Renting a scooter in Bali: what you need to know

Everyone in Bali seems to ride a scooter. The rental place on the corner hands you the key without asking anything, for a few euros a day. What they don't tell you: with only a car licence you are probably riding around uninsured. Here is how it works.

Which licence do you need?

For a 125cc scooter, which almost all rental scooters are, you need two things:

• A motorcycle licence (category A) from the Netherlands or Belgium. A car licence (B) is not enough.
• An international driving permit with category A on it. In the Netherlands you apply at the ANWB, in Belgium at your local council. It costs a few tens of euros and is quickly done; do sort it out before you leave, because you can't get one in Bali.

Also bring your regular licence, and make sure the rental place gives you the registration papers (STNK).

What the police check

Especially in Canggu, Seminyak, Kuta, Uluwatu and around Ubud, the police hold regular checks, often in the morning at big junctions. If you are missing a document, you pay a fine of IDR 300,000 to 500,000 (about €15 to €25) for each missing document. Without a helmet, add IDR 250,000. Fines add up.

The real risk: your insurance

The fine is not the problem. An accident is. Travel insurers often won't pay medical costs after a scooter accident if you didn't have a valid licence for that vehicle. A hospital stay in Bali, or repatriation, quickly runs into thousands of euros. Read your policy conditions before you leave.

Where riding is nice, and where it isn't

• Nice: the back roads around Sidemen, Amed and Munduk, and quiet villages in the east and north. Little traffic, beautiful roads.
• Not nice: the south. From the airport to Canggu or Uluwatu you ride with hundreds of scooters between buses and lorries.
• Watch out for: sand and gravel on bends, dogs on the road, afternoon rain (especially from November to March) and steep mountain roads.

Alternatives

• A driver. Dek Leonk takes you wherever you want from about €45 per day, and knows where to stop along the way.
• A scooter with a rider. Through Gojek or Grab, in the south and around Ubud.
• A bicycle or e-bike. Around Ubud and Sidemen there are beautiful routes, also with a guide.

Want to ride yourself, with the right papers? Then we arrange a good scooter through our network, with two helmets and the papers that go with it.