In short. Fill up at a Pertamina SPBU: prices are the same across the island, and an attendant fills the tank. A rental scooter is fine on subsidised Pertalite (octane 90) at 10,000 rupiah a litre, a price the government promises to hold until the end of 2026. Pertamax is 15,950, Pertamax Turbo 19,600 and Dexlite 23,700 as of 1 November 2026, and the unsubsidised grades are reviewed on the first of the month. A full scooter tank is about 40,000 rupiah. Petrol in roadside bottles costs more and is sometimes diluted: buy it only for a litre to reach a station. On Nyepi everything is closed. Keep cash for the station: cards and QR do not always work.
Where to fill up. Petrol stations are called SPBU, almost all belong to the state-owned Pertamina, and prices at them are the same anywhere on the island. An attendant fills the tank: you name the grade and the amount or say "full", and they fill it and show zero on the pump before they start. At big stations in Kuta, Denpasar and Ubud the queue for bikes is separate from cars, and you can pay in cash, by card and through QRIS.
Which grade. An ordinary rental scooter of 110–160 cc is fine on Pertalite, petrol with octane 90, subsidised by the state. Pertamax, octane 92, is for cars and bikes whose manual requires it, and for those who want slightly smoother idling. Pertamax Turbo, 98, is rarely needed. Diesel for cars: Dexlite and Pertamina Dex, and the subsidised Bio Solar for commercial transport. Ask the owner of a rental bike which grade to use when you collect it: some owners ask for Pertamax only.
Prices. On 1 November 2026 Pertamina did not change prices, and they have applied since 2 September. According to the detik Bali summary, prices in Bali in rupiah per litre:
- Pertalite: 10,000, the price of the subsidised fuel, which the government promises not to raise until the end of 2026.
- Pertamax: 15,950.
- Pertamax Green 95: 19,150.
- Pertamax Turbo: 19,600.
- Dexlite: 23,700, Pertamina Dex: 25,200.
- Bio Solar: 6,800.
Pertamina reviews the unsubsidised grades on the first day of each month, and in Bali the price may differ from Java by a hundred or two rupiah. The exact price for today is in the MyPertamina app and on the station's board; the Pertamina helpline is 135. A full scooter tank of four litres of Pertalite costs about 40,000 rupiah, which is about two and a half dollars.
Roadside bottles. In villages and on beach streets there are stands with petrol in glass vodka bottles, sometimes with a Pertamini pump. This helps when the tank is empty and the station is far, but a litre there costs more than at an SPBU, and nobody checks the quality: there is diluted and old petrol, after which the scooter stalls at traffic lights. The rule is simple: a bottle of one litre to reach a station, and no more.
If the station is closed. Large SPBU work round the clock, village ones close in the evening. Once a year, on Nyepi, everything is closed, so fill up the day before; see the holiday calendar. A scooter's tank is small and the gauge lies: with the warning light on you usually have a litre, which in Ubud or on the Bukit may not be enough to reach the nearest pump.
What is happening with petrol now. As of 2 November 2026 there is no shortage: Bali police together with Pertamina checked stations in four regencies and saw no queues, and at the Denpasar fuel depot Pertalite is enough for about 13 days (news of 3 November). The police ask people not to buy petrol in bulk.
Petrol shortages in October 2026. From the start of October Bali ran short of Pertalite, and later of Pertamax: on 11 October stations in Tabanan ran out, on 12 October the shortages reached Denpasar, and on 13 October Klungkung had no Pertalite for a second day. By the governor's decision Pertamina shipped another 26,200 kilolitres to the island in three batches on 12, 14 and 16 October (news of 12 October). From the evening of 13 October, 54 stations in Denpasar and 38 stations in Badung switched to round-the-clock work (news of 14 October), and from 15 to 17 October the island's schools and universities studied online and civil servants worked from home. If shortages repeat: fill up at large SPBU on main roads, do not wait for an empty tank, and if there is no Pertalite, take Pertamax. Do not buy petrol by hand in bottles at an inflated price: Badung police warned that such resale carries up to six years (news of 15 October). Fuel in jerrycans can no longer be carried on a boat to Nusa Penida, and it is confiscated at Sampalan port. Instead of a bike you can take the Trans Metro Dewata bus (how to use it).
What this means for you. Scooter: Pertalite at an SPBU, a full tank every two or three days for 40 thousand, and roadside bottles only for a litre to reach a station. Car: Pertamax or diesel as the manual says, and check the price in MyPertamina on the first of the month. Always keep cash in your wallet for the station: cards and QR sometimes fail, and the queue behind you is already waiting.