PR11 Vereda dos Balcões
Santana
- Outdoors
- From 4
- Children free
- Booking required
A kilometre and a half each way, flat, along a levada through laurel forest to a railed balcony facing the island's highest peaks - the walk that actually works with a five-year-old.
Wide, level and repeatedly called the easiest classified trail on the island; a sturdy big-wheeled pushchair gets all the way, or nearly. At the viewpoint tame chaffinches land on the handrail and will take food from a hand, which occupies a small child for as long as you let it. There is a café at the trailhead as a bail-out.
Worth knowing: Book the earliest slot the night before, put the children on the booking even though they are free, and take a fleece: at 870 metres Ribeiro Frio is cold and wet on a day when Funchal is not.
Opening hours
The operator publishes no opening hours. Phone before you drive.
Prices
4.50 € a head from age 13 since January 2026, free for children of 12 and under - who must still be named on the booking. About 3 € a head if you walk it with a certified guide.
Getting there
Prices and opening times change without notice, and on this island they change often. Everything here carries the date it was checked in our research notes; if a place has moved or closed, tell us and we will fix it.
