Driving in Indonesia: licences, car rental and road rules

Match the option to the trip, not to the budget alone. A driver costs more per day but removes parking, fines and navigation from your holiday; self-drive only pays off on islands where traffic is light and you keep the car for a week or more.

Sort the paperwork before you book anything. Indonesia requires a valid home driving licence plus an International Driving Permit, which you must obtain in your home country before departure — it cannot be issued inside Indonesia. The IDP must match the category you plan to drive: a car permit does not cover a scooter, and police checks on Bali target foreign riders without the motorcycle category. Carry both documents plus your passport; some rental companies photograph them at pickup.

Book the car or driver directly or through your hotel. For a driver, agree the daily rate, the hours (a standard day is about 10 hours), whether fuel is included, and whether overnight stays need a room and meals for the driver. For self-drive, confirm the insurance excess, the deposit, the fuel policy and whether the car is automatic — most Indonesian rentals are manual, and an automatic costs more and must be reserved ahead.

At pickup, walk around the car with the agent and photograph every scratch, the tyres, the spare and the fuel gauge. Check that the STNK (vehicle registration) and a copy of the insurance are in the car; police may ask for them. Confirm the emergency number and whether roadside help covers the island you are on. In Bali, some rental operators have discussed restrictions on foreign scooter rentals — check the current position before you pay a deposit.

Traffic drives on the left. Speed limits are low and rarely signed clearly: about 40 km/h in towns, 60–80 km/h on open roads, and higher only on toll roads. On Java, toll roads are cashless — you need an e-money card (e-toll) bought at a bank or minimarket and topped up before you join. Without it you cannot pass the barrier.

The real risk is not the rules but the mix: scooters filtering on both sides, angkot minibuses stopping without warning, trucks overtaking on blind bends, and motorcycles riding at night without lights. On Bali's south roads and in Jakarta, a 20 km trip can take 90 minutes. Rain between November and March makes surfaces slippery and floods low sections; river crossings on Sumatra and Sulawesi can be impassable after heavy rain.

Police stops are common on tourist routes. Officers may ask for your licence, IDP, STNK and sometimes a contribution; stay polite, show the documents, and ask for a receipt if a fine is issued. If you are in a crash, do not move the vehicles until photos are taken and, if there are injuries, get to a clinic — private international clinics in Denpasar, Jakarta and Surabaya handle insurance paperwork. Your travel insurance must cover the vehicle you are driving; many policies exclude motorcycles above 125 cc unless declared.

A driver is usually cheaper than it looks once you add parking, tolls, fuel and the risk of a fine, and it frees you to look out of the window on Java's mountain roads. Self-drive makes sense on Nusa Penida, parts of Lombok, Belitung or Flores, where traffic is light and you want to stop where you like — but check the road surface and whether your hotel has parking before you book.

Do not drive on arrival day. Jet lag plus left-side traffic plus unfamiliar scooters is how trips end early. Take a Grab or a hotel transfer from the airport, sleep, and start driving the next morning. If you are travelling with children, a private driver with a child seat you bring yourself is the simplest arrangement.