9-6 in Madeira, Does This Sound Worth It?

[zdcatc12]

We are in Madeira from 9-6 on the 1st of November. Usually the 1st time at a new place, we take a city tour to get good, all-around sight seeing and plan for next time. I am thinking of doing the HO-HO bus along with the cable car. Does this sound doable, and, if so, would we be making the best use of our time? Thanks.

[Ontario Cruiser]

That is what we did. Ontario Cruiser

[LondonTowner]

We did a tour with Madeira Happy Tours and also had time to go on the HOHO

[hawkeyetlse]

It is definitely doable, but you won't necessarily have a lot of time to spend at each place. You will lose a lot of time in particular if you decide to go all the way up to the Cabo Girão skywalk; you'll need to decide if that's worth it to you. In my experience, the HOHO buses in Madeira do not follow a schedule, and they do not have "smart" bus stops that tell you when the next one is coming, and in low season you could end up waiting a loooong time… But it is the cheapest way for one or two people to hit Cámara de Lobos, Cabo Girão, and Pico dos Barcelos (just be sure to pick the company that actually goes to all of these places).

 

As for Monte: If you just want to take the cable car up and down, that can be done very quickly. But there is a lot to do while you're up in Monte, so how much time do you think you would like to spend there?

[zdcatc12]

It is definitely doable, but you won't necessarily have a lot of time to spend at each place. You will lose a lot of time in particular if you decide to go all the way up to the Cabo Girão skywalk; you'll need to decide if that's worth it to you. In my experience, the HOHO buses in Madeira do not follow a schedule, and they do not have "smart" bus stops that tell you when the next one is coming, and in low season you could end up waiting a loooong time… But it is the cheapest way for one or two people to hit Cámara de Lobos, Cabo Girão, and Pico dos Barcelos (just be sure to pick the company that actually goes to all of these places).

 

As for Monte: If you just want to take the cable car up and down, that can be done very quickly. But there is a lot to do while you're up in Monte, so how much time do you think you would like to spend there?

 

Thanks for the info. We basically just want to see the island. We don't need to go anywhere specific. I was just thinking of doing the HOHO bus once around and the cable car and then do whatever is at the top. I believe there is another cable car at the top that goes higher, so we would probably do that also. Of course, this all depends on the weather!

[hawkeyetlse]

We basically just want to see the island. We don't need to go anywhere specific.

With this plan you will really only see a very small part of the island around Funchal. Which is fair enough for a cruise stop, most everybody else on the ship will be doing the same. To see the really spectacular scenery further inland or around the rest of the coast, you would need to rent a car or book a tour.

 

There is a second cable car you can take from Monte, but it actually goes back down the mountain, to the botanical gardens. The cable cars are not cheap, so I wouldn't necessarily recommend doing both unless you are actually planning to visit the botanical gardens. If you just take the first cable car up from Funchal, you can see the church, do the wicker basket ride :p, visit the Tropical Garden, … That cable car ride alone will cost you 15 euros round trip, so I would spend some time up there to make it worthwhile! But unfortunately, that leaves you less time to do the HOHO tour (personally, I would feel frustrated getting a HOHO ticket and not having the time to actually hop off anywhere, but I suppose it's better than nothing!)

[zdcatc12]

With this plan you will really only see a very small part of the island around Funchal. Which is fair enough for a cruise stop, most everybody else on the ship will be doing the same. To see the really spectacular scenery further inland or around the rest of the coast, you would need to rent a car or book a tour.

 

There is a second cable car you can take from Monte, but it actually goes back down the mountain, to the botanical gardens. The cable cars are not cheap, so I wouldn't necessarily recommend doing both unless you are actually planning to visit the botanical gardens. If you just take the first cable car up from Funchal, you can see the church, do the wicker basket ride :p, visit the Tropical Garden, … That cable car ride alone will cost you 15 euros round trip, so I would spend some time up there to make it worthwhile! But unfortunately, that leaves you less time to do the HOHO tour (personally, I would feel frustrated getting a HOHO ticket and not having the time to actually hop off anywhere, but I suppose it's better than nothing!)

 

Thanks for the info!! I was planning on doing the HOHO first and the cable car second, figuring we could take a ride around the city and then go back to something if we want to. Also, I would buy the HOHO ticket in advance, and the CC on the day we are there, in case the weather isn't cooperating.

[hkto]

Can try contacting Madeira Happy Tour to see what they can offer to cruisers. I think this the best choice for seeing multiple places. Their regular full day tours that pick up people from different Funchal hotels are probably too tight for 9-6 schedule http://www.madeirahappytours.com/en/component/content/article/8.html

 

From centre of Funchal where ships docks its not that close to either Cámara de Lobos or Cabo Girão but still can ask cab driver for fare. For Monte local bus 20 & 21 can take you there in 15 min for a fraction of the cable car cost. #31 goes to Botanical Gardens which are quite nice See http://www.horariosdofunchal.pt/index-eng.php. There is a booth & vending machine that sells plastic transit cards that can be preloaded with desired # of fares.

[2irisheyes]

We took a bus to Camara de Lobos and a taxi from there to Cabo Girao. The driver waited for us while we looked at the views etc.