Renting a scooter on holiday is one of the great pleasures of travel, and one of the most common ways to end up fined, hurt, or refused an insurance claim. Two things trip tourists up again and again. The first is the licence: what you are actually allowed to ride is rarely what the rental shop hands you the keys to. The second is navigation: a rented scooter has no built-in maps, you do not know the roads, and the app on your phone is quietly routing you like a car.
I build Urban Rider, a navigation app for scooters and mopeds, so the second half is my bias showing. But the licence half is where the real money and safety are, so this guide covers both, country by country, for eight of the most popular places to rent two wheels.
The one rule that catches almost everyone: a car licence is not a scooter licence
If you remember one thing, make it this. In every country below, a car licence does not legally let a visiting tourist ride a scooter or moped. To ride one abroad you generally need a motorcycle entitlement, shown as AM, A1 or A on your home licence, which then also appears on your International Driving Permit.
The confusion usually comes from a half-truth. Italy, Spain and Portugal do each let their own residents ride a 125cc on a full car licence, under conditions like a minimum age or years of holding the licence. That concession is domestic. It does not travel with you across a border, so a visiting tourist on a car-only licence is not covered for a 125cc even in those countries. Treat the safe legal position as simple: if your home licence has no motorcycle category, you are not licensed for the scooter, however happily the rental agent rents it to you.
Why it matters beyond the fine: if you crash without the correct licence, your rental insurance and often your travel insurance can be void, which turns a scraped knee into a bill for the bike, the other party and your own hospital care.
The International Driving Permit, in one minute
An International Driving Permit (IDP) is just an official translation of your home licence. There are two kinds, from the 1949 Geneva and 1968 Vienna conventions, and different countries accept different ones. The catch that strands people: an IDP only carries the categories that are already on your home licence. A car-only licence produces a car-only IDP that still does not cover a motorbike. Get the right convention for your destination, and make sure your home licence carries the motorcycle category before you fly, because you cannot add it at the rental desk.
The half nobody plans for: navigating a bike you have never ridden, in a city you do not know
You have the right licence and a helmet. Now you have to actually get somewhere. This is where a rented scooter quietly becomes stressful, because the obvious tool is the wrong one. Google Maps, Apple Maps and Waze all plan for a car. On a rented 50cc that means being sent toward fast ring roads, trunk roads and the occasional stretch of motorway that your scooter is not allowed on and cannot safely hold, in a place where you do not know which turn is a dead end or a one-way.
A vehicle-aware app fixes the mismatch. In Urban Rider you pick a scooter or moped profile and routes avoid highways by default, with arrival times worked out from real scooter speeds rather than car speeds. It behaves the same whether you are on a Greek island or in central Bangkok, so you learn it once. The move that saves the most stress is boring: set your vehicle profile and your first destination before you ride away from the rental shop, and clip your phone to the handlebars so you are never holding it in traffic you do not know. Our guide to using your phone for navigation on two wheels covers mounts and glare.
Navigation built for your scooter, not a car
Urban Rider routes your moped or scooter onto roads it is actually allowed to ride, avoids highways by default, and gives arrival times at real scooter speed. Free, no account, and it works the same in every country in this guide.
At a glance
| Country | Drives on | Scooter licence for a visiting tourist | Helmet | The classic mistake |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greece | Right | Motorcycle category needed (AM for 50cc, A1+ above). Car licence never covers a scooter. | Required | Renting on a car licence; police fine you and take the licence. |
| Italy | Right | AM for 50cc, A1 for 125cc. The resident "car licence rides a 125" rule does not apply to tourists. | Required | Assuming Italy's resident 125cc rule covers you. |
| Spain | Right | AM for a moped, A1 for 125cc. Non-EU licences need an IDP. | Required | Newer drivers on a 125cc; forgetting the IDP. |
| Portugal | Right | AM for a moped, A1 for 125cc. Non-EU licences need an IDP. | Required | Relying on the car-licence-125cc rule as a foreigner. |
| France | Right | AM for 50cc; A1, or a car licence plus a 7-hour course, for 125cc. | Required | A bare car licence does not cover a 125cc. |
| Thailand | Left | Motorcycle licence plus a 1968 IDP with the "A" endorsement. No small-engine exemption. | Required | Riding on a car licence: illegal and uninsured. |
| Vietnam | Right | 50cc and under: no motorcycle licence. Over 50cc: motorcycle licence plus a 1968 IDP. | Required | Carrying a 1949 IDP, which Vietnam does not accept. |
| Indonesia (Bali) | Left | National licence plus a 1968 IDP with category A. A car-only IDP is not enough. | Required | Checkpoint document fines during the current crackdown. |
Minimum riding ages vary, and rental companies are usually stricter than the law, often requiring you to be 18 or older whatever the local minimum. The details below add the nuance the table cannot.
Europe's island-and-coast countries
Greece. The Greek islands are the postcard case for scooter rental and the one authorities have cracked down on hardest. A car licence covers nothing on two wheels here, and police do stop tourists, issue fines and take licences. Island roads add their own challenge: steep, sometimes rough and poorly signed, which punishes an underpowered 50cc. A scooter profile that avoids the fast national roads and a phone you can actually glance at make the difference between a good day and a wrong turn up a gravel track.
Italy. The temptation in Italy is to assume the local "car licence rides a 125" rule covers you. It does not if you are a visitor. Beyond the licence, historic centres are a maze of limited-traffic zones (ZTL) and one-way streets, and a car app will happily push you onto a fast SS road to save a minute. A moped profile keeps you on the smaller roads you are actually allowed to ride.
Spain. On the Balearics and the Canaries, scooter rental is everywhere. A moped is fine on a car licence in the sense of a true 50cc only where local rules allow, but a 125cc needs A1 for a visitor. Keep off the autovía, which a small scooter should not be on, and let a scooter-aware route hug the coast roads instead.
Portugal. The Algarve and Lisbon are scooter country, and the same warning applies: the car-licence-125cc allowance is a domestic, age-limited concession, not something a tourist can lean on. Non-EU visitors need an IDP to rent. Portugal's motorways are tolled and off-limits to a 50cc anyway, so a highway-free route is the right one twice over.
France. On the Cote d'Azur a 125cc is the sweet spot, but a bare car licence will not do: France wants A1, or a car licence plus a mandatory 7-hour training course. Whatever you ride, keep off the voie rapide and let the app route you through the towns.
South-East Asia
Thailand. This is the single biggest licence trap in the world of scooter tourism. Every scooter, including the little 110cc automatics everyone rents, legally needs a motorcycle licence, which for a visitor means a home motorcycle licence plus a 1968 IDP with the "A" category. Most tourists ride without it, which makes them illegal and uninsured, and checkpoints are frequent, with helmet enforcement stepped up in 2025. Add left-side driving to an unfamiliar bike and calm, highway-free routing is not a luxury.
Vietnam. Vietnam has a genuine exemption: scooters of 50cc and under need no motorcycle licence, which is why so many tourist rentals are exactly 50cc. Anything larger needs a motorcycle licence and, importantly, a 1968 IDP, because Vietnam does not accept the 1949 version that some travellers carry. A practical safety note from official travel advice: do not hand over your passport as a rental deposit. In dense, fast-moving traffic, routing that keeps you on navigable streets is worth a lot.
Indonesia (Bali). Bali has tightened enforcement steadily since 2023, with checkpoints asking for the bike's registration, your national licence and a 1968 IDP that shows category A. A car-only IDP is not enough, and each missing document can be its own fine. Addresses are famously vague and the bypass roads are fast, so a scooter profile with clear turn guidance earns its place from the first ride out of Canggu or Ubud.
Before you rent: a short checklist
- Check your licence category before you fly. If it has no AM, A1 or A, you are not licensed for a scooter abroad, and you cannot fix that at the rental desk.
- Get the correct IDP for your destination (1968 for Vietnam and Indonesia), and confirm it carries your motorcycle category.
- Wear the helmet, every time. It is the law in all eight countries and it protects your insurance as well as your head.
- Photograph the scooter's existing scratches with the rental agent present, before you ride off.
- Do not leave your passport as a deposit. Offer a cash deposit or a photocopy instead.
- Set up navigation before you ride. Choose your scooter or moped profile, enter the first destination, and mount the phone, while you are still parked outside the shop.
A quick honesty note on the legal bits
Licence, helmet and insurance rules change, differ by region and island, and depend on your own home licence. Everything above is a starting point to plan around, not legal advice. Before you ride, confirm the specifics with the rental company, your travel insurer, and your own government's official travel advice for the country. The one line that is safe everywhere: if in doubt about whether your licence covers the bike, assume it does not until someone official tells you otherwise.
Ride it like you live there
The whole point of a rented scooter is to explore a place at its own pace, on the small roads a tour bus never sees. Get the licence right so the day cannot go legally wrong, then let a scooter-aware app handle the roads so it cannot go navigationally wrong either. Urban Rider is free to download on iOS and Android, needs no account, and works the same in every country here. For more on why the usual apps struggle, see how to use Google Maps on a 50cc scooter, and if you are comparing options, our guide to the best scooter and moped navigation apps.
Frequently asked questions
Can I ride a rented scooter abroad on my car licence?
As a visiting tourist, generally no. In Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Thailand, Vietnam and Bali, a car licence does not legally cover a scooter or moped for a foreign visitor. You need a motorcycle entitlement (AM, A1 or A) on your home licence. The rules that let residents of Italy, Spain or Portugal ride a 125cc on a car licence are domestic concessions and do not travel with you. Riding without the right category is illegal and usually voids your rental insurance, so confirm before you ride.
What is an International Driving Permit and do I need one?
An International Driving Permit (IDP) is a translation of your home licence. There are two types, the 1949 Geneva and the 1968 Vienna conventions, and different countries recognise different ones (Vietnam and Indonesia accept only the 1968 version). Crucially, an IDP only carries the categories already on your home licence, so a car-only licence produces a car-only IDP that does not cover a scooter. Non-EU visitors to Europe, and most visitors to South-East Asia, should carry the correct IDP alongside their home licence.
Do I need a helmet to ride a rented scooter?
Yes. A helmet is legally required for the rider and passenger in all eight countries in this guide, and in several of them not wearing one can also invalidate your insurance. Enforcement through checkpoints is common, especially in Thailand and Bali.
Which of these countries drive on the left?
Thailand and Indonesia (including Bali) drive on the left. Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France and Vietnam drive on the right. If you are not used to the local side, take the first few minutes gently, especially at junctions and roundabouts.
How do I navigate a rented scooter in a foreign city?
A rented scooter has no built-in navigation, and general car map apps route you like a car, often onto fast roads and highways a 50cc cannot legally use. Use a vehicle-aware app such as Urban Rider: pick the scooter or moped profile so routes avoid highways and match real scooter speeds. Set it up before you ride away from the rental shop, and mount your phone on the handlebars so you are not holding it.