Guides For Your Journey
Road rules and driving habits vary greatly. Select your home region's guide below for custom expat driving safety tips.
Scooter Insurance & License Rules
Mates, let's have a straight talk. Hiring a scooter in Ubud is heaps of fun, but if you do not have your papers perfectly sorted, you are playing with fire. Local police in Gianyar and Tabanan regularly set up checkpoints. If you get pulled over without a valid **International Driving Permit (IDP)** stamped for motorbikes, you will be fined on the spot.
Even worse, if you have a spill on the narrow mountain roads and need medical care, **your travel insurance will not pay a single cent** if you are driving without a valid motorbike license from home and a matching IDP. Ensure you have your helmet strapped, carry your physical license, and always give trucks and tourist minivans the absolute right of way.
Family AC Comfort & Photos
For travelers coming from China and South Korea, a private minivan with a local driver is without doubt the best option. Driving custom routes through rural Bali is highly challenging due to chaotic traffic and narrow, single-lane roads. A private driver handles all local road navigation, lets you travel with family in cool comfort, and provides excellent local translation at checkpoints.
Vetted private drivers also know the absolute best scenic photo spots. They can take you directly to iconic clifftops and swings at Tegallalang for the best WeChat and Instagram angles before the morning light becomes too harsh. Pre-booking a driver ensures seamless pickups from your luxury resort or villa accomodation.
Road Safety Checklist
Ensure you drive on the left, use GPS navigation, and plan mountain treks around midday clouds.
Left-Hand Traffic & Mountain Trails
For visitors from the UK, France, and the US, navigating the highlands requires a few basic safety adjustments. Bali drives on the **left side of the road**, which is natural for British travelers but requires absolute focus for French and American drivers. Mountain roads leading up to Jatiluwih are incredibly steep, winding, and completely lack safety barriers in many places.
Ensure you download offline Google Maps before heading out. Mobile reception in East Bali and Tabanan can be very weak. If you are hiking the UNESCO Subak trails, arrange your return transport in advance. Local community roads are steep, and booking on-demand cars is virtually impossible.