In November 2015 whilst in Bali we rented a scooter and travelled around the island for 6 days.
We had been staying at The Kana Kuta hotel in Kuta and asked the hotel staff if they could organise a bike for us, which they kindly did. This made us feel safer as it was booked through them, there is multiple ways to book scooter hire though- people on the streets in tourist stands, or in travel shops. We recommend booking at a trustworthy place.
We paid 100, 000 Rupiah (equivalent of £6) per day for the scooter. We checked it all over before setting off and made sure we had a good helmet each.
Now a word of warning about renting a scooter in Bali, the police are the biggest scammers, they will pull foreign tourists over and demand anything up to £100. It didn't happen to us but we have heard it a few times.
You should have a current international driving licence to be able to ride a scooter and have your ID with you, as well as passport.
You will also need to be very aware of your surroundings and other vehicles on the road. It doesn't appear that everyone sticks to the laws of the road. Traffic signals aren't always adhered to, some go faster than speed limit, some like us took it slower so we could be more aware. In busy areas like Kuta it turns into a free-for-all- roundabouts can end up with 6 vehicles side by side, weaving in and out and the roads are chocca.
There are petrol stations dotted everywhere so you don't need to worry about that but do take care when filling and keep check of the price as the guys working there may try to con you into paying a lot more. A tank should cost around 100, 000 Rupiah (£6), do question if it is a lot more than that.
Bali has a wet season and dry season, we went in November which is the change of seasons, you wouldn't want to go riding bikes in the wet season. Our days were hot but not blistering like in June to October. We wore shorts and t-shirts and put on plenty of suncream. Wear breathable trousers and long sleeves if wary of the suns heat.
You will probably end up with a sore bum due to the road conditions and the long journeys, only thing I can recommend is going for some cheap massages afterwards.
Now what should you take with you? We left our suitcases at the hotel and packed two small rucksacks. One had our electrics- tablet, cameras, chargers, straighteners and toiletries. And other rucksack had a clothes, as many as we could comfortably fit. I also had an idea as it was our final weeks of travelling, I would wear my clothes one last time then ditch them as we went.
For 6 days and nights we packed a few pairs of shorts each, 6 day tops/ t-shirts and a few night tops- knowing we might not have time to change in the evening. We wore the one pair of trainers and packed flip flops, along with a bikini for me. We also packed our easy to dry katmandu towels but everywhere we stayed had towels so don't need them neccessarily.
We stayed in Amed for 1 night. Ubud for 4 nights, then 1 night in Uluwatu. We could have stayed longer in Ubud but only to laze around, and we could have travelled north to Lovina but decided against it (maybe next time...).
We would 100% recommend coming to Bali and would recommend travelling around by scooter, if you are a confident rider, I can't ride a scooter and wouldn't want to do it but Shannon was happy to do so. You do have to have your wits about you though,
Below is a map of our route based on AA Route Planner recommend times, however due to congestion, bad roads, dodgy drivers, road laws not enforced and thus taking extra care when driving then driving times can take up to double the recommended times.
Kuta to Amed 61 miles (2 hrs 39)
Amed to Ubud 45 miles (2 hrs 23)
Ubud to Tanah Lot and Seminyak 31 miles (2 hrs)
Seminyak to Uluwatu 17 miles (1 hr)
Uluwatu to Kuta 13 miles (45 mins)
Kuta (F) to Amed (B)
Amed (B) to Ubud (C)
Ubud (C) to Seminyak (D)
Seminyak (D) to Uluwatu (E)
Uluwatu (E) to Kuta (F)
total- 167 miles
