Bali has a dry season and a rainy season, and they feel very different. Here is what each month looks like.
The best time to visit Bali is May to September, the middle of the dry season. Lower humidity, steadier winds, and the most dry days. August is usually the driest of them.
April to October is broadly considered the dry season and November to March the rainy season, with the exact timing varying from year to year. It is not an exact science: you can get a dry March and a wet June. Everything below follows from those two seasons: which coast the surf favors, what a villa costs, and how much plastic washes up on the beach you booked for.
July and August are peak season. Villa rates can rise sharply and the south of the island gets busy. If crowds and prices matter to you, May, June and September have similar weather for much less. If they do not, July and August have the best weather of the year.
January and February are the wettest months. It usually does not rain all day, more that you get heavy tropical downpours, but this is also when beach debris and a lot of plastic turn up on the beaches. December has another problem: it is still very wet, and very expensive over Christmas and New Year.
Great time to visit
September offers pleasant weather with minimal rain, though it's a busier time so popular spots will be crowded. Book accommodations and tours in advance to secure your preferred options.
SCORE BY MONTH
Visitor data: BPS-Statistics Bali, monthly foreign visitor arrivals (Jul-Dec 2025, Jan-Jun 2026)
Temperature barely changes. Rain and crowds are what make the months different.
Marine debris washes up on the west-coast beaches from Kuta to Seminyak. Prices are low, the rice terraces are at their greenest, and the surf is better on the east coast.
One of the quietest months in the arrivals data. Villa rates are near their yearly low and restaurant reservations are easy to get.
The quietest month for arrivals. Nyepi, the Balinese day of silence, closes the airport for a full 24 hours, so check the date before booking flights.
The changeover month, and an underrated one. Quieter than the July peak, most days are dry, and the island is still green from the wet season.
Dry season proper. Sunny days, low rainfall, comfortable evenings and moderate crowds. May has dry-season weather before the July and August peak.
Dry, breezy and usually sunny, with dry-season winds favoring the west-coast breaks. Crowds build through the month towards the July peak, though rates have not fully jumped yet.
The busiest month in the arrivals data. Canggu, Uluwatu and Ubud are full, villa rates hit their yearly high, and traffic in the south gets bad.
Cooler evenings than you expect, and consistent west-coast surf. Rates are at their peak, though Ubud and the north stay quieter than the southern strip.
The last of the dry season and the best month for value. The European and Australian holidays are over and rates come down.
The transition into the rainy season. Rain returns gradually, mostly as afternoon showers, and arrivals drop off. Still a good month to visit, and cheaper than September.
One of the quietest and cheapest months. Diving in the east and around Nusa Penida is still good, and the waterfalls are full again.
Wet weather at holiday prices. Arrivals and rates usually rise sharply in the second half of the month, and over Christmas and New Year the south is as busy as it gets in July.
Airfare here differs by season, and not always in step with the weather. These are the cheapest fares held on Bali's busiest nonstop routes, each measured against its own typical month.
Measured on Doha, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Perth, Singapore to Bali: two domestic routes, the busiest international one, and the long-haul routes that carry the most traffic. Each route is compared against its own typical month, so a long flight and a short one count equally and what is left is the season. Cheapest fares only, and airfare only, not the cost of the trip.
Bali is eight degrees south of the equator, so the temperature stays pretty much the same all year round. On the south coast, highs are 30 to 31°C (86 to 88°F) and lows 22 to 24°C (72 to 75°F) in every month. Ubud and the highlands are a few degrees cooler. What changes is rain, humidity and wind.
Dry season, April to October. Lower humidity, southeasterly winds, and long stretches of clear days. July and August are the driest and busiest. Dry-season winds favor the west and southwest surf breaks, and you can plan a day around being outside.
Rainy season, November to March. Rain is common, especially in the afternoons and overnight, and usually arrives as a heavy downpour rather than all-day drizzle. Mornings are often clear, though not reliably. High coastal humidity, around 85%, can make the rainy season feel harder than the rainfall suggests.
February and March might still be a good time to go. The island is green instead of brown, the waterfalls are full, the rice terraces are greenest, and villa rates are often much lower than in August. The risk you take is losing some days to weather that is no good for the beach.
Nyepi is the Balinese new year and a full day of silence. No flights in or out, the airport closed for 24 hours, no traffic, no work, and lighting kept to a minimum after dark. Hotels ask guests to stay on the property. It is observed island-wide, including by visitors.
The date moves every year with the Balinese Saka calendar, so check it against your dates before you book: a flight scheduled for that day will not operate. The Bali guide lists the upcoming holidays. The night before, many communities hold Ogoh-ogoh processions with giant demon effigies, burned afterwards in some villages.
If you are flying in or out that day, move the flight. If you are already on the island, the parade the night before is worth staying for.
March is the quietest month in Bali's arrivals data, then November, then February. Crowds are strongly influenced by the northern hemisphere summer and Australian school holidays as well as by the weather, which is why September thins out despite having near-August conditions.
Villa and hotel rates can rise sharply between the February low and the July and August peak, and again over Christmas and New Year. The Bali cost of living guide has the exact costs.
Crowding is very unevenly spread. Canggu, Seminyak, Uluwatu and Pererenan are among the busiest areas. Ubud and Sanur are busy but manageable. Amed, Sidemen, Munduk and the north stay quiet even in August.
January, if you care about the beach. It is one of the two wettest months, the humidity is relentless, and rainy-season currents wash plastic and other debris onto the beaches from Kuta up to Seminyak.
Late December is the worst value. You get rainy-season weather at peak-season prices, plus the worst traffic of the year in the south. If Christmas and New Year is the only window you have, book early and base yourself away from the Canggu and Seminyak strip.
On weather alone, December, January and February are the weakest months. February and March are the best value of the year: a February trip with a rain jacket and a flexible plan costs far less than the same trip in August.
For weather, barely. The island is small and the seasons arrive everywhere at once. Three things do change by area.
Rain. The highlands around Ubud and Munduk are cooler and wetter than the coast in every month, with afternoon rain common even in the dry season. The south and the northeast are the drier ends of the island. That is the whole weather story.
Surf. Dry-season winds favor the west and southwest breaks around Uluwatu, Canggu and Kuta, roughly April to October. In the rainy season the wind often turns, and the east and southeast coast around Sanur, Nusa Dua and Keramas can pick up the better conditions. The west still works in the rainy season; it is just less dependable.
Crowds. Canggu, Seminyak, Uluwatu and Pererenan are the busiest. Ubud and Sanur are busy but manageable. Amed, Sidemen, Munduk and the north stay quiet even in peak season.
Boats and diving. Crossings to Nusa Penida and Lembongan are rougher and more often canceled in the rainy season. May to September usually brings the calmest water and the best visibility around Amed and Tulamben, including the USAT Liberty wreck.
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August, on weather alone: it is usually the driest month and the top-scoring one in our table. September is the better all-round pick, with similarly dry weather once the northern hemisphere holidays are over and villa rates have come off their peak. May and June work for the same reason.
Yes, with the right expectations. Rain is usually a heavy afternoon or overnight downpour, not all-day drizzle, and mornings are often clear. Villa rates are much lower, the island is green and the waterfalls are full. What you give up is dependable beach days on the west coast.
November to March, with January and February the wettest. Rain eases through March and April, and by May it is mostly gone. Coastal humidity around 85% is what most people find harder than the rainfall.
February and March. Villa and hotel rates are at their lowest, flights from most places are cheaper, and you can book at short notice. On many properties the February rate is far below the August one.
It depends which coast. The west and southwest breaks around Uluwatu, Canggu and Kuta are favored by dry-season winds from April to October. In the rainy season the wind flips and the east coast, around Sanur, Nusa Dua and Keramas, produces better conditions. So there is good surf year-round, just not in the same place.
In the south, yes. Canggu, Seminyak and Uluwatu are full, traffic on the Canggu roads is slow, and popular restaurants need reservations. Parts of Ubud and the north handle it better, and the east stays quiet. If you have to travel in August, base yourself away from the southwest strip.