5 Pros and Cons of Renting a Scooter in Bali

If you are seriously looking to travel to Bali, odds are you’ve already taken a peak at the island’s main forms of transportation. And, let’s face it: the thought of renting a scooter, whizzing through rice terraces and past tropical beaches sounds like a dream. But is it really? In the blog below, I am going to get into the nitty gritty of renting a scooter in Bali so that you can rest easy knowing you’ve learned everything there is to know when it comes to this form of transportation. I’ve weighed the positives and negatives below to help you make the best decision for you and your group. 

positives

No, really. Renting a scooter is so cheap that it’s actually hard to believe. Since other forms of currency are so strong in Bali, many travel-related expenses are going to be less expensive compared to other countries you may travel to. For example, renting a scooter in Italy is approximately $45-$90 per day. In Bali? A rental scooter is about $2-$7 a day. CRAZY RIGHT? When I found this out, I was shocked. If you factor in the fact that each scooter can fit 2 people, it is essentially $1-$3.5 per person per day. Gas is also extremely cheap, meaning that you can expect to set aside less than $10 to fill up your scooter’s tank. We got our scooters from a Bikago shop near us and could not recommend them more. They have countless locations across Bali, so you can pick up from whichever location is closest to you and drop off at a different one.

2. Quick Means of Transportation

Bali’s #1 form of transportation is scooters. This means that you're more apt to see a road packed with scooters than one packed with small vehicles. This is because with a scooter, you simply turn on the ignition, hit the gas, and you’re off. This makes going from point A to point B so easy, especially when you are traveling alone or with one other person. 

3. Extremely Fun

There’s no question about it-there’s nothing like riding a scooter in a foreign country. Just ask my brother! He mastered this two-wheel mobile in less than a day’s time. After that, he would take each person in our group for a ride every day. He would ride through small villages in the afternoon and the local rice terraces at dusk and dawn. By the time we arrived back home to American soil, he couldn’t stop talking about how great these little motorcycles were. To this day, whenever anyone asks him about Bali, one of the first things he mentions is how much he loved riding the scooters. 

4. Easy to Park

Parking a car can be tough, especially when you are visiting a country that doesn’t have the most structure when it comes to driving laws. The roads can also be narrow in certain areas, like the Nusa Penida, so opting for a scooter instead of a car can take some of that parking anxiety away. 

5. So Instagrammable

I’ll be honest with you- one of the main reasons I wanted to drive a scooter around the island is for the pictures and videos. Now that I’ve actually done it, I can confidently say that it did not disappoint. Some of my most popular Instagram pictures are of me on a Balinese scooter. 

NEGATIVES

Technically, you need an international license to drive a scooter in Bali. You can obtain this license by filling out an application and bringing that with two passport pictures and a valid driver’s license to your local AAA office. If you don’t have a passport picture, don’t worry! They can take it at the office for you. The fee is usually $20. Once you’re all set, you’ve got an international driver’s license that’s valid for one year. Congrats! 

If for some reason you don’t think you can get an international driver’s license, there is an alternative route. When renting a scooter, they don’t ask for your international driver’s license. This means that you can technically still rent one, but that if you get pulled over, you may have to bribe some corrupt Balinese cops or pay a random ticket fine that they come up with off the top of their head. Tourists often report being able to give these cops a few bucks and getting away with not having a license.

2. Hard to Drive

You might look at one of these scooters and think “How hard can that be to drive?” Well, I can tell you that if you have no experience driving a moped, scooter, or motorcycle, it is definitely harder than you think. I went to Bali with a group of six people and we rented three motorcycles as our main form of transportation for two weeks. Right when we arrived, we hopped on the motorcycles to test out our driving abilities and five out of six of us had problems. It was harder to control than we thought, and a few of us were even scared to ride them. Fortunately, my brother was able to ride one as if he’d done it all of his life, so we were able to return two scooters and keep one to practice on. By the end, I was able to ride it pretty well by myself. If you're looking for advice on how to actually drive the scooter, make sure to look at this guide I've created after my experience.

3. Bad Weather

With a car, inclement weather doesn’t really matter; it’s just annoying. But with a Balinese scooter? Driving the packed streets on a vehicle you’ve never really ridden in the rain is pretty tough. For this reason, I would advise considering the season you are traveling to Bali in. Is it wet season or dry season? If it’s going to rain every day, you might want to pay the extra money and just get a driver or rent a car and ride with a group. 

4. Few Road Signs/ Rules

When driving in Bali, you can expect virtually no road signs or rules, especially in the more rural areas. This can make driving a little harder. One tip we learned from a friend we made in Bali is to beep your horn if you are coming around a corner and can’t see the other side. In Bali, beeping your horn is like a warning with you saying “Hey, I’m coming around the corner”. It isn’t like in the United States and many other countries where beeping your horn is almost always for a derogatory reason. Another good thing to know is typically when you are coming up on a four way intersection, you’ll see a bunch of scooters that slowed down and are literally scootching their way to the direction they want to go in. This makes a big jumble but actually works out better than you would think, so be prepared! Overall, we rode scooters in both Ubud and Canggu and I think these were perfect villages to use them. The roads weren’t as narrow as other areas and the majority of the roads were paved.

5. No Storage Space

DO NOT RENT A SCOOTER AS YOUR TRANSPORTATION FROM THE AIRPORT.  I repeat, DO NOT rent a scooter to travel from the airport to your accommodation. Think about it- where will you put your luggage? Unless you have a backpack or small carry on, it’s just not possible. These scooters only have storage space underneath the seat, making it tough to ride one if you have a lot of possessions to bring you from one place to the next. Fortunately, Bali has a form of transportation known as “Grab” that is very similar to Uber so that you can go from one place to the next in a car. You can also hire a private driver, which is what I personally would do since they are so affordable. Take the car from the airport to your accommodation, and schedule with the scooter company the day and times you need the scooter(s). Most companies can set it up so that you have the scooters waiting for you at your Airbnb or hotel by the time you arrive. 

Affordable scooter rentals in bali

When it comes to affordable scooter rentals in Bali, Bikago is the way to go. During my trip, we used Bikago for our scooter rentals, and it was a fantastic experience. They offered a wide selection of well-maintained scooters at reasonable prices, making it easy for us to explore Bali on our own terms. Plus, their customer service was top-notch, ensuring a hassle-free rental process. If you're looking for a reliable and budget-friendly option for scooter rentals in Bali, Bikago is definitely worth considering.

My best advice when it comes to renting a scooter in bali

Overall, when it comes to the important decision of whether or not you should rent a scooter in Bali, there are a number of factors to take into consideration. My best advice is to think about everything outlined above and determine what is best for you and your group. Regardless of what you choose, I don’t believe you can visit Bali without at least trying to ride a scooter. It was one of our favorite things about the island, and I can't wait to ride one when we go back!