Short answer: a scooter in Bali costs 700,000–1,200,000 IDR a month plus roughly 100,000–150,000 in petrol. That is the best value purchase on the island — it turns a 25-minute wait into a 6-minute ride and it is why nobody here needs a car. It is also the most common reason a Bali stay ends early, and the insurance situation is worse than most people assume.
Last checked: 12 August 2026. Prices in Indonesian rupiah. Rates rise in July, August and around Christmas, and vary by area — Canggu and Uluwatu run higher than Ubud and Sanur.
Prices
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Daily (1–3 days) | 70,000–100,000 IDR |
| Weekly | 350,000–600,000 IDR |
| Monthly, standard automatic (110–160cc) | 700,000–1,200,000 IDR |
| Monthly, larger or newer (PCX, NMAX, ADV) | 1,300,000–2,500,000 IDR |
| 3+ months, negotiated | 15–25% below monthly |
| Petrol | ~100,000–150,000 IDR/month |
| Helmet (buy your own) | 250,000–500,000 IDR |
| Phone holder | 50,000–120,000 IDR |
| Rain poncho | 30,000–80,000 IDR |
| Surfboard rack | 150,000–350,000 IDR |
| Deposit (varies wildly) | 0–2,000,000 IDR or passport |
The arithmetic: ten days at the daily rate is 700,000–1,000,000 IDR — the same as a full month. If you are staying two weeks or more, never take a daily rate.
Which bike: a standard 110–125cc automatic (Scoopy, Vario, Beat) does everything most people need and is easiest to park and handle. Go up to a PCX or NMAX only if you are two-up regularly or riding the Bukit's hills daily. A bigger engine also pushes you into the exclusion clause of some insurance policies — check yours first.
The licence question, straight
The legal position: to ride legally in Indonesia you need a motorcycle licence recognised here. For most visitors that means your home motorcycle licence plus an International Driving Permit with the motorcycle category endorsed, obtained in your home country before you travel. A car licence alone does not cover a motorcycle. Indonesia also issues a temporary local permit ("SIM Turis" style arrangements) at some police offices, though availability and process change.
The practical position: most rental shops will hand you a key without asking for anything. Police checks happen, more in some areas and seasons than others, and an on-the-spot fine is the usual outcome.
Why it matters far more than the fine: insurance. See below.
Rules that are actually enforced and actually matter: helmet on, headlight on, licence and vehicle registration (STNK) with you, and no phone in your hand. Two of those are also the ones that keep you alive.
Insurance — read this part twice
This is the section people skip and then regret.
- Rental agreements rarely cover you meaningfully. Most cover the bike, partially, and not your body.
- Many travel and nomad insurance policies exclude motorcycle accidents unless you hold a valid motorcycle licence and were wearing a helmet. Some exclude engines above a stated size. Some exclude riding entirely as standard and sell it as an add-on.
- Read the motorcycle clause of your own policy before you ride, and if it needs an add-on, buy the add-on. It is typically a small amount per month against a catastrophic downside.
- Local clinic care is cheap (200,000–500,000 IDR a visit) and genuinely competent for road rash and stitches. International-standard hospital care and medical evacuation are not — that is a five-figure number in dollars, and it is precisely what insurance exists for.
Road injuries are the most common thing that ends a Bali stay early. Not visas, not money, not burnout. Scooters.
Before you ride off: the ten-minute check
Do this in front of the rental shop, every time, and film it on your phone.
- Brakes. Front and back, separately, rolling the bike by hand.
- Tyres. Tread depth and sidewall cracks. Bald tyres in wet season are how people go down.
- Lights. Headlight, brake light, both indicators.
- Horn. Non-negotiable here; it is how people communicate on these roads.
- Mirrors — both present and adjustable. Many rentals have one or none.
- Seat compartment and lock work.
- Film a full walkaround showing every existing scratch and dent, with the shop visible. This is your deposit protection.
- Check the STNK (registration) is in the bike and current. Riding without it is a fine.
- Ask what happens if it breaks down — who fixes it, who pays, do they deliver a replacement.
- Agree the deposit terms in writing, including what counts as damage.
On passports: some shops ask to hold your passport. Do not leave it. Offer a copy, a cash deposit, or find another shop — there are hundreds. This is the single most common way people lose leverage in a dispute.
Riding in Bali, honestly
- Traffic flows by negotiation, not by rules. Everyone merges continuously. Be predictable, be slow, use the horn as a "here I am" rather than an insult.
- The 4–7pm window in Canggu and south Bali is dense, hot and where most low-speed collisions happen.
- Wet season roads are genuinely dangerous — oil comes up in the first ten minutes of rain, and unsealed lanes turn to mud. Pull over and wait out the heaviest bursts; they are usually short.
- The Bukit's roads are steep, narrow and single-lane in places. Not where to learn. Neither is central Ubud.
- Dogs, potholes, and trucks reversing without looking. Assume all three.
- Never ride in flip-flops with a board under your arm as your first Bali experience. Board racks cost 150,000–350,000 IDR.
- Do not ride after drinking. Obvious, routinely ignored here, and the single biggest risk factor in the accident stories you will hear.
Where to rent
| Option | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Street-side shops | Lowest | Negotiate, inspect carefully, best for monthly |
| Villa or guesthouse | Convenient, mid | Easy, sometimes older bikes |
| Delivery services / apps | Mid-high | Delivered to you, newer fleet, clearer terms |
| Long-term rental agencies | Best for 3+ months | Maintenance included, cleaner paperwork |
For a month or more, the agencies that include servicing usually win despite the higher headline price — a bike that gets an oil change is a bike that does not strand you in Kerobokan.
Negotiate. Monthly rates are not fixed. Three months paid together typically gets 15–25% off, and low season gets more.
Good for / skip if
Get a scooter if: you are staying more than a week, you are in Canggu, Pererenan, Uluwatu or Ubud, you have ridden before, or you are willing to spend two days learning on quiet roads first.
Skip it if: you have never ridden anything and your base is central Ubud or the Bukit — both are bad places to learn. Sanur is flat and quiet enough to learn in, and Gojek and Grab cost 15,000–30,000 IDR a ride, so a no-scooter month in Sanur is entirely viable.
Where the money leaks
Scooter rental follows the same rule as everything else in Bali: the advertised rate is the tourist rate, and the resident rate exists but is never displayed. Monthly is 40–60% below daily multiplied out. Three months together is another 15–25% off. Ask, always.
The same pattern runs through your whole week — gyms and yoga studios price weekly and multi-class passes 30–50% below drop-ins, spa slots in the empty 1–4pm window run 30–50% under the 6pm price, coworking spaces have unlisted weekly rates, and bars run 2-for-1 windows from about 4pm to 7pm that close before most people sit down.
Last Call Bali tracks what venues across Canggu, Pererenan, Ubud, Seminyak, Uluwatu and Sanur are discounting right now, with a direct WhatsApp line to the venue. No commission, no booking fee, no card details, and the venue keeps 100% of what you spend.
See what's discounted near you today →
Related
- Cost of living in Bali — three monthly budgets
- Monthly rent in Bali by area
- Where to base yourself in Bali as a nomad
- Berawa vs Batu Bolong vs Pererenan — includes measured traffic times
How this page is verified
Rental prices come from contacting shops and agencies directly across Canggu, Ubud, Uluwatu and Sanur, cross-checked against what current residents report paying, and re-checked monthly. Ranges rather than single figures, because scooter rental is negotiated and seasonal.
On licences and insurance: the legal requirements and enforcement practice around riding in Indonesia change, and what your policy covers is specific to your policy. Nothing here is legal or insurance advice — verify the current requirement with an official source and read your own policy's motorcycle clause before you ride. We flag this rather than quoting a rule that may have moved.
