Madeira cable car guide

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Most visitors to Funchal want to get up the hill to Monte without the steep climb or a taxi, and the answer is hanging over the old town. The Madeira cable car that everyone means runs from the old town up to Monte: 3,200 m in about 15 minutes, €16 one way or €22 return, every day from 08:45 to 17:45 except Christmas Day.

It is not the only one. From Monte, a second line crosses the valley to the Botanical Garden. East of the city, a short cable car drops from the Cristo Rei at Garajau to a beach. And on the cliffs of the west and north, small cable cars built for farmers take visitors down to fields and pebble shores by the sea, at Achadas da Cruz and below Cabo Girão.

Not all of them run. The Rocha do Navio cable car in Santana is closed for maintenance with no reopening date, so plan around it.

The Funchal-Monte line

The common mistake is to look for the station on the waterfront. It is in a garden at the edge of the old town.

The Monte cable car Madeira visitors ride starts in the Almirante Reis garden, in the historic Zona Velha, and climbs 3,200 m to Monte, rising about 560 m in about 15 minutes. It has 42 cabins of 8 seats. It opened in November 2000, and in a way it replaced the Monte railway, which carried visitors up the hill from 1887 to 1943.

A return costs €22 and a single €16. Children up to 6 ride free, and children aged 7 to 14 pay half. It runs every day from 08:45 to 17:45, closed only on Christmas Day; e-tickets on the operator's price and schedule page let you go straight to boarding. The top station is at Largo das Babosas in Monte.

City buses 020 and 021 also go to Monte, at €1.45 a trip on a GIRO card under the 2026 bus tariff, which makes a cheap return if you only want the ride one way.

Not every cable car on the island is running. The Rocha do Navio cable car Madeira guides still list, on the north coast in Santana, has been closed by the municipality for maintenance for an indefinite period, by a notice updated on 7 May 2026.

Cable cars for a family day

People with children often assume the cable car is the whole outing. At both ends, there is more to do.

For a Madeira cable car Funchal family day, the Monte line is the natural start: children up to 6 ride free and those aged 7 to 14 pay half, so a family of four with two young children pays two adult fares. At the top, the Monte Palace Tropical Garden lets children up to 14 in free with an adult, while adults pay €18.

For a beach day, the Garajau cable car Madeira families use runs from the Ponta do Garajau, beside the Cristo Rei, down to the beach below, about 10 minutes from central Funchal by road. It opened in 2007, with two cabins that go up and down at the same time, and runs from 10:00 to 20:00 in summer and to 18:00 in winter; a return costs €5. The beach at the bottom has toilets, changing rooms, a first-aid post, a snack bar, a diving centre and restaurants, and it lies in the Garajau marine reserve, where the water is clear enough to see life at more than 20 m.

There is parking at the top for several dozen cars.

At the top: Monte

The mistake is to ride up, look at the view and ride down. Monte is worth a morning.

For a Madeira cable car Monte family visit, three things sit within a short walk of the top station. The church of Nossa Senhora do Monte, completed in 1818 after an earthquake destroyed the earlier one in 1748, holds the tomb of Emperor Karl I of Austria, who died in exile at Monte on 1 April 1922. Its feast falls on 15 August, after novenas from 5 August.

The Monte Palace Tropical Garden covers about 70,000 m², €18 for an adult and free for children up to 14 with an adult.

And the toboggans, the carros de cesto, run down from Monte to Livramento, about 2 km in about 10 minutes, steered by the carreiros. They cost €30 for one, €40 for two and €60 for three; the ticket office opens Monday to Saturday from 09:00 to 18:00. The carreiros have worked the run for tourists for more than 100 years, since the 19th century.

The toboggan ends at Livramento, partway down, so plan a taxi or a bus for the rest of the way to the centre.

The cliff cable cars

Visitors often expect the cliff cable cars to be like the Monte line. They are short, steep and built for farmers.

The Achadas da Cruz cable car Madeira is known for, in the municipality of Porto Moniz, drops about 450 m down the cliff in about 5 minutes to the Fajã da Quebrada Nova, a strip of cultivated land by the sea with a small pebble beach. It runs every day and was built mainly to carry farmers and their produce. A single trip costs €3 and a return €5; seniors over 65, students and people with reduced mobility pay €1 or €2.

Below Cabo Girão, the Rancho cable car goes down to the Fajãs do Cabo Girão, the terraced fields once used for vines at the foot of the cliff. Its station is a separate drive of about 4 km from the skywalk. A return is reported at about €10, with hours of about 09:00 to 12:30 and 14:00 to 19:00; check on the day, since times on the small cable cars change; Visit Madeira lists each line.

Both are far from Funchal: Cabo Girão is 17 minutes by road, and Porto Moniz 56. The Cabo Girão guide covers the skywalk above the Rancho line.

The Rancho cable car descends from Cabo Girão to the Fajãs do Cabo Girão terraced fields.

The view, and when to ride

People often ride up at midday and find the hill in cloud. The best seat and the best time make a difference.

The Madeira cable car Funchal view opens as the cabin climbs out of the old town: the roofs of the Zona Velha, the harbour and the bay below, and the whole amphitheatre of the city spread up the slopes. Sit facing downhill on the way up to watch the city fall away, or ride down to keep it in front of you.

Go on a clear day. The line opens at 08:45, and with a clear forecast, an early ride gives the view before you spend the rest of the morning at the top.

If you plan to ride the Botanical Garden line too, remember its last boarding is at 16:50, an hour before the main line's closing.

The Madeira cable car offers views of the Zona Velha and the city amphitheatre as it climbs.

Tickets, children and timing

The common mistake is to queue for a ticket at the lower station in high season. Buy ahead, and check who rides free.

On the Madeira cable car Funchal kids up to 6 ride free, and those aged 7 to 14 pay half the €16 or €22 fare. On the Botanical Garden line, a single is €11 and a return €16 for adults. The toboggan charges per basket, not per person: €30 for one, €40 for two, €60 for three, so two or three people share one basket.

E-tickets for the Monte line are sold on the operator's site and go straight to boarding. For the gardens, the Madeira Botanical Garden costs €10 over 12 and €3 for ages 6 to 12, and the Monte Palace €18 an adult, free for children up to 14 with an adult.

Allow half a day for the lot: about 15 minutes up, an hour or two in Monte or the gardens, and the toboggan or the cable car down.

Monte to the Botanical Garden

Visitors often go back down to Funchal and take a taxi to the Botanical Garden. A second cable car joins the two.

The Botanical Garden cable car Madeira runs from Largo das Babosas in Monte, beside the main line's top station, across the João Gomes valley to the Madeira Botanical Garden: 1,600 m in about 18 minutes, at up to 15 km/h, in 12 cabins of 6 seats. It runs every day from 09:00, with the last boarding at 16:50, and is closed on 25 December. A single costs €11 and a return €16 for adults; both stations have a terrace and a souvenir shop.

That makes a loop: the main line up to Monte, the Monte Palace garden, the second line across to the Botanical Garden, and city bus 031 back down to the centre. The Botanical Garden is open daily from 09:00 to 18:00 except Christmas Day, €10 over 12.

The gardens guide covers both gardens, and the guide to getting around the buses.

Common questions

How much is the Monte cable car?

€16 one way or €22 return for adults. Children up to 6 ride free and those aged 7 to 14 pay half.

How long is the cable car ride to Monte?

About 15 minutes for 3,200 m, rising about 560 m from the old town.

What time does the Monte cable car close?

It runs from 08:45 to 17:45 every day except Christmas Day.

How much is the Garajau cable car?

€5 return, from the Cristo Rei viewpoint down to the beach, 10:00 to 20:00 in summer and to 18:00 in winter.

How much is the Rancho cable car at Cabo Girão?

About €10 return to the fajãs below the cliff; it closes over the middle of the day, about 12:30 to 14:00.

Is the Rocha do Navio cable car open?

No. The Santana municipality has closed it for maintenance for an indefinite period.