Where do you get fuel for a scooter in Bali?

Pertamina stations: the cheap, reliable option

The official Pertamina stations (green and red, often marked SPBU) are the proper place to fuel up. You get an accurate metered litre at the government-set price and clean fuel. An attendant usually pumps it for you; just say how much, or ask for "full". Most take cash; many now take cards or QRIS.

• Pertalite (RON 90) — the subsidised everyday petrol, about IDR 10,000/litre. This is what most rental scooters run on and it is perfectly fine for them.
• Pertamax (RON 92) — the higher grade, about IDR 15,950–16,250/litre in Bali (September 2026). A small, optional upgrade; not required for a basic scooter.
• Ignore the diesel and turbo grades (Dex, Pertamax Turbo) — they are not for scooters.

How far a tank goes, and why yours arrives near-empty

A typical Bali scooter holds only about 4 to 5.5 litres, but these bikes are extremely economical — roughly 40 to 55 km per litre — so a full tank covers well over 150 km, more than enough for days of pottering around a single area. Filling from near-empty rarely costs more than IDR 40,000–50,000.

One thing to expect: rental scooters are almost always handed over with the needle near empty. That is deliberate — the shop is not going to give away fuel — so your first task after picking up the bike is usually to find a station. Check the gauge before you ride off so you are not caught out.

The under-told detail: roadside bottles and Pertamini pumps

Between the big stations you will pass countless little stalls selling petrol — either in glass bottles and old vodka bottles on a wooden rack, or from a small hand-cranked or metered pump branded "Pertamini" (a play on Pertamina; it is not an official brand). These are the island’s convenience stores for fuel, and they are genuinely useful when you are low and nowhere near a station.

The thing generic guides skip is the price. Roadside fuel runs around IDR 12,000 to 20,000 per litre — anywhere from a little more to double the Pertalite station price — and the bottle measure is generous with the seller, not you. The metered Pertamini pumps are a bit fairer on volume than a hand-poured bottle, but still priced above the station. Treat both as a top-up-in-a-pinch service you pay a premium for, not your normal fill.

You will also hear that bottle fuel is "dirty" or "watered down" and will wreck your engine. In reality it is usually just ordinary Pertalite decanted into a bottle, and the odd litre to get you to the next station will not harm anything. The real reasons to prefer a proper station are simply that it is cheaper and you get an honest, full litre — not some engine-destroying myth.