There are many low cost island coach tours and the chance to see the island from a balloon or helicopter. In a tethered balloon 150 meters above the famous Beatle's boat next to Funchal marina, you will experience the trip of a lifetime and enjoy commanding views.
Monte is easy to access by cable car. The Monte Cable Car Station is located in the Old Town, in the Largo Almirante Reis. The eight seater cabins take just 11 minutes to cover the 6km journey and the views are fabulous. To return to Funchal there is a bumpy, twenty minute, toboggan ride. This is a wicker basket on metal runners steered and propelled by able-bodied men. For more info click here.
Monte has a tropical garden with 100,000 plants from around the world, grottoes, fountains, ornamental bridges, pagodas, streams and ponds, stocked with koi. It is open Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 17:00 hours. There is also a simpler Municipal Garden near the town square which is open the same hours and is free. There is also the twin-towered Church of our Lady of Monte to view and many beauty spots.
The Madeira Story Centre in Funchal, which shows Madeira’s history and development up to the present day is located in the Old Town opposite the Monte Cable Car Station open daily from 09.00 to 20.00 hrs.
Madeira theme Park – Parque Tematico da Madeira at Santana, on the north east coast, has something for everyone. There are excellent exhibitions giving information on the discovery of Madeira and Porto Santo, their history, traditions and culture. Children can row boats on the lake, enjoy the climbing frames and trampoline area, or take a trip through the park on the Monte train.
Madeira is often called ‘the floating garden in the Atlantic’ and there are many beautiful gardens to see, or it may be better just to hire a car and travel into the countryside to see the wild garden of Madeira with hydrangeas and agapanthus growing along the roadside.
The Monte Palace Tropical Gardens exhibit tiles amongst the tropical vegetation representing several ages from palaces, churches and private houses throughout the former Portuguese empire.
Quinta Magnolia offers a beautiful garden plus several sports facilities. There is an open-air swimming pool, tennis courts, a jogging circuit along the river valley, a children’s playground and a café. Entrance to the garden is free but there is a charge for using the swimming pool and squash and tennis courts.
There are gardens at Quinta das Cruzes, Quinta Vigia, Santa Catarina Park, Quinta Palmeira and Quinta do Palheiro Ferreiro. There is an Orchid Garden and at the centre of the small town of Sao Vicente there is a garden dedicated to the indigenous floral species of the island.
The Volcanism Centre is located in Sao Vicente, a charming village on Madeira’s north coast. The centre provides an audiovisual demonstration of volcanic eruptions and the birth of an island and a visit to Sao Vicente’s volcanic caves, composed of 700 metres of tunnels with stalactites and stalagmites which take about thirty minutes to view.