This route is suggested as it tries to avoid the midday crowds at the cable car and toboggan run. For lunch, there is a better selection of restaurants and cafes in downtown Funchal than in Monte.For the final stage of the day, you are relatively close to the ferry terminal without the...
BUT there are lots of other buses that will stop en route to/from further away places. I’d say there is a bus every 20 mins or so most of the day- download one of the travel apps (Moovit worked for me) and follow that. I went into Funchal and back everyday, day and ...