Like everything else in Tiruvannamalai, many scooter rental companies both small and large shut down during the Covid pandemic. Now that Tiruvannamalai has reopened for tourism again, scooter rental businesses in Tiruvannamalai are back in action and you won’t have an issue hiring one close to wherever you are staying or booking online and having your holiday wheels delivered to your hotel or villa. I highly recommend renting a scooter from an established hire company that provides insurance, sanitised helmets and high-quality well-maintained scooters.
1. Why rent a scooter in Tiruvannamalai?
Tiruvannamalai is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. With Arunachala mountain, Ramana ashram, stunning temples and everything from waterfalls in the mountains to sunsets over Arunachala, Tiruvannamalai has a well-deserved reputation for being a world’s spiritual capital and a holidaymaker’s dream destination.
Bu getting around can be a nightmare due to the horrendous traffic in the main tourist strips, anywhere around the twn and along the routes between the popular pradakshina routes.
First, even going from your hotel or villa may take twice as long in a taxi,auto rickshaw as on a scooter. Renting a scooter in Tiruvannamalai also means you can go anywhere, anytime and not be tied to trying to get a auto rickshaw or hiring a taxi and driver. It’s also incredibly cost-effective compared to any other mode of transport. And while there is a rudimentary public transport system in parts of Tiruvannamalai, you can basically rule this out.Riding on a rental scooter in Tiruvannamalai is super fun and then there is the safety factor too. Foreign tourists are happy riding through ricefields or up around the mountains on a scooter experiencing parts of Tiruvannamalai with family and friends that not many tourists make the effort to see because they don’t know where to go.
2. Do I need to know how to ride a scooter?
If you haven’t ridden a scooter or motorcycle before, Tiruvannamalai is a really bad training ground. The carefree vibe might be conducive to wanting the freedom and excitement of learning to ride, but I would be remiss if I didn’t say this is a really bad idea.
Very bad. I’ve been riding motorcycles for most of my life, and I still found the local traffic conditions exceptionally challenging when I first arrived.
Learning to ride a scooter in Tiruvannamalai – Tiruvannamalai Holiday Secrets
Learning to ride in Tiruvannamalai is a really good idea – But you have plenty of empty space, the right training ground and an expert teacher.If you choose to disregard this good advice, then for the love of the gods find a nice quiet place to practice for at least 4 hours before venturing onto the roads and making yourself a clear and present danger to yourself and others.
The biggest issue when learning to ride a scooter in Tiruvannamalai is that it seems, well, too easy. The problem is this can give you a false sense of confidence in your abilities, and there is nothing more dangerous than being on the road when your confidence far exceeds your abilities.
My best advice for mitigating this risk is to learn to ride a scooter before you get to Tiruvannamalai. Even borrowing a friend’s scooter and spending a couple of hours in an empty car park will make the world of difference from “learning as you go” after you arrive for your Tiruvannamalai holiday. In Tiruvannamalai,you will experience sensory overload on the roads — the sights, smells, noise, congested traffic and visual overload can all contribute to distracting you from the task at hand — and that is not causing an accident through a split-second of inattention.
3. What kind of scooters are available?
OK, so here are your choices.
Tvs Scooty Pep 100cc
This is great for women and men who weigh less than 90kgs. With only a 100cc engine they are surprisingly easy to handle, robust beyond their looks and perfect for getting around Tiruvannamalai.
Jupiter / Honda / Suzuki 110cc
These are is by far the most common scooter for hire in Tiruvannamalai. It’s a real workhorse, and you can pretty much go anywhere with one of these. You can comfortably carry a pillion passenger on these bikes, especially on the flat which is the majority of where you will be.
Yamaha/ Suzuki/Jupiter /Hondia Nmax 125cc
These 125 cc scooters are an excellent choice to get around Tiruvannamalai. It’s a scooter with a larger frame, proper motorcycle wheels and tyres with enough power to carry a pillion easily.
These are great for both short trips to the supermarket around the corner and longer trips all over Tiruvannamalai and is a far superior ride due to the larger frame, drivetrain and wheels.
4. Don’t rent old scooters
Don’t hire or accept clearly old end-of-life scooters. There are plenty of options to hire relatively new scooters for the same price and the chances of breaking down are lowered dramatically with the age of the bike.
Make sure you get a new-model, low-kilometre scooter.
There is no need to rent old, mechanically suspect scooters in Bali as there are simply so many reasonably new ones (less than 5 years old) with low kilometres (under 10,000) available.
5. Where can I rent a scooter in Tiruvannamalai?
OK, here’s the thing. You can’t walk 10 metres almost anywhere in Tiruvannamalai without bumping into streetside scooter rental operators. They are literally everywhere where there are tourists. Having said that, the maxim “you get what you pay for” applies particularly well when renting a scooter. But Bhagavan scooters is the best scoote rentals in Tiruvannamalai as they rent new scooters at the most economical price in Tiruvannamalai
Bhagavan scooter rentals in Tiruvannamalai
But the best thing about Bhagavan scooters is you can book online and have your scooters delivered straight to your hotel or villa, and they will pick it up when your holiday is ending.
6. How much does a scooter cost to rent?
Ok, streetside operators will charge anything between Inr Rs – 200 per day for a 100 cc and Inr Rs 250 per day for an 125 cc. Beware the extra charges for things like insurance that may simply be a scam without providing an actual insurance underwriter, and you will most likely be getting a nearly empty gas tank.
Most will ask to take a copy of your passport, and while most are honest operators, some have been known to engage in a side hustle by selling your details to unsavoury characters who can do stuff (let’s not get into details here) with your identity details.
Renting a scooter from Bhagavan scooters starts at Inr Rs 100 per day for a new model Scooty and Inr Rs 150 per day for an 110 cc based on a 1-week rental. Those prices drop to Rs 75 and Rs 100 respectively if you rent for a month.
7. Do I need insurance to rent a scooter?
In Tiruvannamalai there is no one who will do a insurance for you.You’re going to have a real issue on your hands if you rented your bike from a small independent operator and it gets pinched. You most likely didn’t read the rental agreement they asked you to sign which says you are financially liable for the scooter if stolen or stacked.
8. Do I need an International Driver’s Permit to rent a scooter?
Understand with clarity that without an International Drivers Permit your travel insurance will likely be invalid. I cannot stress this point enough. IDPs are so easy and inexpensive to obtain from your home country that not doing so is simply asking for trouble (or a fine).
There are several advantages to having an International Driving Permit with you when renting a scooter in Tiruvannamalai. The first is you don’t invalidate your travel insurance (it’s worth repeating).
The 2nd is it will help you either get away with or at least minimise the cost of “traffic fines” when pulled over by the local police — and the chances of being pulled over are quite high — more on that topic later.
But no once cares in Tiruvannamalai and all foreign tourists rent scooters without a international license.
9. Do I need to wear a helmet in Tiruvannamalai?
Yes. Absolutely 100% always wear a helmet.
Those carefree souls you see driving around Tiruvannamalai without a helmet have increased their odds of a fatal accident by a massive order of magnitude. The odds are pretty clear — if you are not wearing a helmet and fall off, even at low speed, the odds of being a fatality increase dramatically. But if you are wearing a helmet the chances of death are dramatically lower. You will still get hurt, no doubt, but a helmet may be the only thing between your head and the pavement, and will likely save your life.
Most tourists to Tiruvannamalai are completely focused on renting the scooter and getting underway. They often don’t pay attention to the condition of the bike and even more often the helmet is just an afterthought.
Make it clear when you are renting a scooter that you want a choice of helmets and choose one that fits properly and has a solid working clasp mechanism.
A helmet that is too loose is never going to protect your head if it makes contact with an inanimate object (like the road). A helmet that fits too tight will cause a headache within 30 minutes of being worn, which is in itself a danger.
Take my recommendation and hire your bike from a reputable company that provides good quality, sanitised helmets with every scooter rental. Bhagavan scooters provide helmets with the scooter.
Pro-tip: always lock your helmet in the space under the seat, or with the strap around the peg inside the seat, because a good helmet is a prize that won’t last long if left unattended hanging on your handlebar mirror.
10. Don’t drink and ride
Needless to say, alcohol lowers inhibitions and decreases perceived consequences and risk assessment. Drinking and riding is, unfortunately, a common occurrence in Tiruvannamalai. It is far too easy to forget the consequences of drinking and riding are not limited to getting nicked by the cops. It’s a serious injury to yourself or others that you need to be most aware of.
Coming off a rented scooter in Tiruvannamalai is no joke. A trip to the hospital is the last thing you need to ruin an otherwise great holiday. But the potential for damage to someone else’s bike, car or property could have serious consequences.
By far the worst outcome is to hurt someone else, opening yourself to legal ramifications including fines, prosecution or arrest and incarceration.
11. What to do if I get into an accident?
If you happen to get into a accident, remember this — Go to the hospital first and get treated. If the accident has caused significant damage to someone else’s property, or god forbid you have caused injury to someone, expect the police to be involved. And believe me when I say this will not end well for you.I’m not going to go into how to negotiate your way out of an accident of this severity with the police, except to say that the amount it will cost you will be directly proportional to the damage or injury you have caused and the level of humility you display. Please know that aggression will make any situation worse, not better.
12. What should I do if pulled over by the police?
If you carry your home country driver’s license along with an IDP it’s likely you’ll be sent on your way, assuming you’re wearing your helmet of course.
The three most common reasons to be pulled over are not wearing a helmet, over-riding the white line at a stop sign or at one of the infrequent roadblocks on main roads where the police check for helmets, licenses or other obvious infractions.
If you’ve been pulled over, deal with it with patience and humility. Escalating the situation through shouting or aggressive behaviour will not end well for you.
You’re a guest in this country and need to respect local laws, rules and customs. Be polite, and humble, try not to be judgemental about local laws and customs you no nothing about and pay any fines with humility and grace.
But if you are harressed, threatened or asked to pay a bribe them call your country’s embassy to help you.
13. Where can I go on a scooter in Tiruvannamalai?
One of the reasons I personally recommend spending a fraction extra on a decent scooter with proper helmets and a lockable top box is because you can literally ride all around Tiruvannamalai in just a few days visiting as many attractions as you can handle.
For day trips I recommend riding to attractions around Arunachala mountain or go into town and explore the markets.
