One day in Funchal from a cruise ship: what fits, what does not

Your ship docks at Pontinha, the long breakwater on the west side of Funchal bay, and you have somewhere between six and ten hours. The decision that shapes the day is whether to buy the ship's excursion or walk off and organise yourself. For Funchal, walking off is the easy call: the city centre is about a kilometre from the berth, the route is flat, and almost everything worth seeing on a short call sits within that circle or one cable car ride above it.

The excursions worth paying for are the ones that leave the city, and those are also the ones most likely to eat your entire call.

The walk into town takes 15 to 20 minutes along the waterfront, past the marina and the Santa Catarina gardens. It is level the whole way. Taxis wait at the terminal, but for the centre you will often be walking beside the taxi in traffic.

Note where your ship is on the breakwater before you set off. Pontinha is long, and a berth at the far end adds ten minutes at each end of the day.

The cable car up to Monte is what most passengers come off the ship for, and it deserves the attention. The lower station is on Rua Dom Carlos I at the eastern edge of the old town, roughly half an hour on foot from the berth. It runs daily from 08:45 to 17:45, and costs 16 euros one way or 22 euros return.

At the top there are three things: the twin-towered Monte church, whose interior is worth the climb up its steps; the Monte Palace tropical garden next to the cable car station, at 18 euros for an adult; and the toboggan.

The toboggan needs explaining before you commit to it. Two men in straw hats push a wicker sledge two kilometres down a steep public road, it costs 35 euros for two people, it runs Monday to Saturday from 09:00 to 18:00, and it is cash only, bought on the spot. What the photographs never show is where it stops. The run ends at Livramento, still well above the city, and you then need a taxi or a bus to get down to sea level. Plenty of passengers discover this with an hour left on the clock.

If you want the ride, take the cable car up on a one way ticket, do the garden and the church, ride the sledge down, and budget for the taxi at the bottom. If you would rather not gamble on that last leg, buy the return and come back the way you went up.

If you dock late, sail early, or would rather not spend the day climbing, Funchal's centre holds a full day on its own.

The Mercado dos Lavradores, the covered market, is the one fixed point: fruit, flowers and a fish hall downstairs. Go early, and treat the aggressively offered fruit samples as the sales pitch they are. From there the old town runs east along Rua de Santa Maria, where the doors have been painted by artists, and ends at the Fortaleza de São Tiago, a yellow seafront fort that now houses an art gallery.

West of the market you have the cathedral, the Sé, and the black and white cobbled square of the Praça do Município. Blandy's Wine Lodge on Avenida Arriaga runs guided tours in several languages that end with a tasting, which is the most efficient way to understand Madeira wine without committing an afternoon to it.

The back streets between these points are the real attraction. Small squares, cobbles laid in patterns, and no particular need to be anywhere.

The island's famous places are further away than the map suggests, because the roads climb.

Pico do Areeiro, Rabaçal and Porto Moniz are all genuine full day trips from Funchal, and a levada walk long enough to be worth doing will not fit either. Our guide to self-guided levada walks covers what those actually involve, and none of it is compatible with an all-aboard time. If a levada is the reason you came, that is an argument for returning on a land holiday rather than for cramming one in.

The exception is a booked excursion with the ship, which is worth the premium precisely here: if the coach is late back, the ship waits. Independent means you carry that risk yourself.

The cable car's last descent is at 17:45. Work backwards from that, not from your all-aboard time.

The toboggan is cash only, and so are some of the market stalls. Cards work almost everywhere else.

Funchal is warm at sea level and noticeably cooler at Monte, 500 metres up, where cloud sits on the hillside for much of the afternoon. Bring a layer even on a bright morning.

Sunday is quieter than it looks in the guidebooks: the toboggan does not run, and much of the retail centre is shut, though the market and the restaurants are open.

A day here shows you the harbour and the streets behind it, and very little of the island. Madeira rewards a week far more than a day: the walks, the north coast, and the mountains all need morning light and time.

If you do come back, the hills directly above Funchal are the place to stay. You get the view over the bay, cooler nights than the seafront, and you are still ten minutes from the old town. Madeira with Views has apartments in that band of the city.

How far is Funchal town from the cruise terminal? About one kilometre, a flat 15 to 20 minute walk along the waterfront. Taxis are available at the pier but rarely save time for the centre.

Is the Monte cable car worth it on a cruise call? Yes, if you have five hours or more ashore. It costs 16 euros one way or 22 euros return, runs 08:45 to 17:45, and the lower station is a short walk from the old town.

Where does the Monte toboggan actually finish? At Livramento, about two kilometres downhill from Monte and still above the city. You will need a taxi or bus for the rest of the descent, so allow for it.

Can I do a levada walk during a cruise stop? Not a worthwhile one. The trailheads are an hour or more from Funchal by road, and the shorter walks still take half a day once travel is counted.