Day 8: Funchal - with a thrilling toboggan ride

B24.7.2025

Today's Highlights:

• Funchal: including the Tropical Garden & Sled Ride

Today's weather in Funchal is forecasted to be mixed, according to the weather app, which is perfectly fine for us since we don't really want to do sightseeing in Funchal in full sun.

In Calheta, the sun is shining as we set off early in the morning. We arrive at the cable car station in Funchal at 8:30 and find a parking space in the adjacent parking garage without any issues.

We then stand in line for the cable car, as it doesn't open until 8:45.

By the way, it is indeed heavily overcast in Funchal. You can't even see the 'Monte' and the end of the cable car in the clouds.

Nevertheless, since it is supposed to be +26 degrees warm around noon, we head out without jackets. I'm always too warm anyway.

For €14.50 per person (online rate), we go up in the gondola. Despite the lack of sun, the view over the sea of houses is quite impressive.

Upon arriving at the top, a light breeze blows. We buy combination tickets directly at the ticket kiosk for the cable car to the Botanical Garden (round trip) & admission to the Botanical Garden.

Through a narrow path, we go down to the cable car station, which takes us across a gorge to the Botanical Garden (and it shakes quite a bit since strong wind gusts sweep through the gorge).

The ticket costs €22.50 per person - a bit more expensive than the previous ticket, but we have no desire to walk down or up to the garden.

In the upper part, we are shaken quite a bit due to the strong wind blowing in the valley.

Especially our daughter was very much looking forward to the Botanical Garden, as she is a true flower and plant fan. All the more disappointed we are when we enter the entrance area. It is simply 'green' here.

Diverse plants, hedges, and trees seem to be growing wild here, there’s nothing colorful, flowers??? Where are they??? Many flower beds are completely overgrown, flowers wilted (could it be the season???).

Disappointed, we walk down the paths to the main attraction of the garden, the flower mosaic. From above, it really looks nice, but upon closer inspection, we see weeds like dandelions (it looks like that) and other green stuff growing everywhere in the mosaic.

No, I wouldn’t have paid an entrance fee for this. We are genuinely disappointed. It’s not like there aren’t any gardeners around. We see them sitting everywhere on benches, eating, smoking, or walking around, but no one is 'gardening'...

Indeed, we have seen far more beautiful botanical gardens! Above all, the Botanical Garden Terra Nostra Park in Furnas on Sao Miguel / Azores is truly worth seeing, especially when relating to Portuguese island groups!

(You can check it out in my Azores Adventure Blog 😉)

The most interesting part is still the area of cacti, but in the end we are really disappointed that the 'flower island' in the Botanical Garden shines almost without flowers - except for the blossoms on the cacti...

Every roundabout and roadside was more decorated with flowers than this Botanical Garden. What a pity!

We walk back up the steep paths to the cable car and take the gondola back to Monte. The weather has become a bit sunnier.

Next stop: the Tropical Garden 'Monte Palace Garden', a large garden complex with exotic trees and flowers, ponds, African sculptures, and a mineral museum.

The ticket for this costs €15 per person.

However, we like it here much better than in the Botanical Garden.

We admire the large collection of minerals and walk through different themed gardens (like Japan), past waterfalls and flamingos (in a very small enclosure) until we reach the café, where we can do a free wine tasting with our entry ticket.

So on an empty stomach, the 17% dessert wine Moscatel de Setubal really hits the spot 😅

We walk all the way back up to the entrance and stroll over to the toboggan station. If we’re already in Madeira, we must also take the traditional (and very touristy) toboggan ride 💪🏻😜

The waiting line at Carreiros do Monte - Departure is quite long, but at the ticket counter (2 sleds for 2 people €70) they tell us it won’t take more than 30 minutes.

It indeed turns out to be so, as when the truck with the toboggans and toboggan drivers arrives from the bottom back up, it goes quickly and a whole group of tourists can embark on the sled ride down. The waiting time is only when you have to wait for the truck or when cars and taxis pass through the toboggan route in the meantime.

Our son rides with dad, I ride with our daughter in the sled. The gentlemen start ahead of us, we zoom along with our two toboggan drivers following behind. The beginning of the hill is also the steepest, and our sled picks up good speed. The two men behind us on the sled keep stopping, steering, running ahead, pulling on the ropes attached to the basket or holding the sled back. Overall, it is a funny experience.

It's also fascinating how slick and shiny the asphalt is. The road looks wet but is dry and apparently worn by the sleds.

The ride from Monte by toboggan down to the toboggan station and bus stop takes 10 minutes.

Although countless taxi drivers swarm around us offering us a 'special price' for the taxi ride down to the city, we decide - like almost all other tourists - to take the bus. This costs €1.90 per person and goes directly into the city with few stops.

We have lunch in a small restaurant in front of the market halls and then set out in search of the 'special' fruit varieties that are said to be found only on Madeira.

In a small fruit and vegetable shop across from the market halls, we find the special hybrid 'Maracuja Banana' and take a few with us.

In the large market halls Mercado dos Lavradores, there's a bit of everything. Every guide book warned that you usually pay a very expensive 'tourist price' here. For example, a kilo of the special 'pineapple banana' at the market costs a whopping €59! Crazy!!!

On the upper floor, it is a bit cheaper, €49/kg, and a vendor lets us taste everything and gives tips; in the end, we take one of the pineapple bananas for the price of €39/kg and a few little things like mini bananas in different varieties and flavors, mini melons, and mini mangoes.

When leaving the market hall, we see in a fruit shop behind the hall the pineapple banana for €29/kg....

This is a tip for everyone reading this who wants to go to Madeira: go to the market hall to look around, but for shopping, go to the small fruit shops nearby!

It is still heavily overcast. We take a walk through the little streets up to the Forte de Sao Tiago and then leisurely make our way back to the car.

Back in Calheta in the evening - you guessed it - the sun is shining 😁☀️

For the statistics:

Walked: 9.4 km

Drove: 75 km

Overnight stay: Villa Cró in Calheta

Weather: mostly cloudy, light rain, little sun, +25 degrees