything you may still need to ask, you're welcome to do so.

 

Many thanks for all the help, still have lots of time to decide which walk to take, probably will stay at our first choice.

 

:)

[biaria]

Alphen, when you visit the "Zona Velha" (Old Town), go looking for the beautifully painted doors - there's rows of them.

[Alphen]

Alphen, when you visit the "Zona Velha" (Old Town), go looking for the beautifully painted doors - there's rows of them.

 

I have instantly “googled” your tip about the doors, so I have seen what you mean about the doors, they look really colorful, so we will be looking out for them during our visit.

 

I have another question or remark about the cable car; I have found out everything I was looking for on the Monte cable car website http://www.telefericodofunchal.com/index_UK.html, but although the website may look colorful and inventive, I found information not that clear and I am missing the possibility to download a (PDF) folder or leaflet with all of the information together in one handy folder to maybe print out.

 

I have emailed them, but unfortunately did not get any reaction at all. Just wondering if there is an electronic folder of the cable car, which would be nice for me and others to prepare a visit to the cable car, with information about opening times, prices and location (map) of the cable car(s) and gardens and how to get there, walking, bus or other options.

[biaria]

Frustrating as it may be Alphen, the folder is not available in PDF format. I still tried to right click on the webpage and the printing tab was really there, but the pre-visualization was very disappointing and some pages were blanc, so no use.

 

If there's anything at all that you need to be clarified, just let me know.

[Alphen]

Frustrating as it may be Alphen, the folder is not available in PDF format. I still tried to right click on the webpage and the printing tab was really there, but the pre-visualization was very disappointing and some pages were blanc, so no use.

 

If there's anything at all that you need to be clarified, just let me know.

 

Thanks,

 

I have found everything I was looking for and made documents myself, using print screen, which worked fine.

[biaria]

Good morning Alphen,

 

I'm glad that you managed to print the info you needed.

 

All the best to you.

[Alphen]

Biaria,

 

I am pleased to inform you that we gone ahead and have made our reservations for the “Referta walk”. Cannot wait until it is December :D. Will let you know how it was, but that won’t be before the beginning of next year though. :)

Edited September 7, 2013 by Alphen

[biaria]

Hi Alphen,

 

Excellent choice! And you'll love the views on the trip there and back, too.

 

Yes, please, when you're back lets know about your day on Madeira Island.