Renting a scooter is how most visitors get around Southeast Asia's islands and smaller towns, and for many trips it genuinely is the easiest option. It's also where a disproportionate number of travel insurance claims and worst holiday memories come from, almost always because of the same handful of avoidable mistakes — the licence you didn't actually have, the insurance that turned out not to cover you, and the passport handed over as a "deposit". Here's what to get right before you take the keys.
The licence question, honestly
In Thailand, Indonesia (including Bali) and Vietnam, riding a scooter legally as a foreign visitor generally requires both your home driving licence and an International Driving Permit (IDP) that covers motorcycles, or a local licence. In practice, a huge number of rental shops will hand over a scooter to anyone with cash and no questions asked — but "the shop let me" and "this is legal" are different things, and the gap between them is exactly where problems start.
The distinction matters most after a crash. If you're stopped by police without the correct documents, or you're involved in an accident, riding without a valid licence and IDP for that category of vehicle is very likely to void your travel insurance entirely — for the bike, for any injury to yourself, and for any liability claim against you. See our International Driving Permit guide for how to get the right category before you fly; it needs to be arranged in your home country in advance, not at the rental shop.
Insurance: read the exclusions, not just the price
Most standard travel insurance policies exclude scooter and motorcycle accidents above a certain engine size, or require an add-on for two-wheeled vehicles specifically — check this before you travel, not after you've already booked a bike. Separately, the rental shop's own insurance, where it exists at all, is frequently minimal or effectively theoretical: a single scratch can be priced at whatever the shop decides, with little room to dispute it. Many shops offer no third-party liability cover at all, meaning if you injure someone else or damage their property, you are personally on the hook.
Before renting, confirm three things: whether your travel insurance covers scooters at the engine size you're renting, whether it requires a specific licence/IDP as a condition of cover (most do), and what the rental shop's own damage policy actually says about pre-existing scratches, theft, and total loss. A shop that can't produce a clear written policy is a signal to look elsewhere.
Helmets and basic safety, by country
- Thailand — helmets are legally required for both rider and passenger in most provinces, though enforcement varies enormously by town. Standards on rental helmets are inconsistent; a genuinely protective helmet is worth carrying or seeking out rather than accepting whatever's handed over.
- Vietnam — helmet use is more consistently enforced, including in cities, and traffic density in places like Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City makes a properly fitted helmet considerably more than a formality.
- Indonesia (Bali) — helmets are required, and police checkpoints checking for both helmets and licences have become more frequent on the island in recent years as authorities respond to visitor accident rates.
Beyond helmets, closed shoes rather than sandals, and long trousers rather than shorts, meaningfully reduce injury severity in the kind of low-speed slide that's the most common scooter accident for visitors. Rain, unfamiliar road surfaces, and driving on a side of the road you're not used to are a bigger real-world risk than reckless local traffic in most cases.
The deposit: cash, card, or passport?
Reputable rental shops take a cash deposit or a credit card hold, broadly similar to a car rental deposit. A significant number, particularly in tourist areas of Thailand, Vietnam and Bali, ask instead for your passport as security — sometimes presented as the only option, sometimes simply the default they hope you won't question.
If you have no alternative and do leave a passport, photograph every page of it first, get a written, itemised receipt describing the bike's exact condition, and photograph the bike from all angles with a timestamp before you ride off — the same discipline that applies to renting a car abroad for the first time, just with lower stakes per claim and higher stakes on the document itself.
Before you ride off
- Test the brakes, horn, lights and mirrors in the yard before leaving, not once you're in traffic.
- Photograph existing scratches, dents and tyre condition, with a timestamp, from all sides.
- Check fuel level at collection so you're not disputing it at return.
- Ask what happens in the event of a genuine breakdown — some shops offer roadside swap-outs, others leave you to arrange your own return.
- Confirm the shop's number is saved in your phone before you set off somewhere with patchy signal.
Where a scooter makes sense, and where it doesn't
Scooters suit island and small-town settings well: Bali's back roads, Thailand's Koh Lanta or Koh Phangan, rural Vietnam. They make far less sense in dense, fast-moving city traffic if you're not already an experienced rider — Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok's arterial roads are a genuinely different proposition from a quiet coastal lane, and a taxi, ride-hailing app or hired car and driver is often the safer and only marginally less convenient choice for a first-time visitor in those settings. For island hopping onward from a scooter base, see our guides to ferries to the Thai islands and getting between specific islands such as Krabi to Koh Phi Phi.
Frequently asked questions
Do I really need an International Driving Permit to rent a scooter in Thailand or Bali?
Legally, yes, alongside your home licence, for the correct motorcycle category — even though many shops will rent to you without checking. Riding without it is likely to void your travel insurance if anything goes wrong, which is the real cost of skipping it.
Is it ever safe to leave my passport as a rental deposit?
It's best avoided wherever a cash or card deposit is offered instead. If you have no alternative, photograph the passport and the bike's condition thoroughly first, and get a detailed written receipt, since disputes over invented "damage" are the most common version of this scam.
Does my travel insurance automatically cover scooter accidents?
Not always — many policies exclude motorcycles and scooters above a certain engine size, or require you to hold the correct licence and IDP as a condition of cover. Check your policy's specific wording before you rent, not after an accident.
Are helmets actually required, or just recommended?
They're legally required in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia, though enforcement varies by region and has been tightening in tourist areas like Bali. Wear a properly fitted one regardless of local enforcement levels.
Sources and further reading:
- Licence and IDP requirements: International Driving Permit guide on Viamo.
- Related country guides: Driving in Thailand, Driving in Vietnam, Driving in Indonesia on Viamo.
- Traveller safety advice: your own government's travel advisory service (e.g. UK FCDO, US State Department).
- General road safety data: World Health Organization.