Monte Palace Tropical Garden tour with Cable Car

We took the package 43 Euros ( each ) for the return ticket for both cable cars and the Botanical garden and paid a further 18 Euros ( each ) for the entry to the Tropical garden. Although it was expensive for a family day out, I thought it was worth it as the Tropical gardens were beautiful and not too busy. We spent 3 hours there, enjoyed a coffee with a free sample of Madeira wine and then took the second cable car to go to the Botanical gardens. I enjoyed the succulent display there as well as the orchid house.

We had a great time on the trip and it was timed to perfection so that you didn’t have to queue for the toboggan ride or the cable car, which both had massive queues later in the morning. Both the coach driver and our guide, Monica, were excellent. Her knowledge of the places we visited was second to none. It was a good balance of activities and you had the option to explore by yourself if you wanted to. We thoroughly enjoyed all parts of the trip, especially the toboggan. If you want to visit Monte, toboggan and do a cable car ride then this the trip for you.

Magnificent park, we went there by bus no. 22 from the center of Funchal, count on 20 minutes, it stops in front of it (get a day ticket at the kiosk, it's cheaper than on board) because the cable car was broken. Park entrance is €18 but it's worth it, count on between two and 3 hours to visit it properly, you can eat next to the entrance, very affordable and very good.

Fantastic tour! Just know that even though it is listed as a 2-4 hour tour, it was definitely a half day (4+ hours) event. I was flying out the same day, so I was a little stressed about getting to the airport in time.

Provider didn’t show up to pick us up. After waiting 30 mins I realised they sent a message through the app that the pickup will be at a different spot and 20 minutes earlier than the tour is advertised. I’ve had changes with other operators and they always confirmed you got the message until you acknowledged. So this was ridiculous.

Wonderful garden, plants from several regions of the world, azulejos, all the history of Portugal, a collection of spectacular minerals, koi, swans, flamingos. The sound of water

I was 20 minutes early, but almost got left behind at the meeting point as there were no clear instructions about the vehicle/driver/guide like I had experienced with other activities I booked through Viator. However the guide Graca called me and she and the driver were gracious enough to return to collect me. Although the app itinerary was to take the cable car to visit the garden first then return to Funchal via the optional toboggan ride Graca's many years of experience guided us in a different order. So to miss the long toboggan ride queues later in the day we were taken there first, driven to the tropical garden, then cable car ride to Funchal with the option to explore further on your own or return to your meeting point. Lots of photo opportunities,.if you are brave enough take the toboggan ride

It's nice to ride it Waiting high can take a very long time The glass bottom ( 10 euros more), in my opinion not worth

We booked our own tickets from the kiisk was quite quick €43 each for return trip on cable cars and entranve to botanical gardens. ( taxi wanted €100 plus €10 each for botanical). Cable car vwry smooth and good viewing. There was a slight wait for the glass bottom ones and extra €10. The botanical gardens were a real disappointment. They have been neglected and are over grown with weeds. Nothing special at all. How they can charge so much at €14.50 is not great. We walked back up the hill to the other Japenese Gardens and these were €18 each to get in. Well worth the visit amazing to see. They could improve signage and add maybe some oriental music or wind chimes to improve but lovely place to visit. The wicket basket ride queue was too long and my husband didnt want to ride with me so I missed out.

Lovely gardens with lots of sculptures and interesting displays. As you walk down to the bottom of the gardens, there’s a wall on the right which has seats set in where you can lean over and watch the toboggans going down the hill. The Poncha bar was lovely with views over Funchal and the sea. The restaurant was a bit expensive and the sandwiches were hard work! The Asian Gardens were particularly lovely. Unfortunately I had a nasty fall near the pool where the swans nest and finished up with a cracked bone in my wrist and ligament damage to my shoulder. My husband and I made our way to the first Aid point on the map but it wasn’t there at all. Then went to one of the main gates where there was supposedly another First Aid point. The lady at the gate obviously didn’t have first aid training and all she could offer us was a couple of plasters for my cuts and a vial of saline to rinse them out. Despite this, I would love to revisit as there was so much to see and the gardens are gorgeous. We didn’t get to go on the cable car as it was closed for annual maintenance in March which was a shame. Be warned! The gardens are built on a steep slope and there are lots of steep steps and paths. There are plenty of seats and walls to rest on.