/

Locations and roads to avoid in the West of São Miguel

São Miguel is an incredible island to explore by campervan — but not every road here is made for vehicles this size.
Some of the most tempting routes in the west of the island lead through agricultural roads, steep descents, or narrow dead ends where turning around simply isn’t possible.

If you’re driving a campervan like the VW Grand California, the challenge isn’t confidence — it’s physics.

The van is long, tall, wide, and has a low slide-out step. Roads that look fine on Google Maps can quickly turn into expensive mistakes: damaged underbody, scratched sides, broken steps, or hours spent waiting for a tow truck.

In this article, we’ll walk you through specific locations and roads in the western part of São Miguel that are best avoided by campervans.

For each spot, we’ll also explain where to park safely and when walking is the smarter (and often more enjoyable) option.

Rocha da Relva (Walk the last 1 km)

We recommend walking the extra 1 km to avoid damage to the underbody and sides of the van. The road is narrow, bumpy, and not good for campervans.

Park at Miradouro do Caminho Novo and walk to Rocha da Relva.

Mosteiros → Ferraria (Avoid the farm access road)

This is a farm access road. It has no hard surface, includes steep sections, and is suitable only for tractors and pickup trucks.

Please take a detour and use the official road.

Canada Larga (Santo António → Pico do Carvão) — avoid

This road is not in the condition shown on Google Maps. It’s a single-lane track with large potholes and sections of missing tarmac along the slope — an easy way to damage the transmission or rip off the slide-out step.

Please avoid this road.

Santo António – Pilar (Bretanha / Remédios / Santa Bárbara / Pilar) — stay on EN1-1A

The roads leading down to the coast or up toward Sete Cidades may look tempting, but they’re not suitable for campervans. Most are agricultural access roads built for tractors and pickup trucks. They’re usually narrow, broken, and offer no space to turn around if you meet another car — or a cow.

In this area, it’s best to stay on the main EN1-1A.

Rent a camper

Praia da Viola — don’t drive the final steep section

Access via Miradouro Tio Domingos is a dead-end road leading to a picnic area and trailhead. The final section is very steep and narrow, with no safe space to turn around in a campervan. Park at the miradouro and walk from there. It’s a short, beautiful path — and far more enjoyable on foot than stressing over a tight uphill reverse.

Park at Miradouro do Moinhos da Tio Domingos and walk to Praia da Viola.

Cascata das Lombadas / Lombadas Valley — approach only from the south

Avoid approaching from the north — the section between Caldeiras da Ribeira Grande and Lombadas is extremely narrow, and overgrown bushes will scratch your van.

Access to Lombadas Valley is only possible from the south (via EN4-2A).

Supermarket car parks with sunshades — watch the height

Pingo Doce and some other supermarkets have metal structures or solar panels over parking spaces, and they aren’t designed for vans this tall. We’ve already had a guest drive into one while turning.

Avoid covered parking unless you’re completely sure it’s safe. Always check height signs.

If you get stuck

If you get stuck, stop and call us. Do not try to reverse aggressively or spin the wheels to get unstuck — this can seriously damage the automatic transmission or even tear off the slide-out step.

In case of any doubt or trouble, call us immediately. We’ll help arrange a recovery truck, which is cheaper, safer, and far quicker than dealing with major mechanical damage.

What’s next?

If you haven’t read it yet, we recommend starting with our introductory guide:
Get to know your campervan — where we explain how the van behaves on São Miguel roads and what to watch out for before driving.

In the next guide, we’ll cover the eastern part of the island — including narrow agricultural roads, misleading shortcuts, and locations where turning around with a campervan is harder than it looks.

👉 Roads & locations to avoid in the east of São Miguel

Rent a camper

Payment

Legal

Terms and conditions

Project funded under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) – View Project Fact Sheet

Privacy policy

View

/

Eng

PT