Monte Toboggan Rides: What Age Actually Works for Kids?
Updated October 1, 2026 · 8 min read
The short answer: there is no single age. Operators set different limits, and the one that counts is on the booking page in front of you. What decides it is the child, not the birthday – school-age children who enjoy fast fairground rides love the two kilometres down from Monte, children who hesitate at a carousel will not. The second thing to plan is the way back, because the basket stops in Livramento and not in the old town. For families, the simplest way to have both sorted is the guided tour through Nun’s Valley, Monte and the toboggan ride: 44 €, 4 hours, with transport and the return leg included.
See prices and dates for the Nun’s Valley, Monte and toboggan ride tour
There’s no photo taken more often in Funchal: a basket on runners, two men in white with straw hats, a street sloping downhill. The carros de cesto are the city’s best-known attraction – and the one parents are most often unsure about. Not because too little has been written about it, but because most of what’s out there sells the ride instead of describing it.
What Actually Happens
The sledge is a woven wicker basket on two wooden runners. A bench seat for two, sometimes three people, a canopy overhead, and nothing else: no straps, no doors, no wheels. It’s pushed and steered from behind. Two carreiros – white clothing, straw hats, rubber soles – take a run-up, jump on, run alongside, pull on ropes and dig their soles into the asphalt when it picks up speed. The brake is the shoe. That’s not an anecdote, you see it for the whole ride.
And the point brochures tend to leave out: the route isn’t a track or a closed-off course, it’s a normal public road open to traffic, running through a residential area, with walls at the edge and side streets joining it. Anyone picturing that and thinking “not with my child, ever” has found a legitimate answer.
Two Kilometres – And Then You’re Standing in Livramento
The ride runs from Monte down to Livramento, around two kilometres. Estimates of the duration vary between sources, from just over five to about ten minutes – plan for the shorter figure.
Then comes the part many people don’t have on their radar: you’re not in the old town. Livramento sits a fair way above the centre. From there you continue downhill on foot, by bus or by taxi – vehicles usually wait there. The way back is its own item on the itinerary and needs planning for with tired children. On a guided tour it’s usually included; check the description of what’s covered.
The Minimum Age Is on the Booking Page
We deliberately give no figure here. Operators set different limits, and whatever applies to your booking is stated on its booking page. Anyone travelling with a young child should ask in writing beforehand – including how many people are allowed in one basket and whether a parent can sit next to the child.
More useful than a number anyway is an honest read of your own child. Three questions that help:
- Does it enjoy fairground rides, or does it prefer not to get on?
- How does it react when something is loud and fast and it has no control?
- Does it sit still when two strangers stand close behind it?
Anyone hesitating on two of these already has their answer – and saves themselves an unhappy morning.
What Kids Like – And What Scares Them
The speed is the appeal. It jolts, it rattles, the runners are loud, you can feel the descent, and the carreiros turn it into a small show. School-age children who like roller coasters find it great – and it’s short enough that boredom never sets in.
The other side: the basket is open and has no strap, you sit low, and the roadside is close. Some children pick up on exactly that. On top of that, the ride can’t be paused if a child changes their mind halfway through – unlike a hike, where you can simply turn around.
On nausea, sun exposure or serious fear we give no advice – talk that through with the local pharmacy or your paediatrician beforehand.
The Way Up Is Part of the Decision
Monte sits around 550 metres above the city. You can get up by cable car, by bus, by taxi or in your own car. For many families the cable car is the nicer part of the day – for children sensitive to heights, the harder one.
And Madeira’s most important rule applies on this short stretch too: the weather in Funchal and up above is different. Anyone setting off in a T-shirt down below may find fog and wind waiting in Monte – a jacket belongs in the bag, even in July. Why the island behaves this way is explained in our piece on the weather in Funchal versus the mountains; what else there is to see up there and in the city is covered in what to see in Funchal.
Four Ways to Ride the Baskets
| Tour | Duration | From | Rating | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nun’s Valley, Monte and the toboggan ride | 4 hours | 44 € | 4.7 (2,079) | Families who want transport and the way back taken care of |
| Guided tuk-tuk to the toboggans and the old town | 1h 30m | 33 € | 4.8 (1,046) | Couples and families who want the ride plus a short city loop |
| Private tuk-tuk, toboggan plus old town | 1h 50m | 33 € | 4.9 (460) | Small groups who want their own pace |
| Private tuk-tuk up to Monte and back into town | 1h 30m | 40 € | 4.8 (107) | Parents who want the shortest possible outing with one child |
The two 33 € options cost the same but are not the same thing: the first is a shared guided tour of an hour and a half, the second a private one of an hour and fifty. The last row is the one whose description promises the ride back into the centre of Funchal – which is exactly the problem Livramento creates.
See availability for the guided tuk-tuk tour to the toboggans
Price, Photos and the Honest Maths
Let’s be clear: this is a short ride for your money. We don’t quote a price for the ride on its own, because the operator sets it by the number of riders – it’s shown on the respective booking page.
What we can confirm: the guided tour through Nun’s Valley, Monte and the toboggan ride costs 44 €, lasts 4 hours and comes with 4.7 stars from 2,079 reviews. That includes transport, the way back and half a day of programme – for families often the better sum than the ten minutes alone.
Part of putting it in perspective: yes, this is a tourist attraction – but not since yesterday. The baskets have been running since the 1850s, and they started as a means of transport, getting Monte’s residents quickly down into the city. What looks like a performance today is what’s left of an everyday routine.
Someone photographs every basket along the way; the pictures are offered for sale at the bottom. You don’t have to buy them.
When It’s a Bad Idea
- With very young children – regardless of what any single operator allows.
- With anxious children who already hesitate at carousels. The basket can’t be stopped.
- If you’re expecting seatbelts and a closed-off course. Neither exists here.
- If the price feels too high for so few minutes.
On accessibility: what’s possible is stated by the operator alone – get it confirmed in writing before booking. We make no claims about it here.
Our Recommendation
For most families: the guided tour through Nun’s Valley, Monte and the toboggan ride, 44 € for 4 hours. Not because the ride is better that way, but because the two awkward parts – getting up to Monte and getting back from Livramento – are already solved, and half a day of programme makes the ten minutes feel less like an expensive photo stop.
See prices and dates for the Nun’s Valley, Monte and toboggan ride tour
On a small budget, or with little time: the guided tuk-tuk tour to the toboggans and the old town, 33 € for an hour and a half – the lowest price in the table, matched only by the private tuk-tuk at the same 33 €. It still answers the transport question.
With one small child, or if someone is tired: the private tuk-tuk ride up to Monte and back into town, 40 €, an hour and a half, no group to keep up with.
For whom none of this is: anyone with a child who hesitates at carousels, anyone who needs belts and a closed course, and anyone who finds the price too high for the minutes involved. The honest alternative is the cable car up to Monte, the gardens, and the bus back – no booking needed.
Related Reading
Things to Do in Funchal – 61 offers from 9 €, median 48 €. This is where the tours including Monte and the toboggan ride are listed.
Private Tours – 20 offers from 36 €, median 162.50 €. Often the more relaxed option with children: your own pace, and the way back is sorted.
Levada Walks – 153 offers from 16.50 €. If ten minutes of thrill isn’t your family’s style: the best levada walk with kids and Pico do Areeiro with kids.
