Madeira Island Discovery - Video

 A friend has just come back from there and says apparently not, the companies which guide there are super protective over their trails and unwilling to tell you where anything is unless you are on a guided tour with them. I think the reason being is that most trails are built/maintained by them plus that is the way they make their money isn't it.

But then for me there is a limit, I mean we are all bikers in the same community and usually when someone comes along to ask you about your local trails you are stoked to tell them about it!

 Yes simply message Bikulture Madeira or Freeride Madeira via facebook they'll answer...

 You can but i would highly recommend getting a guide beacuse none of the trails are marked. In addition it's a very good idea that you shuttle to make the most of your time.there. Withoug a guide or shuttle, you could spend the whole day cycling uphill (Madiera has 3500 metres of elevation) in the (considerable) heat and not find a good trail at the top to make it worthwhile. I went with Bikulture, a small bike shop/guiding business. The main man there, Jo, is super cool, took care of us, and seemed to know all the landowners and had built many of the trails. We did some shutte runs with the locals and it was the best place I've ever ridden. Message me for any more detals, you should definitely go biking there.

 To echo the other comments... it's an amazing place to ride. However you really need a shuttle and a guide to make the most of it. Having been twice in the last 12 months I know where a lot of the trails are, but I wouldn't consider going without access to a shuttle/van. The best way for that is to use one of the local companies. It also cool to support the local companies as they put a lot of effort into maintaining and building trails.

One of my favourite places to ride!

 As the others say i think your better off getting shuttled as you will get a lot more trail riding done that way and there is riding east and west of the island and they will take you to both sides. Unless you like climbing for hours i cant see it being a great option but i might be wrong, i got a shit load of descending done in 1 week and wouldn't wanted to of wasted my time climbing to the top but everyone is different. I do a lot of climbing usually but dont think id want to here due to the descents being so cool.