Renting a Scooter in Bali – Bad Idea
When you first arrive in Bali, you will notice that pretty much everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, gets around by a scooter. But it is still not a good idea to be renting a scooter. They have some cars but they’re usually only for the taxi drivers or construction workers. Even the Grab & Gojek apps (like uber) only offer rides by a scooter to get to and from places. (certain parts of Bali)
You will see families of three or four people all squeezing on to one scooter with no helmets and flip flops. The thing that scared me the most about seeing all that , is the fact that people had new borns on the scooter with no helmet or anything. They just hold the baby with one arm and drive with the other.. Crazy right??
Since you see everyone else riding a scooter you might think it would be a good idea to rent one for a day or two. You’ll think “oh i’ll be ok if I drive slow and just follow the locals”. But trust me when I say that it is NOT a good idea to rent a scooter when in Bali.
What To Keep In Mind Before Renting a Scooter
The only way I can describe how the driving is in Bali, is its just organized chaos. They seem to have no traffic laws whatsoever. When you’re driving the scooter, you’ll have about four people on scooters next to you all trying to get ahead of you, and you’ll have cars ride right up to the back of your scooter.
Your gonna have some obstacles in the roads that you need to keep an eye out for. There will tons of dogs and chickens that just come out of nowhere and run right in front of your scooter, all you can do about is honk your horn hoping they get out of the way fast enough, or just slam on your brakes and swerve around them. Also everyone passes if you’re going to slow and sometimes you have people coming towards you in your lane.
Our Experience
So the main reason why i’m so against renting scooters in Bali is because we had 3 bad experiences. So James sister, my sister, and my mom came to visit us for 2 weeks in Sanur and Ubud. We all rented scooters and James sister and my sister both fell and got cut up pretty bad.
Then the week after they left, James and I rented a scooter in Sanur. Everything was going good until I decided to try driving James on the back of the scooter. I was doing fine until we had to go down a road that was covered in sand and potholes and I fell and got all cut up.
Moral of the story, if you’re not experienced with riding a scooter or motorcycle, Renting a scooter in Bali is not a good idea!
[…] When it comes to having a great surf spot it is more than just how nice the beach is or how big the waves are. Warm weather, great food and drinks along the beach and a friendly environment all play a huge role in deciding where you should surf. We originally planned on going to Uluwatu in southern Bali to try surfing, but soon realized during our trip that there was opportunities to learn everywhere. No matter where you intend on going in Bali whether it be Canggu, Sanur, Uluwatu or northern Bali you will be able to indulge in shredding some gnar! I would highly recommend either taking a taxi to some of these beach spots or you can rent a scooter! […]