Everything You Need to Know About Renting a Scooter in Bali

Renting a scooter is CHEAP and EASY in Bali if you know what you’re doing.

Here’s exactly how I always get a great scooter for less than $2/day in Bali:

1. Rent from a local (using Facebook)

• Join the Facebook group page (Canggu community, Ubud community, etc.) of wherever you’re staying in Bali(either where you’ll be spending the most time or the first place you’re staying at).
  
  • Once you’ve been accepted, create the following post:
    “Hi! I’m looking to rent a (scoopy/vario) scooter from (start date here) to (end date here) for (price here: 700k/month for BRAND NEW scoopy rental… everything else should be cheaper and vario are cheaper than scoopy). Please PM me with pictures of the scooter for rent!”
    
    • Price examples:
      Brand new scoopy: 700k/month
      Nice scoopy: 650k/month
      Used but good scoopy: 600k
      Vario: I’ve never personally rented a vario but since I know they’re cheaper than scoopy, I would say renting one should cost between 500k-600k/month
      
  • You MIGHT have people harassing you in the comments on the post and being rude about how “cheap” you are or about how the price you’ve listed is crazy and just being total internet trolls, but ignore them, because these are fair prices and if you just wait a few hours your DMs will be FULL of offers from locals who are willing to rent out their scooters for these prices.
    
  • This is the best option for getting a scooter that actually works (most “official” scooter rental places around the island rent out janky/messed up scooters with wonky steering and shitty breaks for almost double the price) at a fair price no matter where you’re staying.
    

2. J&D Bali Rental Bike
(Whatsapp: +62 819 1676 6088)

• If you’re staying in/around Canggu and are just the kind of person who prefers to go through “official” channels and only really feels comfortable renting from an actual business, then the ONLY legitimate scooter rental place I recommend is called J&D Bali Rental Bike.The instagram is @gede_subagiada, or you can message Gede directly on whatsapp at +62 819 1676 6088. You’ll pay slightly more (but not much much more), but most importantly you’ll get a GOOD scooter that actually works: no issues with the steering or the breaks and receives regular maintenance checks. You can get a fairly nice – but previously used – Scoopy for 700k for a month, and you don’t have to go get the scooter yourself because Gede offers complimentary pick-up and drop-off in/around Canggu. Just provide him with your villa details.

WHAT TO DO BEFORE YOU FORK OVER THE CASH

Before you shake hands, take the keys and hand over your money, I recommend doing the following to be absolutely CERTAIN you’re getting a good bike with no issues and one that you feel comfortable riding.

1. Get the person’s Whatsapp number. Obviously you should already have their FB, but just in case it’s better to have more ways to contact them than less.
   
2. Have the person you’re renting from sit on the bike with the engine running so that you can check to make sure the lights for the blinkers and brakes work (front and back… I absolutely recommend getting a scooter with back break lights/turn signals as it’s just safer).
   
3. Check to make sure they’re also giving you the bike’s registration papers. You’ll need these if you get pulled over. I recommend putting it in the compartment under the seat and just leaving it there so that they don’t get lost during your rental period.
   
4. Take the bike for a quick test drive just up and down the street. Make sure everything is in good working order:
   • The steering should be smooth, but not loose.
   • You shouldn’t have to squeeze the breaks very hard to make them work, and they should be quite strong. *be sure to check the front AND the back brakes.
   • Make sure the horn works and is a decent volume.
   • See how comfortable you feel on the bike. Are you able to handle it easily? Or are you struggling to keep it balanced at slow speeds? If so, you may want to rent a lighter bike (Scoopy’s are smaller/lighter than Vario’s)
     
5. *Side (but important) note: You should NEVER need to hand over your passport for them to keep; If they say that you have to, it’s not true and don’t rent from them. You can simply ask to send them a picture of your passport over Whatsapp instead of going through the trouble of having to make a physical copy to give to them – I’ve never yet had someone say no to this. 

One Last Thing….

It typically costs me 20,000 IDR ($1.40) at a legitimate gas station to fill up my Scoopy’s tank when it’s practically on empty.

Buying gas on the side of the road from Absolut vodka bottles or the “mini gas stations” typically costs between 30-45k ($2.15-3.20) for a full tank.

A full tank of gas will last me about a week if I’m not traveling far distances (from Canggu to Ubud/Uluwatu/Balian/etc.). From Canggu to Ubud and back usually takes about half a tank of gas.