City Sightseeing Funchal Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour

The whole time on the bus our audio did not work, switched seats and audio still didn’t work. DID NOT hear about the city while sitting on bus for over an hour. Would like a refund for this excursion.

We booked 48hr which included red and blue lines. Red line goes to Camera del Lobos which is worth a visit, but cheaper by bolt. Blue line good for Monte gardens. We came off the blue line hoping to jump on the red bus after getting a drink at the cafe by the bus stop. Bus didn't stop however, if there's nobody visible they just keep going! We ended up walking back and we getting a bolt to our hotel. Seats on the blue line bus were cramped. Headphones didn't work for some and extremely faint audio for others. Wouldn't recommend to be perfectly honest

Bus was dirty. Driver jammed on the brakes 3 times. The oral comments were limited and not very interesting.

Great experience, I always take the same company everywhere, it is surprising though that it’s until 5pm.

It is a good way to see the island. However, you spend more time stationary than moving. No timetable as such or app to track it. In the end we sat so long on the first day. Didn’t bother on day 2 as our backs were aching. We’d suggest using the local bus service or taxis that are both very efficient.

Madeira is a beautiful island and this is a good way to see the amazing views high up. However the first bus didn’t stop so we had to wait another half an hour. You are given very cheap earphones which you plug in but my husband could only hear one side and mine didn’t work. The commentary is very poor for information. There was nothing of interest to be said. Poor value for €25 per person

Very poor did not give much information about Madeira at all. tmTook you a small circle around Funchal and that was your tour . Poor value for money. Will not do this again.

Did the essential 48h tour, the iconic is only 24h which I assume is targeted for the cruise liners that come to Funchal for a day.. the essentials extras include the blue line and two different walking tours of Funchal at 11am and 1pm.. Well worth the effort as their current walking tour guide Pedro was very knowledgeable and friendly.. They also have a night bus at 9:30pm that gives a tour of Funchal at dark that is valid with the essential tour ticket . Red line does a circuit of Funchal and visits the picturesque Camara de Lobo's (try a "Nikita" at the Pestana Churchill if you stop for a visit) it's a hop on and hopoff bus so perhaps maybe a shop at the Forum as well? The blue line is an extra with the essential tour ticket that takes you to Monte and has a stop near the famous sledges end if you slide down the road from the top . For a couple of euros extra, the VALUE ticket includes everything the essential has plus entrance to the CR7 museum and a few more discounts

Excellent experience with them! Super happy of the breathtaking views! Thanks!

We brought 48 hr ticket to do red and blue lines . Took you up to high point for views down to sea where you can get off to take photos have a drink walk around small gardens . We next got off at Camara De Lobos which is lovely fishing village had lunch here very pretty.We got off by shops on way back too. Blue line takes you to monte by the gardens and start of toboggan rides . Only downside was there is no timetable on bus stops so had a long wait (50mins) for bus after got off toboggan ride .In end got on local bus back to harbour beat the bus ! €29 pp for 48 pass . Local bus ticket €2:10

This was the worst bus tour I have taken. The audio guide was sparse and didn't relate to what we were seeing and the red route was terrible and took you to the worst bits of the centre of Funchal which is a shame as when you walked around it was great. We opted to get off rather than do the full circle as it was so bad.

Amaizing tour, nice views, great way to see the city in short time

This is a great way to see Funchal and the surrounding area. It also takes in the coastal village of Camero de Lobos. The commentary via headphones provides some interesting facts about the area. Well worth doing if it's your first visit to the area.

Very little commentary or information on the bus. Disappointed as I’m sure there is a lot to say about the city and island. We’ve used buses like this on many cities and this was very poor. I suggest the company add more information to the tour.

The issues were the headphones did not work in some of the sockets, moved seats and still nothing. Other passengers having same problem. Very bumpy ride away from the harbour area. Bus driver skills not the best so overall disappointing. For 26 euros each and cash only this should have been a lot better.

We have used the big red bus in many cities and always enjoyed the experience. But this was different. First was the cost, at 26Euros it was 7 Euros more expensive than its yellow competitor, so we expected it to be considerably better. It wasn’t. The plug in headphones only worked on certain base units. The spoken description started late so what little description there was came after the bus had passed the point being described and even then, the description was absolutely minimal. Every bus we’ve been on before has told us about the place, the people, the history and provided lots of information. Not this trip. Most buses tell you what stops are being approached and what attractions will be there, how long the bus will stop if it’s going to be there for any time and when the next bus will be along. None of those snippets of information on this trip. There were two random long duration stops and in between stops lots of strange music. This was by far the most disappointing big red open top bus tour we have ever been on. So much for paying the extra to get a quality experience.

Having had a good experience of these tours in other countries, we found this cery poor value for money. The pre-recorded commentary was sparse, with lots of music playing when they could have provided information, background and context. The commentary did not always match the progress of the bus, so we did not know what we were looking at. The frequency of buses to and from the gardens at Monte (one of the key attractions and truly spectacular) at 45 minute intervals is inadequate and we ended up returning on a local service bus which was vastly cheaper and more frequent. Tip: do some research before you visit, and use local buses to get around Funchal .

Very disappointing experience. The audio commentary was either crackly, impossible to understand, or not working at all, defeating the main purpose of a sightseeing tour. On our first day, the bus broke down and we were left waiting 40 minutes in the heat with no shade, causing us to miss planned activities. On the second day, the Blue Line bus did not follow the timetable shown in the app, meaning we missed it completely and couldn’t experience that route. Drivers also moved off before elderly passengers were seated. Poor value and far below usual expectations for City Sightseeing

We can't complain too much as we got our tickets for free in the end, in return for a tour of a Pestana hotel, but had I paid for them, I would have been very disappointed. The blue route, is essentially a drive up the hill through narrow streets unsuitable for buses. They pause at the top and then a drive down again, much of it via the same route we had gone up. We have done these who is in many cities around the world; this commentary was the least informative we have experienced, reflecting that actually on the blue route there isn't a great deal to talk about! We had to look up a few things, worthy of comment, but ignored. The red route was rather better, but still took in some fairly long stretches of fast raod with nothing said, but at least gave a sense of the city and its history.

Red Bus driver was a bad driver. The audio was minimal and didn’t give many details. Blue bus the audio kept cracking up and the volume won’t go up.

We have been to Madeira before and had done a private comprehensive tour. This visit was on a transatlantic cruise and Madeira was our first port after 8 days at sea. We definitely needed to get off the ship and the hop on and off bus was a good option for us. The bus was easy to find and provided a basic overview of the city. We did not get off the bus but did the entire red loop. We still had time to enjoy lunch and a drink in town before getting back to the ship. It’s just a basic tour but can provide a relaxing over view of the city which worked for us on this visit.

HOP on HOP off's are a great way to get an excellent overview of a location. This one was no exception. No problems encountered. Good experience.

I’ve taken Hop on Hop Off in several cities and this one lacked the quality of the others. Possibly because the area didn’t have as many features as other cities?

We had a 48h ticket and went both with red and blue line. The buses goes every 45 minutes, so if you go off it's lot's of waing time, you never know when next bus will arrive. The buses are very noisy in lot of up-hills in Funchal. We went by at least five different buses, the audio system didn't work in any of them.

Honestly not really worth it. One good stop in Camara de Lobos but apart from that was in stop start traffic seeing built up parts of Funchal.

Route was good. Commentary was sparse and was often "# of stop only"...if at all. When we did have have some description it was often out of sync with what we could actually see....tending to be a couple of minutes before we got to that view.....if at all.

Funchal is beautiful and the sights provided on the bus route are wonderful. There is not much commentary though. I wish there had been more verbal descriptions of the sights.

When I clicked on the Get Boarding Pass link on the confirmation page, it said to check my email and then it would be available. There was nothing in my email for this excursion. Even though I had a paid confirmation I could not get on the bus (which was empty) and lost my money for this. I would appreciate a refund.

City Sightseeing continues to provide excellent service and routes to enhance awareness to visitors.

Far too expensive. Only available for a few hours per day.. - Which does not give you much time to actually 'see anything'!..- We stayed on the bus to do the full loop on the 'red line'.. - then took the blue line up to Monte.. - Spent a little while up there.. - BUT THEN HAD TO WAIT ABOUT 1 HOUR AND 15 MINUTES for a bus to take us back down to the centre!!.. - It would be much better AND CHEAPER to simply take the 'regular buses' to visit the places which you are interested in!..- as they are very frequent

I have been on lots of 'Red Bus'Tours in different countries and this was by far the worst. It was impossible to hear the commentary on the blue route as music was playing loudly all the way through. The English commentary on the red route was almost non existent. It repeated itself at various points. Didn't point out more than 2 or 3 places of interest and was mostly music. Tonight we went on the night tour. The brochure states its an hour's tour, we were back at the start within 30 minutes and there was no commentary. The driver drove so fast we thought he must be late for his dinner!! If you didn't happen to be looking at the correct side of the bus when it went past a view of the city lights, you'd have missed them The one bonus was the guided walking tour of the city. Our guide was brilliant, funny and informative. Shame the bus commentary wasn't the same.

This is a great way to see the main sights and attractions in Funchal. The only catch is that they sell you a ticket for 24 hours but the bus only operates from 10am to 6pm. It is $25 Euro each person and is an inexpensive way to get around. Even if you buy tickets online you have to make the queue to get the paper ticket. Some people were not happy about that. You will be waiting about 20 to 30 minutes at each stop unless you get lucky and happen to catch it at the right time. There is really no set schedule for each stop.

Didn't stop at some stops shown on the map. Commentary wa inaudible on Red route buses we went on. Blue route bus commentary was slightly better but male voice was inaudible.

We got on a blue bus and after a couple of minutes we realised that all the languages are very loud except English. We tried several seats and another man on the bus said that he can’t hear anything of the English audio. We asked for help from the driver and go said it’s a system problem and he can’t do anything about it, to which I said in that case we’ll require a full refund. He stopped in the middle of the road, angrily tried to somehow prove we’re wrong, and when he realised the audio indeed is not working, he told us to get off the bus and find one where the audio is working. In the middle of a random road, not at a bus stop, in the middle of the road. As an experienced traveller I must say this was really a new low.

My husband and i usually use this transport to hear about the city we are in and fab to be able to get on and off fantastic stops. Only thing i would say is if doing the blue route in Funchal Maderia and go to Monte Topical gardens ask when the bus arrives again as potentially you will have a long wait. But scenery on red and blue routes are fantastic! Steep winding roads, skilled drivers! Fab!

Bruno Barros has jokes 😃 Very funny guy and very professional. Always with a smile and very thoughtful. Felled very safe during all journey. 😊

Absolutely amazing experience! Bruno was fabulous!! Highly recommend!! We definitely will be back! Madeira is like heaven on the earth!! Love it!

Excellent way to see the city, my only complaint would be the lack of information at the cruise terminal as to where to meet the Red Bus agent or the shuttle from the port to stop number 1 on the route.

We did the red hop on hop off tour. The commentary wasn't working for us or anyone else on the bus. We got the bus driver to stop the bus and check the sound system. He was unable to fix it, so we had to continue in silence. We tried to register a complaint with the jokers at the bus stand, when we got back. They didn't want to know. They told us to scan the barcode to register a complaint. All we got was a barcode number. WHAT A SCAM. DON'T USE THESE PEOPLE. USE SOMEONE ELSE.

We always go on a hop off bus when available on our travels as find it a good way to learn some facts about the area and to gain an insight on distances to attractions and what is actually available so have been on lots. We purchased a 48hr ticket as the blue route went to Monte so the plan was to do the x2 route on two consecutive days. We did the red route on the 1st day of the tour. The commentary was very limited and wasn't in sync with the actual position of the bus. This is the 1st tour ever that we have encountered this issue. The blue route on our 2nd day had no commentary at all which came as a shock as nowhere in the leaflet or online this information was given for this reason we just used the blue route to get us back into Funchal and we didn't stop on it to do a circular due to lack of commentary. This is probably the worst bus tour that we have been on and got off feeling very disheartened. Don't waste your money on this tourist attraction. There was also a yellow bus tour which I overheard people say it was better but it takes exactly the same route so I would advice you to look at review for the yellow bus tour before making your mind up. This experience hasn't stopped us looking forward to this attraction in other cities on our travel bucket to do list as we have had some fabulous tours.

Excellent way of viewing the southern part of the island and to make an informed decision as to where you might want to hop off. Good value.

I used the red hop on hop off bus initially to take me to Monte so I could experience the wicker basket toboggan ride. On the way I learned about the history of the island and the city via the on bus commentary. The bus dropped me off close to the start of the toboggan ride and picked me up again at the end point. Included in the ticket was a night bus experience where the I got to see Funchal from the bus at sunset. The driver of the bus was excellent and helpful.

The timetable on the website didn’t match what was running. I was told the website was incorrect. This resulted in us having to get a taxi.

This is a must thing to do in every city or country I go to. Especially good with the young kids as well aged 7 & 3. Can sit back and relax while seeing some sites on route. Also a good chance to hop off and see attractions as well 2 in 1 and plan your day accordingly. We ended up getting the value package which includes everything and free entry to the CR7 museum. The only thing was we didn’t know what time it finished so when we got back to the 1 stop near the CR7 museum. We saw a driver and he told us it’s finished. By this time it was coming to 7 so luckily got a bus back to our hotel extra cost but not that expensive. We didn’t see the timings on the map maybe we missed it. Good thing the buses runs every 20 mins the longer route I thinks it’s ever 30 or hour. Highly recommend.

Amazing trip with Mauro very helpful and excellent customer service made it a very good experience would highly recommend

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Mauro made my day unforgettable! I had the absolute pleasure of having Mauro as the driver on the sightseeing bus in Madeira, and he truly made the whole experience something special. He’s not just good at his job — he’s warm, welcoming, and full of positive energy. You can see how much he loves the island, and it shows in the way he shares little stories and brings the journey to life. It didn’t feel like just a tour — it felt personal. Even with the tricky roads of Madeira, I always felt completely safe with Mauro behind the wheel. He drove with calm, confidence, and always had a smile on his face. Thank you, Mauro, for the amazing ride and for sharing your love for Madeira so genuinely. I’ll never forget it.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to driver Mauro, who led our trip with professionalism, kindness, and great competence. His safe driving, punctuality, and attention to detail made the experience even more peaceful and enjoyable. Furthermore, his friendliness and willingness to help at all times made all the difference in our trip. He is a true example of dedication and care for passengers. Without a doubt, a professional who raises the standard of tourism in Madeira!

Having done these tours in quite a few places we were very dissatisfied in this. It’s little more that a standard bus tour, not really showing you any sights just randomly driving around. There is practically no commentary just Madeiran music so you learn almost nothing. Was around £55 for 2 of us, certainly wouldn’t recommend

The buses were clean and were fairly frequent. The bus stopped right by our hotel which was useful. The Pestana out of Funchal. Useful for getting to the two botanical gardens at the Monte and for the basket run. The commentary was not as good as some tours we have done, they seemed to be talking about a place ahead of us reaching the point.