Why automatic matters more here than elsewhere
These roads have longer, steeper switchback sections than most of the island’s driving, and it’s exactly the terrain where a scooter or manual gearbox asks more of the rider — braking into tight bends on a downhill grade, managing engine braking on a two-wheeler loaded with luggage. An automatic car takes a meaningful amount of that workload off your hands, which is part of why we’d point a less experienced driver toward one for these specific routes.
Going downhill, use the engine, not just the brakes
Riding the brakes continuously on a long descent — rather than dropping to a lower gear and letting the engine slow you — is how brakes overheat and lose effectiveness, on a scooter or a car. Shift down before the steepest section starts, not partway through it, and you’ll rarely need to touch the brakes hard at all.
These roads get busiest at predictable times
Expect more traffic, and a wider mix of it — tour vans, local commuters, scooters two and three abreast — around the start and end of the working day and whenever a viewpoint along the route is catching a good sunset. If you can shift your drive earlier or later, the road is genuinely easier to handle with less traffic sharing it.
Pull over properly if you want the view
The temptation to slow down for the view from a switchback is real, especially on Kata Hill and the Big Buddha road — but doing it in the traffic lane rather than at one of the marked viewpoints is how a slow-down becomes someone else’s near-miss. Use a proper pull-off, even if it means going a little further than you’d like.