A return ticket on the Monte Baldo cable car from Malcesine costs 30.00 euro for an adult, or 28.00 euro bought online, and 18.00 euro for anyone born in 2012 or later. The ride climbs from the lake shore to the Tratto Spino station at 1,760 metres in about twenty minutes, in two sections, and the summer season runs from 4 April to 1 November 2026.
The cable car is run by Funivie del Baldo from a valley station at Via Navene Vecchia 12 in Malcesine, on the Verona shore. The first section carries a standard cabin up to the intermediate station at San Michele; the second runs rotating panoramic cabins, which turn as they climb so that every passenger gets the full view down the lake. Departures are guaranteed at least every 30 minutes from 8:30, with an extra first ascent at 8:15, and the operator adds runs when traffic is heavy.
What a ticket costs
Full fares apply to anyone born up to 2011. Malcesine to Monte Baldo is 30.00 euro return and 22.00 euro one way, dropping to 28.00 and 20.00 euro when bought online. The same prices apply to the upper section alone, San Michele to Monte Baldo. The short first section, Malcesine to San Michele, is 12.00 euro return and 8.00 euro one way, or 10.00 and 6.00 euro online.
The junior rate covers anyone born in 2012 or later. Malcesine to Monte Baldo is 18.00 euro return and 15.00 euro one way, or 16.00 and 13.00 euro online. Malcesine to San Michele is 10.00 euro return and 7.00 euro one way, or 8.00 and 5.00 euro online.
Children up to 1.20 metres tall travel free, but the free ticket still has to be collected from a station ticket office, because it serves as insurance for the journey. The operator warns that it does not appear in an online purchase, so a family booking online must pick it up at the boarding gate.
Buying online saves 2.00 euro on every adult and junior ticket, which is the clearest saving available on the ride and the one worth taking before you arrive.
Dogs, prams, bikes and paragliders
A dog travels for 10.00 euro, or 8.00 euro online, as a single rate covering the return on the full Malcesine to Monte Baldo route. A muzzle and a lead are required, and the ticket office hands out the muzzle. More than one dog can travel at a time, and dogs belonging to different owners are placed in the cabin by the operator so they are kept as far apart as possible.
A pram or pushchair also costs 10.00 euro, or 8.00 euro online, and does not need to be folded.
A mountain bike with its rider pays 30.00 euro, or 28.00 euro online, as a single rate up or return. Bicycles go on specific departures at 8:25, 8:55, 14:15 and 15:15, with two more at 16:15 and 17:15 until 4 October, and the operator has 24 bicycle places an hour, so it advises booking a slot in advance.
A paraglider with pilot pays 21.00 euro, or 19.00 euro online, with a reduced rate of 13.00 euro, or 11.00 euro online, in the quieter windows from 8:15 to 9:30 and from 15:30 to 18:00, which becomes 16:00 from 5 October.
Opening hours and the October change
The summer opening period runs from 4 April to 1 November. The first ascent is at 8:15, the last ascent at 18:00 and the last descent at 18:45. From 5 October the last ascent moves to 16:00 and the last descent to 16:45, which the operator's own FAQ describes as closing being brought forward by two hours in the second and third weeks of October.
Departures are guaranteed at least every 30 minutes from 8:30, subject to the weather. In high season the operator runs more than that, but a half-hour interval is the figure to plan the last descent around, and the FAQ asks visitors to check the return timetable before they walk away from the top station.
The season dates for 2026 and 2027 are published as a summer season from 4 April to 1 November 2026, scheduled maintenance from 2 November to 25 December 2026, and a winter season from 26 December 2026 to 21 February 2027. The fares page states separately that the cable car runs all year except in March and November, which does not sit neatly with those dates, so check the operator's calendar for the week you intend to travel rather than relying on either sentence.
Discounts worth claiming
Holders of a Garda promotion card, and holders of a 1-day, 3-day or 7-day ATV Pass, get 3.00 euro off an adult return on the Malcesine to Monte Baldo route, bringing it to 27.00 euro. The discount applies only to tickets bought at the Malcesine valley station ticket desk, so it cannot be combined with the online price, which at 28.00 euro is only 1.00 euro dearer. An ATV one-day pass costs 11.00 euro, so the discount is a small bonus on a ticket bought for the buses rather than a reason to buy one.
A Prada Costabella lift ticket valid for the current season also earns 3.00 euro off an adult return, again only at the Malcesine desk. Residents of Malcesine, Brenzone and San Zeno di Montagna have their own rate at the desk on production of documents.
Groups of 20 or more pay 20.00 euro per adult for a return, with one free ticket for every 20 paid. School groups pay 10.00 euro per person below eighth grade and 15.00 euro above it, on the same one-free-in-20 basis. Group bookings go through the operator's booking platform and are only processed once payment has been made by bank transfer at least 10 working days before the visit, and they cannot be refunded or changed.
The Route of the Peaks ticket, for walkers crossing between Tratto Spino and Costabella, costs 25.00 euro, or 20.00 euro per person for groups of 20 or more. It allows either an ascent on the Malcesine cable car and a descent by the Prada Costabella lifts or the reverse.
Accessibility and disability fares
A holder of a European Disability Card with a disability assessed between 67 and 99 per cent pays 15.00 euro. A person with a 100 per cent disability and no entitlement to a companion travels free, though any companion pays the full price. A person with a 100 per cent disability who is entitled to a companion travels free with the companion also free, and both board by lift ahead of the queue.
The operator states that a disability under 100 per cent without a European Disability Card attracts no discount at present, and that documentation is needed in every case: the European Disability Card, an INPS report or a report from the first instance committee. Priority boarding is limited to the 100 per cent with-companion category, and free parking is available to holders of a disabled parking permit.
Getting there, parking and what is at the top
The valley station is at Via Navene Vecchia 12, a short walk from the Malcesine waterfront. Malcesine Castle sits in the historic centre, five minutes on foot from the station. The lower station has a covered car park on two levels with 170 spaces, and there is further paid parking near the valley station and at the San Michele intermediate station.
Capacity is larger than the queues suggest: the lower cabin to San Michele carries up to 42 people and the upper cabin to Monte Baldo up to 75.
From the Tratto Spino top station a 30-minute walk on a dirt road, or about 20 minutes along the ridge, reaches the Pra Alpesina chairlift, which drops down the Trentino side of the mountain. That chairlift can also be reached by road from the Trentino side, roughly 15 kilometres from Avio. A chair takes four skiers or two pedestrians, and children under 8 or under 1.20 metres must be accompanied by a parent.
The operator's own advice for the top is worth repeating: the ease of rising from the lake to high altitude in twenty minutes hides the fact that this is a mountain. Weather changes quickly, so bring warm layers, walking shoes, a hat, water and food, pick a path that matches your fitness, and tell someone where you are going if the walk is a long one.
