What renting a scooter in Bali is actually like

Is it hard to ride one?

Not mechanically. 31 of the 57 models in this index are automatic: you twist to go and squeeze to stop, and there is nothing else to operate. The 26 that are geared are the bigger bikes people seek out on purpose, and nobody is handed one by accident.

The smallest engine anyone rents here is 110cc. There is no 50cc moped market in Bali, so if you were expecting the machine you hired in Greece, this is a step up from it rather than down.

What is genuinely hard is the traffic, not the bike. Ride the first day slowly, stay off the main roads until it feels ordinary, and treat every junction as though nobody has seen you.

So can you rent a 50cc?

No. Not one of the 57 models rented by the 304 shops in this index is under 100cc, so a 50cc moped is not a thing you can hire on this island.

Automatics run from 110cc to 300cc. The four the shops actually hold, by number of shops renting them: NMAX 155 (155cc) - 184 · Scoopy (110cc) - 170 · PCX 160 (160cc) - 132 · Fazzio (125cc) - 127.

How old do you have to be?

The honest answer for a visitor is that your own licence sets the floor. An International Driving Permit translates the entitlement you already hold and never upgrades it, so if your home licence does not cover a motorcycle, the permit will not add one. Shops vary and most do not publish a minimum age at all.

Automatic or geared?

For most people, take the automatic. The 26 geared bikes here exist for riders who already ride at home, and the index shows it plainly: the XSR 155 is at 34 shops while the NMAX 155 is at 184.

Should you rent a car instead?

A reasonable question, and often yes for a family or in the wet season. What a scooter buys you is parking and the small lanes; what it costs you is every bit of protection a car has. See what each actually costs.

Before you get on one

Three things, and only the last is ours to prove.

• The paperwork. Legally you need a motorcycle entitlement and an International Driving Permit, and most shops will never ask. Both of those are true at once, which is why it has a page of its own: the licence question, answered properly.
• The helmet. Every time, including the five-minute ride to the warung. It is the one decision that changes how a crash ends.
• The price. The same scooter can differ several times over between two shops a street apart, and that gap is the entire reason this site exists: compare what the shops charge.