Lisbon and Madeira

[jjferr]

Hello. 

My husband and I will be visiting the above ports as a part of a cruise at the end of the month. I am not finding a whole lot of information on these ports on CC. Any information that can be offered would be greatly appreciated...what are the must see things??

Thanks in advanced! 

Lisa

[dronnygirl]

Lisbon is a great city but spread out so difficult to see on foot. It's also very hilly. There are taxis and tuktuk waiting at the dock gates, we took a tour by tuktuk. We had a great day and our driver showed us all the sites and gave us plenty of stops, he finally dropped us in the town do that we could stroll through the streets back to the ship. A great day.

[mskaufman]

Can I ask how long the tuk tuk was and how much you paid?

 

Thanks,

[jjferr]

Thanks for the info. I would be interested in more info on the  tuk tuk. Length of tour? Price? Thanks! 

[grnrab]

hi all 

Tul tuk tour companies have pretty similar type packages for Lisbon - usually 1.5-2.5 hours and have at least two canned routes but saying that you can have them delete and substitute others within reasonable distance. Just do some research on your own then review their web sites and inquire about any variations to the standards. They can also be picked up on the fly at places like Praco do Commercio and near the Lisbon Cathedral (Seu) - can't comment on that. One "classic" visits the wonderful miradouros (view sites) ~3 of them. They will also take you through Alfama district, stop at the Seu, go by at least 4 of the major squares (Rossio, Pombal, Figuera, and Commercio),  Castelo Sao Jorge (worth the hike up), and drive thru districts like Gracia, Baixa-Chiado and Principe Real/Bairro Alto - they each have their little stopping points of interest. You'll see at least two of the famous tram cars/elevadors in the center of town. They sometimes will include Cais do Sodre waterfront area and include a stop at the Time Out Marketplace (Mercado Ribiera - giant food and beverage hall - different). The alternative or longer tours usually will include the 15 minute ride out and back to Belem with a stop at both the Torre De Belem and the Monument of the Discoverers  or other parts of town.  We were there in October 2018 so weather was very nice. I believe it was about 150-160E for that 2.5hr canned Classic tour which we enjoyed immensely. Please note It can be cheaper PP the more folks you arrange to have. Most Tuk_Tuks can hold six plus the driver. Four seems comfortable. We were just two which was very nice. We used www.lisbon-tuk-tours.com but there are many available so get pricing and negotiate and have fun.

[Thejuggler]

Lisbon is huge and very spread out.  We have spent three days there and not seen it all.

 

You need to decide to either cover a couple of areas over a day or all of it, but nothing in depth, on a day tour.  Public transport is regular and cheap, apart from the traditional trams which are infrequent and packed.  Drivers will let locals on before tourists as they don't carry many passengers.

 

I've spent a couple of 7 day holidays on Madeira.  In a day I'd suggest a half a day tour, Nuns Valley and/or Cabo Girao (both are possible in half a day) and half a day in Funchal. Taxi drivers will do half a day tour for about €60-70 for a car of four.

 

 Otherwise a day in Funchal including the cable car to Monte and either the sled ride (don't get ripped off by the taxi to Funchal at the end - €10 max) or gardens and cable car ride back.

 

Beware the tuk tuks in Funchal back to the port.  They quote a price (say €5) then when you have had the ride say it is per person, so it costs $10.  Taxis are cheaper.  From Funchal to Port about €5 for up to 4 passengers.

[jjferr]

Thank you for the suggestions! 

[saraheg77]

We stopped in Madeira in March and used https://www.lido-tours.com/en/index.html - they have several tour options.  We did the Northern wonders - we enjoyed the tour company and everything went smoothly, but I probably would recommend a different tour from Northern wonders, mainly because we thought the Sao Vicente Caves stop on it was a bit hokey. 🙂  We all thought the island was beautiful and enjoyed all of our scenery stops. S