So, you’ve decided to come to Bali and you’re going to Canggu and the next thing on your mind if renting a scooter? OK, cool.
Canggu is an amazing place and there’s no doubt that if you want to rent a scooter in this part of the island, it’s pretty easy to do.
But before you decide to jump on a Honda Scoopy or to take that Yamaha for a spin, we’d encourage you to read our guide – we’ll share the good and the bad of scooter rental here in Canggu (and Bali as a whole) before you shell out for a motorbike.
OK, Why Would You Want To Rent A Scooter In Canggu?
It’s easy to decide that because you’re in Canggu, renting a scooter is mandatory. You’re going to see locals, expats and tourists galore winding down the lanes, through traffic and speeding out into the rice fields of the area.
There’s almost no public transport, except for the FINNS and Grab shuttle bus around the Berawa Beach area, and walking and cycling are a serious challenge in the area.
Taxis are no fun to deal with anywhere on the island. While you can flag one down in Canggu or find one outside most of the popular spots in the area – you may have to haggle over rates as they often won’t use their meters and it’s possible to reach your destination to be told that your trip cost way more than you’d agreed upon.
So, we definitely understand the appeal of scooter rental, though we would note that Grab/Gojek (Bali’s equivalent of Uber) offer similar levels of freedom and won’t cost much more than using a scooter.
However, scooters are often more convenient and give you the opportunity to explore the island at your own pace.
OK, Why Would You NOT Want To Rent A Scooter In Canggu?
If we don’t sound too enthusiastic about renting a scooter here in Canggu, that’s because, frankly, we’re not.
There are two big reasons that we don’t recommend that people opt for scooter rental as their mode of transport here on the island. For us, they outweigh all the arguments about “freedom” and “cost” too.
The Legal Side Of Things
If you want to drive a scooter legally in Bali, you’re required to do a few things:
- You must have a driving license from your country (or country of residence) that is both current and has a motorbike endorsement on it. If you have a license for cars only, you cannot be road-legal here in Indonesia.
- You must also have a current International Driver’s Permit (some may think of this as an International Driving License but there’s no such thing in practice) issued by the appropriate authority in the same country you have a valid license from. Again, if you don’t have this you’re not road legal.
- You must also be appropriately attired (that is you must not be shirtless and you must wear a helmet at all times) to be road-legal.
- You must not be under the influence of alcohol to be road-legal here.
The thing is that for many tourists, these requirements are simply not something that they can adhere to. Unfortunately, many scooter rental businesses in Canggu, Bali don’t care if you’re legal or not. They will let you pick-up and ride a bike without being road-legal.
This leads you to belive that it must be fine to be riding on the roads here. Sadly, this isn’t the case and if you’re caught driving illegally, you can get into trouble with the local police.
However, the biggest problem with renting a scooter when you’re not legal to drive is not the problems you might get into with the police, it’s that your insurance will not be valid if you have an accident.
It doesn’t matter if you have travel insurance, local bike insurance, health insurance, etc. none of them will pay out if you’re involved in a crash and it transpires that you’re driving illegally.
Now, you may be thinking “Bali’s so cheap that I won’t worry about the medical bills if it happens to me,” but we’d strongly urge you to think again.
Every year there are a number of GoFundMe appeals published on the island, by Australian tourists who thought exactly that and then found out that medical bills here can be much, much more expensive than they expected.
Sure, a little tumble and a few scratches won’t cost much to patch up. But if you have a serious problem like a traffic collision that requires proper hospital treatment – the cost can reach $100,000 or more.
Safety Issues
And that brings us to the safety side of renting a scooter in Canggu, Bali. Even experienced riders blanch at the thought of tackling Bali’s roads and that’s because:
- The road surfaces are terrible – Indonesia is a developing nation and there are a large number of demands placed on the public purse. The local government cannot possibly service all those demands and thus, roads are a low priority when compared to other issues here. As you will quickly discover on your first trip from the airport to your hotel, the road surfaces here are often falling to pieces. Driving on these roads is dangerous and it can lead to accidents.
- The traffic is insane – then there’s the volume of traffic, the more vehicles there are around you on the road, the greater the chance of accidents and here on the island, in the popular spots the traffic is usually intense all day long and around rush hours, it becomes insane with huge volumes of vehicles heading in every direction.
- There are no real rules of the road – yes, there’s a driving test here, locals need a license to drive as much as you do. However, with almost no enforcement of the driving rules and a very brief period of learning the rules – most people simply don’t know what the rules are. So, they don’t follow them and that means you need eyes in the back and sides of your head to really know what’s going on around you.
Scooter accidents are frighteningly common here and while not every scooter rental ends in an accident and not every accident is life-threatening, there are enough accidents that we just don’t recommend renting a scooter.
How Does Driving A Scooter In Canggu Work In Practice?
In most cases, once you’ve visited a scooter rental, you pop on your helmet and head straight into the chaos of Canggu traffic.
The busiest roads in town are Jalan Pantai Batu Bolong, Jalan Pantai Berawa and Jalan Raya Canggu, so if you want to get some practice, we’d recommend starting away from them.
The roads in Canggu are narrow and haphazard, so you’ll need to quickly master dodging other traffic, going with the flow on the road and avoiding all the little surprises such as children or chickens that might suddenly appear in the road in front of you.
Where To Find A Canggu Rent-A-Scooter Spot
There are plenty of places where you can enjoy scooter rental services here in Canggu including:
- Your hotel – lots of accommodations will have their own preferred suppliers for scooter rental. These may be a little more expensive than services elsewhere but the service will normally pick up and drop off your scooter and if things go wrong, the accommodation staff may be able to help you smooth things over in an inexpensive fashion.
- Fajar Bali Rent Motorbike – a popular spot on Jalan Pantai Batu Bolong with a reputation for being friendly and honest with a great selection of solid vehicles to rent.
- Biakago – if you like to plan your journey in advance this can be a good online option, they deliver wherever you are staying, will supply helmets and unlike many providers here, they can also arrange for you to be insured.
Or just Google for places near where you’re staying, check out their online reviews and base your decisions on that. There are dozens of options here and it’s unlikely that anybody’s tried them all.
What Will It Cost To Rent A Scooter In Canggu?
It depends on what you want to rent and how long you want to rent for. Something like a Vario or a Scoopy will probably only set you back around 100,000 IDR a day ($6 USD or $10 AUD) or sometimes even less.
But opt for a Yamaha NMax and it might go up to 150,000 IDR ($10 USD or $15 AUD) a day.
But the longer that you book for, the better the deal – so if you rent for a week, you can halve the daily rate and if you rent for a month, you’ll get an even better deal.
You may also be able to get them to supply helmets for free, a full tank of gas or even deliver the bike wherever you want it to be delivered.
Just watch out for excessive deposits – don’t leave your passport as a guarantee on anything and the fairest deal here is to pay half when you pick the bike up, and half when you return it.
What Kind Of Scooter Should I Be Renting?
Not all scooters are made equally and you will have a range of options to choose from when you’re renting a scooter here in Canggu, it’s a good idea to leave the scooter rental with something that suits your needs:
- Scoopy (Honda) – this is one of the most common bikes for newbies to choose from. It’s light, looks good and can nip from your accommodation to the beach easily.
- Vario (Honda) – this is capable of more power and acceleration, it has more storage than a scoopy too. It’s the sort of thing that you want for hauling a surfboard around on or going out of town.
- NMax (Yamaha) or PCX (Honda) – ideal for the longest rides and with a fair bit more power than your Scoopy.
It doesn’t matter what ride you choose, mind you, always test the brakes, tyres and lights before you commit so much as a cent to the dealer.
If you’ve never ridden before, get to a quiet spot and put in some practice.
Our Top Scooter Safety Tips
It can be all too easy to fall into the trap of feeling invincible on the back of a scooter in Canggu. It’s a lot of fun getting around this way but there are some simple things you can do to increase your odds of having fun rather than a crash:
- Stick to the left – they drive on the left here in Indonesia
- Stick to daylight – if you’re new to driving, trust us, you don’t want to tackle the terrible streets of Canggu with the added hazard of lots of drunk drivers in the dark
- Make sure you have insurance – if you have an accident, you will need it
- Take pics of the bike at the point of pick-up – the rental places here don’t tend to be scammers, but it’s much easier to prove that your scooter wasn’t in the best shape when you got it, if you have the pics to prove it
How To Handle The Chaos Of Canggu’s Roads
Google Maps can help you navigate the maze that is Canggu and get around but your number one priority is to stay observant.
You’ll find that Jalan Pantai Batu Bolong is mostly pretty manageable on a scooter because the volume of traffic keeps things slow and safe.
Jalan Pantai Berawa offers more of a challenge, but it’s not too bad.
Jalan Raya Canggu and the two “shortcuts” here in Canggu, on the other hand, are very testing. Leave them until you’ve got a bit of practice.
And always keep your eyes peeled for something about to run into the road – children, chickens, dogs, snakes,and even lizards are all possibilities in Canggu.
Where Should I Visit On A Scooter?
So, you’re excited to be renting a scooter in Canggu, where do you go with it?
- FINNS Beach Club – for a few cocktails or Bintangs at sunset, it’s the world’s best beach club and the area’s most iconic location
- Warung Sunshine – a great spot on Berawa for some local food or for some international food at reasonable prices.
- Pura Batu Bolong – a nice little temple just off the main beach road where you might be able to witness a ceremony if you’r elucky.
- Nelayan Beach – Go north and discover one of the quieter beaches in the area, it’s really nice for a quiet beer at sunset.
- Seminyak – the busy beach town is right next door to Canggu, why not check it out on your scooter?
How Does Fuel Work In Canggu?
There are two means of filling up your scooter with fuel when you need it here in Canggu.
- The petrol station (Pertamina) there are a few of these dotted around the landscape and while the queues can get pretty fierce they are the best way to fill up. It’s not expensive.
- The roadside stall – you will come across these everywhere selling 1-litre bottles of “bensin” for 10,000 IDR a litre.
You only need to fill up your scooter rental when the tank’s nearly empty as the tanks are tiny.
How Does Parking Work In Canggu?
You can park pretty much anywhere in Canggu. Most cafes, beach clubs like FINNS, restaurants, shops, etc. have parking available for their customers.
The beaches tend to have car parks too which you can use for a very small fee.
Just make sure to lock your helmet(s) to your bike before you leave, stash your keys properly and then you’re free to wander off and the bike is almost certain to be there when you get home.
Things To Watch Out For With Scooter Rental
It’s worth noting that some scooter rental spots are not 100% solid with their rentals.
So, inspect your bike like a detective with a magnifying glass would before you agree to renting a scooter.
It’s much harder to remedy a scooter rental problem after you’ve paid than it is before.
Take pictures of everything that looks even remotely problematic and if you think you’re being overcharged – don’t hesitate to haggle.
Other than that, pack a poncho for when it rains (because it really rains when it rains in Canggu) and be careful in the traffic.
Eco-Friendly Scooter Options In Canggu
Eco-friendly scooter rental is available here in Canggu but we warn you, it’s not always the most convenient option and the e-scooter is certainly not ubiquitous on the island.
If you insist on a smaller carbon footprint, however, they are the way to go and some places like Skute offer a decent range of e-bikes.
One nice thing about renting a scooter like this is that it’s much quieter on the road than a traditional scooter.
FAQs
Can Foreigners Rent Scooters In Bali?
Yes! Scooter rental is open to all nationalities in Bali. However, we must stress that just because a scooter rental place is fine with you renting a scooter, it doesn’t mean that you’re road-legal.
You must hold an IDP (International Driver’s Permit not an International Driving License) which is current and a current license from your home country which has a bike endorsement, no endorsement and you’re not legal to drive.
Sure, you might ride around without any trouble during your holiday and nobody would ever know but if you get into an accident, if you find that you’re not covered by insurance, things could get very expensive for you.
You might even have your passport confiscated by the authorities here until you’ve paid your debts.
Can You Hire A Scooter From Bali Airport?
No, there are some online services that say they can offer scooter rental from the airport, but there are no scooter rental desks at Denpasar Airport.
However, you don’t have to go very far to find bike rental places and you could probably walk to them from the airport as long as you don’t have too much baggage (and if you do have too much baggage – renting a scooter is a bad idea, anyway).
But most people opt to find a scooter rental place near their hotel as it’s more convenient to deal with during their stay here.
Are Scooters In Bali Automatic?
The majority of scooters you will find in scooter rental places are automatic and you’d need to ask for a manual bike in most cases.
That does make driving a scooter on your trip somewhat easier and it leaves you free to pay more attention to the road.
How Much Does It Cost To Rent A Motorbike In Bali?
The cost of renting a bike here varies based on the model. You can get something like a Honda Scoopy very cheaply (100,000 IDR – 150,000 IDr per day – that’s about $6-$10 USD or $10-$15 AUD).
But if you want a better model, you’re going to pay more for it.
We’d also note that you can get a better deal if you agree on a long-term rental with the scooter rental business. A weekly rental costs less than daily and monthly substantially less again.
Final Thoughts On Being In Canggu And Renting A Scooter
If scooter rental is a priority for you, then you won’t struggle to go about renting a scooter in Canggu.
However, we would stress that we don’t recommend it and would urge you to use ride-share services instead.
Accidents are all too common on the roads here and we’d rather that you went home from your holiday in one piece.