I live in Funchal - Madeira Island. I can advice

[MsCruiserT]

Hello Biaria, just to let you know, we have returned from our cruise and we had a great visit in Funchal! Since the hiking was not available we ended up walking into town and exploring on our own. We were lucky to experience Mass in Se cathedral even just for a few minutes. We also went to the old market(loved all the exotic fruits and the fish market), and wandered around town and looked at all the sights. We then took the cable car to Monte, visited the cathedral and saw the tobaggans(did not ride though). We had a lovely time in the area admiring the views and the gardens. Funchal is beautiful and when we return next time, we hope to be able to do the hike and see more of your island.

[MsCruiserT]

Hi MsCruiserT,

 

I think I should let you know that we had some terrible fires on the island yesterday. The Pico Ruivo and Achada do Teixeira were among the burnt areas, so make sure they'll be in acceptable condition for your hike next month.

 

Sadly, you won't be able to enjoy the sheer beauty of the place. The vegetation will recover eventually, of course, but it will take sometime.

Hello Biaria, just to let you know, we have returned from our cruise and we had a great visit in Funchal! Since the hiking was not available we ended up walking into town and exploring on our own. We were lucky to experience Mass in Se cathedral even just for a few minutes. We also went to the old market(loved all the exotic fruits and the fish market), and wandered around town and looked at all the sights. We then took the cable car to Monte, visited the cathedral and saw the tobaggans(did not ride though). We had a lovely time in the area admiring the views and the gardens. Funchal is beautiful and when we return next time, we hope to be able to do the hike and see more of your island.

[biaria]

Hello MsCruiserT,

 

I'm so pleased to know you enjoyed your day in Funchal and thank you so much for complimenting my hometown.

 

Yes, I hope next time you have the opportunity to do your hike and explore the island further.

 

Bye.

[Cornishpastyman1]

From my visits in December 2002 & December 2008

this shows the Workers' Market, Funchal-Monte cable car, the toboggans and the wonderful Christmas lights

 

Madeira is magnificent !

[biaria]

Hello Cornishpastyman1,

 

Beautiful video, thanks for posting and sharing it here.

[SANDGROWNUN]

Hi Biaria, My mum 75, brother 52 and myself 49 and somewhat infirm, are in port for the day on Sat. 30/10/10. We want to go to the cable cars but have heard the taxi drivers do not like to take short journey fares. Is it possible to take a bus? We would also like to visit the market, I love the sounds and smells! I would be very grateful for any information you can provide, indeed any other suggestions too. Also my brother is a great admirer of Sir Winston Churchill and I wondered where he is best remembered please? Many thanks Biaria. Jacqui. :)

[biaria]

Hi Jacqui,

 

At our pier, there's always a line with taxis for tours and another line with taxis for trips to town, speaking of which, a trip from the pier to anywhere in town, is charged at 7.50 EUR per taxi. It may well happen that there's a shuttle bus at the pier as well, very convenient for you, as it will drop you off near the cable car station.

 

The market is close to the cable car station and, as it closes at 2pm on Saturdays, I'd suggest you go there first, before taking your cable car ride up to Monte.

 

Sir Winston Churchill is best remembered in Câmara de Lobos, in fact there's a plaque at a viewpoint in the area, that says Sir Winston Churchill painted there, in 1950.

 

In case you like history, you can visit the Madeira Story Centre Museum near the market. Apart from that, you can visit churches, gardens or just wonder around.

 

Have a nice day on the island!

[SANDGROWNUN]

Dear Biaria,

Thank you so much for your quick reply. The information was very helpful. I am looking forward to visiting your lovely homeland.

Kind regards,

Jacqui.x :)

[biaria]

You're welcome Jacqui!

 

Oh... it's "wander around".

 

 

Bye, bye.

[Taxguy77]

We did not see any taxis on the dock and were told by theCD on Celebrity there was no bus at the end of the pier (one of many totally wrong bits of information we were given on the cruise over the loudspeaker), we stayed aboard on our last visit. :mad: We had walked into town on our fisrt visit and taken a shuttle from the ship on our 2nd. I can no longer walk that far and back.

Would love to spend a week there, and another in Dubrovnic, each very beautiful and interesting.

[SANDGROWNUN]

We did not see any taxis on the dock and were told by theCD on Celebrity there was no bus at the end of the pier (one of many totally wrong bits of information we were given on the cruise over the loudspeaker), we stayed aboard on our last visit. :mad: We had walked into town on our fisrt visit and taken a shuttle from the ship on our 2nd. I can no longer walk that far and back.

Would love to spend a week there, and another in Dubrovnic, each very beautiful and interesting.

 

Well Taxguy, thanks for your info. I will report back how we got on. It is very annoying and frustrating to be given poor/bad/wrong info by the CD, probably on commision, when they don't do tours compatible with your requirements. Do they not understand that if they were more helpful that we would appreciate them more and reward them, or even better, recommend or book with them again? Customer satisfaction counts for so much. Be well and keep safe. x

[llevy315]

Hey all. Im trying to plan my trip to madeira on the norwegian jade in january and im hoping you can help. Contacted a tour group and they recommended this itinerary. Can you let me know if these are the must sees or if im missing something

 

· Collection from the pier at 11:30am

· Cable Car/Toboggan ride

· Cabo Girão

· Encumeada

· Caves and Volcanism Centre in São Vicente

· On the way back to Funchal, you’ll stop in Ribeira Brava for the black sand beach.

[Cornishpastyman1]

Dear Biaria,

Thank you so much for your quick reply. The information was very helpful. I am looking forward to visiting your lovely homeland.

Kind regards,

Jacqui.x :)

 

Hello Jacqui

 

At around 2.17 on this

there is the briefest glimpse of a couple of cruise ships, which show it is a reasonable walk to the bottom of the cable car area, but in a vehicle it should only take 2-3 minutes.

 

I hope the sun shines on Saturday and that you all have a great day there.:)

[biaria]

We did not see any taxis on the dock and were told by theCD on Celebrity there was no bus at the end of the pier (one of many totally wrong bits of information we were given on the cruise over the loudspeaker), we stayed aboard on our last visit. :mad: We had walked into town on our fisrt visit and taken a shuttle from the ship on our 2nd. I can no longer walk that far and back.

Would love to spend a week there, and another in Dubrovnic, each very beautiful and interesting.

 

Hello Taxguy77,

 

With this new platform at the pier, you can't see the taxis from the cruise ship, but everytime a cruise ship docks, there's a number of taxis on service there.

 

The shuttle bus is not always available, it depends on the agency responsible for the ship.

 

Yes, you should spend a whole week here, there's lots to see!... And thank you for the nice compliment!

[Amy1118]

Biaria, I've been following this thread for quite a while and it's been very helpful.

 

You mentioned above that you can't see the taxis from the cruise ship. How long is the walk to the taxis from the ship (or the shuttle bus, if there is one)? I'm traveling with my mother who can walk but slowly and not too far and I'm wondering if she'll be able to get to the taxis or shuttle.

 

Thanks for any help you can give.

[biaria]

Hello Amy,

 

Good to know my contributions have been useful to you. :)

 

In fact, taxis and all other means of transport at the pier, aren't too far away from the cruise ship, they're only 100 meters away, what happens is that they're on the other side of the platform, which hides them, and they can't be seen from the ship.

[Amy1118]

Hello Amy,

 

Good to know my contributions have been useful to you. :)

 

In fact, taxis and all other means of transport at the pier, aren't too far away from the cruise ship, they're only 100 meters away, what happens is that they're on the other side of the platform, which hides them, and they can't be seen from the ship.

Thanks, Biaria, that's good news! She can walk that far.

 

We'll be there on Nov. 10th and can't wait to see your beautiful island.

[biaria]

That's good.

 

Enjoy Madeira!

[Ferndale Girl]

Biaria: How much should we tip the taxi driver?

 

Frances

[biaria]

Hello Frances,

 

It's not compulsory to tip the taxi drivers, but if you wish to so, they'll be thankful. You can decide how much you want to tip, but a normal amount is 10 to 15%.

[hooked-on-travel]

Biaria-

We'll be in town on Nov. 10 (just like Amy and her mother). We're adventure types and are putting together a DIY trip using suggestions from http://www.love-madeira.com/index.html . I love all the walks and we're thinking about one available from Monte so we can combine it with the cable car and toboggan. With all your unfortunate mudslides and fires should we be rethinking our plan? Is this area recovered (or unharmed)? Is there a particular one you suggest? How long do you think the Monte to Terreiro da Luta Walk takes?

 

Also, we'll be traveling with DD 5 y/o. We plan mostly to use the bus and walk, but if we time things wrong and we need to take a taxi from the bottom of the toboggan are there any car seat rules? I would hate to carry the car seat around all day just for that.

 

Thanks in advance

[Ferndale Girl]

Hello Frances,

 

It's not compulsory to tip the taxi drivers, but if you wish to so, they'll be thankful. You can decide how much you want to tip, but a normal amount is 10 to 15%.

 

 

Thank you, Biaria.

 

Frances

[FeelingCruisy]

I've been following this thread and learned quite a bit. I'll be in Funchal on the 11 NOV this year. This is my second trip. The first, I've pretty much done everything touristy in Funchal. We're thinking of renting a car. I read that they will come drop off the car at port? Can anyone recommend any company that they have dealt with? Also, as far as driving, we're pretty much interested in villages. Any recommendations? :D

Edited October 29, 2010 by FeelingCruisy

[FeelingCruisy]

I've been following this thread and learned quite a bit. I'll be in Funchal on the 11 NOV this year. This is my second trip. The first, I've pretty much done everything touristy in Funchal. We're thinking of renting a car. I read that they will come drop off the car at port? Can anyone recommend any company that they have dealt with? Also, as far as driving, we're pretty much interested in villages. Any recommendations? :D

 

Biaria,

Actually, I've decided not to rent a car but remained in Funchal. Please confirm the following if you have a minute.

1) If I remember correctly, we were walking all over town from the pier. Everything is walkable unless going up to the monte. Is my memory correct?

2) I remembered taking the public bus up to monte and back down. I just found in my wallet a "Tranporte Publico e Vida!, GIRO" card. I remembered having to purchase this card and putting money onto the card before I can use public transportation bus to go to Monte. Unfortunately, I only found 1 card (there'll be 4 of us). Must we get this card before boarding the bus or can I just pay on the bus without the card? IS the ride still 2.05Euro one way according to your previous post?

3) one of the things that we wanted to do last time but wasn't able to was to visit the monastry for nuns, I think.. But we arrived at siesta. It was a long climb up a steep road. Can you tell me the hours if you can.

 

Thanks so much.

Edited October 30, 2010 by FeelingCruisy

[FeelingCruisy]

Biaria,

After reading every post here, and researching on my own, I have a few questions for you. Please ignore earlier questions.

 

2) I remembered taking the public bus up to monte and back down. I just found in my wallet a "Tranporte Publico e Vida!, GIRO" card. I remembered having to purchase this card and putting money onto the card before I can use public transportation bus to go to Monte. Unfortunately, I only found 1 card (there'll be 4 of us). Must we get this card before boarding the bus or can I just pay cash on the bus without the GIRO? The ride is now 1.80 Euros?

3) You mentioned the ride from the Tropical Gardens down to Center is about 15 - 20Euros (you had 2 numbers). Will the ride going up to Monte be the same?

4) From the Monte stops, we can go see the church or the Tropical Garden right? Is the T. garden far from the Monte stop?

5) http://www.horariosdofunchal.pt/ shows 20,20A,21A,21 with Monte destination. Does that mean I can take all these numbers? (I did remember researching in the past and concluded only 20, and 21)

 

Thanks so much.

__________________

Edited October 30, 2010 by FeelingCruisy