Madeira and Lisbon

[P&O SUE]

Hi, I'm doing these ports next June. I want to do the HoHo bus in both of them. My question is - are the bus stops easy to find and quite close to the port?

 

Thanks

[tom_uk]

At Madeira you'll berth round the far side of the harbour. You can walk but it's about a mile. P&O normally do a shuttle bus which will be free of course to Select fare passengers, and will be chargeable for Saver passengers.

 

At Lisbon you'll either dock several miles out or just a mile out. There will be shuttle buses from both locations into the city centre. The closer location is walkable, and indeed we have walked it, but it's not a straight walk - very zig-zag.

[kruzseeka]

There are different HoHo buses in Funchal. The usual Red City Tours ones plus the Yellow buses. The Yellow ones do two routes and the Blue route goes to Camara de Lobos which is a fishing village. We got off there had a wander and drink on the harbour side as well as seeing the usual sights around Funchal covered by the other HoHo routes. It might be worth pulling up the details and routes showing the stops so you can decide which would be best for you.

[davecttr]

Check out www.city-sightseeing.com for hoho buses for both cities. Useful downloadable maps and timetables.

 

In Lisbon the ship will either dock at the Alcantera terminal some way out of town near the bridge, in which case the red route stop no 10 is nearby. Near the city centre is the Apolonia terminal. There is a blue route stop just across the road outside the station.

[P&O SUE]

Thanks all for your detailed answers. I will go and look at the bus sites, interesting to know where we might dock though. The route out to the fishing village sounds good.

 

Thank you.

[kruzseeka]

Thanks all for your detailed answers. I will go and look at the bus sites, interesting to know where we might dock though. The route out to the fishing village sounds good.

 

Thank you.

 

 

Here is the link to the yellow bus tour which goes to Camara de Lobos - you can download the brochure and route map from that. It does a tour around Funchal too so you see the usual sights there but you get the extra bit going out to the fishing village which gave a suitable and pleasant stop off for a little wander and a leisurely drink a the harbour - very cheap too. Cappuccinos as I remember less than €2 each. Actually found Funchal very good value generally for food/drinks. Camara de Lobos is only a couple of miles out of Funchal and is famous for being a place where Winston Churchill once stopped and painted the harbour. It just adds another focus to the day. Hope you enjoy it if you decide to go.

 

http://www.yellowbustours.com/en/cities/funchal/funchal-e-camara-de-lobos-sightseeing/

[cublet]

Hello,

 

The berth close to the 25th April bridge is now given over to sea containers. Cruise ships now berth very close to the centre of town and as a previous correspondent wrote, it's close but a zig-zag route to the town centre.

 

Ho-ho buses stop directly outside the terminal on the opposite side of the road. There are three companies that call themselves 'Official', red, yellow and grey buses but the tickets are not interchangeable.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[silver wedding]

Watch out in Lisbon 3 times I have used the HoHo buses and 3 times someone has tried to pick my pocket whilst I waited for the bus. Another time in Lisbon I was robbed in the underground. I got my wallet back from the police but had to cancel my cards. Luckily not the ones I had registered for the cruise.

[Paul1924]

We were in Lisbon earlier this month on Adonia, berthed very close to the centre of town about a 10 min stroll from the Black horse square. we priced up the Hop on Hop off buses and also the trams but eventually took a tuck tuck from the square where the shuttle buses drop people off. we paid 45 euro for an hour but the driver /guide only charge for when we were actually moving, when he stopped to show us something or describe some place that time did not count, worked out about an hour and a half to an hour and three quaters in the end, really good, and he even offered take us back to the ship but we declined as we still had plenty of time left and wanted to stroll around some more on foot.

[Host Sharon]

Hello,

 

The berth close to the 25th April bridge is now given over to sea containers. Cruise ships now berth very close to the centre of town and as a previous correspondent wrote, it's close but a zig-zag route to the town centre.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

 

Not always. Berthed by the bridge in October on Funchal and watched Indy of the Seas berth there in August.

 

The HoHos in Lisbon adjust their route to meet the cruise ships - just walk across the road.

Edited November 30, 2014 by Host Sharon

[P&O SUE]

Brilliant , thanks again all for your answers. Thanks for that link kruzseeker very helpful :)

[Clodia]

Just got off Aurora which called in Lisbon. The red hoho buses were parked opposite the cruise berth.

Reception were also selling advance tickets for these. I actually took the shuttle bus which now takes you much further into the town and walked a circuitous route back via shops and squares.

The lights were just coming on as we sailed away towards the April 25th bridge and it was magical!

[groovechick]

Last year on Azura we docked at the Jardim do Tabaco berth, a little down from Apolonia, and a very short walk (max. 10 mins) to the big river-front square (Praca do Comerciao), at the foot of the Alfama old town and near the main shopping streets. Just turn left out of the cruise terminal and walk straight along. It's a very busy road, though, so we went one parallel road further in and walked through a back street - much quieter and more picturesque. The walk from Jardim da Tabaco to Rossio Square is about 1.5 km. The ship's shuttles were dropping off at a minor square much further into town and there were traffic problems IIRC, with the journey taking a long time.

The HoHo bus stops are a known magnet for pickpockets, as is the newsagent's kiosk just outside the Alcantara terminal where you can buy tram and bus tickets.

[SDadw01]

You can buy the tickets for the red bus company on board at reception .