MsCruiserT

Hi there, I never found any facility that offered luggage storage, so we ended up booking a day room at the Best Western Plus about 10 minutes taxi/Uber from the pier. We left our bags there for the day, went sightseeing then came back to the room to have a shower before leaving for the airport. Your situation is a little different as you aren’t staying as long as we did, and their day room rate requires check out by 6pm. However, it doesn’t hurt to ask if they can offer you some kind of rate for the hours you need to be there for. Good luck.

We are disembarking our ship in Doha at 8am and our flight doesn’t leave until 9pm. Hamad airport’s luggage storage isn’t in operation right now. I also looked into their onsite hotel but it’s only for transit passengers. Other than booking a private tour for the day with a vehicle that can take our bag, does anyone have another suggestion? If anyone has used a tour operator and was happy with them, I’d appreciate a recommendation. I’ve looked at Viator and Tours By Local. TIA.

I am going in May and am looking for the exact same thing (from Naples). I’m interested in the hike to the crater. I’ve done a little research online and see that there are DIY options but since we are only in port for a day we don’t want to take too much time waiting for trains and buses. A tour with a pick up from the pier would be ideal. Hope there will be others who have done this and can recommend!

Terrific thank you so much!

Mitsugirly - after reading your amazing Blue Kay review I have decided it's where we'll spend the day when we call in Costa Maya mid December. For the open air bus to get there, where do you buy the tickets? Does that only operate for certain hours, which is why you had to take a taxi back to the ship? Do you remember how much the taxi was? Much appreciated.

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.

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.

Oh no how terrible! I will contact the tour company as we get closer to our trip, to obtain an update. Thanks again for letting me know.

Oh we're good with hills, we go hiking all the time. Someone directed me to a thread on Trip Advisor where people did this hike and I found very good information. I also found a tour company that offers guided hikes in groups, much more economical than the taxi option. I hope to make a reservation with them. Thank you for all your help, you are indeed very knowledgeable!

Ah, that's what I thought(about the road signs not being sufficient). We're going to do the taxi instead. Actually I realized the quote was for $130 Euros not $160. Have you done this hike yourself? Has anyone else on this thread/board done it?

Thanks Biaria. We did consider renting a car - however, I have read about driving being stressful because of the winding roads. We don't mind that, but our biggest concern would the road signage. If we rent a car from Funchal, do you think we can make it out to Pico do Arieiro without any trouble? I just don't want to be lost and trying to find our way all the time if there aren't good signage on the roads. For the taxi, I was quoted a $160 Euro fare to take us from the pier to Pico Do Arieiro then pick us up from Achada do Teixeira after the hike. Does that sound reasonable to you?

Hello Biaria, I just finished reading all the posts and you are truly a wealth of information. We will be arriving on the Disney Magic Sep 22 8:30am to 9:30pm. We are quite active and looking to either take the hike around Pico Do Ariero or Pico Ruivo, or walking the Levadas. What is the best way to reach these places - should we hire a taxi for the day or rent a car? Ming