Funchal, marina to Monte.
A working harbour at the bottom, Monte at the top, and in between the departure point for very nearly everything that happens out here. Boats, sledges, open-roof jeeps and dawn shuttles — read first, book second.
Funchal’s most-booked days out, from the catamarans down.
The full ranking →Sorted by how many people have actually been, not by what we think of them. The top of this list moves slowly — these are the trips the city has been running longest and best.
1
Ecological Catamaran Dolphin Whale Watching
Eco-catamaran dolphin and whale watching from Funchal with silent hybrid-electric engines, net viewing, and a swim stop at Cabo Girão.
From · $40
Read our review →
2
Skywalk, Porto Moniz, Seixal, and Fanal 4WD Tour
from $72
3
Dolphin and Whale Watching Catamaran Cruise
from $41
4
Enchanted Terraces, Porto do Moniz & Fanal 4WD Tour
from $74
5
Porto Moniz, Seixal, Fanal Forest, Cliff Skywalk in Open Roof 4X4
from $75
6
Best of Madeira’s West Tour
from $42
7
Best of the East Tour from Funchal
from $42
8
Old Town Walking Tour
from $19
The six days a Funchal week gets built around.
A boat, a sledge, an open-roof jeep, a morning in the Old Town, a levada, and one very early start for the peaks. Book one of each and the week arranges itself.
Off Funchal the boats run all year, not just in summer.
Bottlenose dolphins and pilot whales live along this coast rather than passing through it, so there is no closed season and no wasted month — only a calmer morning and a rougher afternoon. Everything here sails from the marina, ten minutes below the Old Town.
Funchal’s oldest ride down has no brakes but a pair of boots.
All Monte toboggan rides →
The cable car climbs out of the Old Town to Monte in about fifteen minutes. Getting back down is the decision, and there are three honest answers to it — one of which involves sitting in a wicker basket while a pair of drivers in straw hats run it downhill behind you.
Two carreiros and a wicker basket
Wooden runners, a wicker seat and no mechanism at all: the two drivers run it down on foot, dragging a boot to slow and shoving to pick up speed. It has come off this hill since long before the road was paved, and it stops well short of the centre — most people take the bus or a taxi for the last stretch.
Monte Palace, tile by tile
Terraced gardens on the hillside above the church, laid out around ponds and stacked with centuries of Portuguese azulejo panels salvaged from buildings that no longer exist. Wear something with grip; the paths go down a lot faster than they come back up.
Old Town, Monte and back by tuk-tuk
The city’s own answer to a hill start: a small open cab that will take the hairpins up to Monte, wait while you do the gardens or the sledge, and drop you back at the door. It is the least athletic way to see the whole axis and by some distance the most popular.
What Funchal charges, from a two-hour walk upwards.
Every priced trip on the site in three bands, with the most-reviewed pick in each. A good day here does not have to cost more than dinner did.
Old Town walks, the open-top bus, a catamaran morning, the sledge down from Monte, and most levada shuttles.
Full-day jeeps, canyoning, diving, sunset sailings and the long tasting walks.
Private guides, chartered boats, and sidecars that are priced by the bike rather than the seat.
Half a day out of Funchal, and the evening is still yours.
Most of what leaves this city takes three hours, not eight. The marina trips, the sledge run, the bus loop and the Nuns Valley half-day all hand the afternoon back — which matters when the hotel is a ten-minute walk from the quay.
Funchal’s biggest day out still travels with the roof off.
Eight hours in an open jeep: the glass floor at Cabo Girão first, the lava pools at Porto Moniz around lunch, and the bent laurels of Fanal on the road home. It is the day people book before they arrive.
Four things in Funchal you cannot decide on the morning.
Nearly everything else here tolerates a same-week decision. These four do not: the fleets are tiny, the guides are licensed and capped in number, and one of them collects you while it is still dark.
- 01Pico do Arieiro Sunrise Transfer Self-guided HikePickup happens before most alarms do, and the summit car park is small; in summer the seats go days ahead.
- 02Canyoning Madeira Island – Level OneLicensed guides, capped group sizes and wetsuits sized in advance. Nobody adds a walk-in.
- 03Flag Ship Tour aboard Santa Maria de ColomboOne replica ship, a handful of sailings a day. When it is full it is full.
- 04Madeira Sidecar Adventure – Old West Road (1 or 2 Persons)Two seats per bike and a fleet you could count on one hand. A single booking takes the whole slot.
Funchal’s own three: poncha, painted doors and a deep-water fish.
Every island has a viewpoint and a boat trip. The sugarcane spirit, the painted street and the fish that lives a kilometre down belong to this city and the villages that feed it.
Poncha
Sugarcane spirit, honey and lemon, worked together in the glass with a ridged wooden stick. It came off the fishing boats at Câmara de Lobos as a cure for a cold day at sea, and it is still poured by the glass rather than dressed up as a cocktail. Ask for the fisherman’s version and you get the original: three ingredients, no ice.
- 1Eastern Madeira: Full-Day Tour with Rum Tasting★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 1,575 reviews
- 2Cabo Girão & Poncha Tasting by Classic VW★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 78 reviews
- 34×4 Safari Half day Poncha, Mountains, Vineyards and Cabo Girão Small group★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 73 reviews
Rua de Santa Maria
The Old Town’s oldest street was emptying out until artists were invited to paint its doors, one at a time. Around two hundred are painted now, some beautiful and some deliberately odd, and the restaurants came back because of it. Walk it early, while the tables are still stacked against the walls.
- 1Old Town Walking Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 3,233 reviews
- 2Old Funchal Walking Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 511 reviews
- 3Guided Tuk Tuk Tour to Toboggan Rides & Old Town★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 308 reviews
Mercado dos Lavradores
Two levels of stalls a street back from the front: chillies strung above the fruit counters, custard apples and passion fruit cut open and pressed on you to taste, and the fish hall down the stairs. That is where the black scabbardfish is laid out whole — a deep-water animal that looks like a mistake and tastes, filleted and fried with a banana on top, like the best plate on the island.
- 1Taste Funchal: food, wine & cultural tour★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 906 reviews
- 2Taste Funchal: food, wine and cultural tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 680 reviews
- 3Food and Wine Walking Tour in Funchal★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 469 reviews
In Funchal, hiking is a transport problem before it is a walking one.
Nearly every good walk here starts at one end of a valley and finishes at the other, which is why so much of this list is sold as a transfer rather than a tour. A van before dawn, a map, a pickup at the far end, and the path largely to yourself.
- 1Pico do Arieiro Sunrise Transfer Self-guided Hikefrom $37
- 2Enjoy a Guided Levada Walk in the Rabaçal Valleyfrom $50
- 3East Tour Pico Arieiro & Santana&Laurissilvafrom $37
By how the day gets spent
Out on the water43 tours
Open-roof island days184 tours
Levada walking73 tours
Around the city by tuk-tuk65 tours
Up on the ridge80 tours
Madeira wine tastings46 tours
Down the waterfalls34 tours- Every review we have →
By what you actually want to do
The last few Funchal reviews to land.
Everything, newest first →
Maderia Island Off Road Jeep Tour with Swim Stop
Read our review →
Visiting local Vineyard With Wine Tasting & Lunch included
Read our review →
Full Day Open Roof 4×4 Unforgettable Northwest of Madeira
Read our review →
Wine Tasting Experience in Boaventura, Madeira North Coast
Read our review →
Downtown Funchal: A Self-Guided Audio Tour Through the Old City
Read our review →