r/azores • u/That-Structure3268 • 7d ago
madeira and azores
hi all! how easy / feasible is it to get around by a scooter on maderia and sao miguel? previous experience with riding a scooter in Pai (Thailand) and Yakushima Japan before.
visiting in nov - any urgency to purchase the hike permits in advance?
thank you!!
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u/Jolly-Statistician37 6d ago
Renting a real car will cost very little in São Miguel in November: all the excess car inventory from the summer peak is yours to rent! And you'll want the shelter from potential wind and rain.
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u/bikerguy87 6d ago
It's not bad, Madeira i havent been in a while, but my cousins all ride there, so I went around with them, you'll need a proper moto licence to rent anything larger than a 125 cc and you'll definitely need more than 125 cc to climb the hills in Madeira.
São miguel is mostly doable with a 125cc scooter but, again some hills may be a bit slow.
In November the weather can and mostly likely will be rainy at least for part of the day, rain and cobblestone streets do not mix well.
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u/randomtrip_blog 1d ago
It's possible, but I would not recommend it. The main problems are hills and unstable/bad weather (wind, rain, fog). November has higher chances of bad weather, so that is even worse for going around in a scooter.
Regarding hike permits (only in Madeira), you shouldn't have a problem in most of them, but if you want to do some of the famous ones, I wouldn't wait until the last minute (you can check the availability online)
For more info about both islands, you can check our free travel guides here:
Hope that helps!
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u/i_am_drugs_ 7d ago
i did not see any scooters in Sao Miguel. But it seemed like it would be fine - I wondered why none
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u/Vast-Media-3088 6d ago
Sao Miguel is very hilly with tight blind turns in the smaller towns. Plus the rain and wind can be very heavy. It's very cheap to rent a car so I wouldn't risk it with a scooter