# Renting a scooter in Bali: what you need to know

URL: https://mybalitourguide.com/blog/renting-a-scooter-in-bali
Date: 2026-10-27

Renting a scooter in Bali? Which licence you need, what the police check, how your insurance works and when a driver is the smarter choice.

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](/en/destinations/sidemen), [Amed](/en/destinations/amed) and [Munduk](/en/destinations/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](/en/private-driver-bali) 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](/en/practical/getting-around), 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](/en/scooter-rental-bali) through our network, with two helmets and the papers that go with it.

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Source: https://mybalitourguide.com/blog/renting-a-scooter-in-bali
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