Bali is one of the most popular islands in Southeast Asia, and deciding the best time to visit Bali is going to affect not only the weather you experience but also how many other tourists are there with you.
Like most of tropical Indonesia, Bali only really has two seasons throughout the year, the dry season and the wet season.
All year-round, it’s hot, and for many, Bali can be visited any time of the year, but between November and March, you can expect downpours most days during the wet season.
April to October is the dry season and you can expect larger crowds and higher prices but the weather will be perfect.
Often, the best time to visit Bali is a trade-off between the weather and the number of visitors.
To help you to plan your trip, here’s our guide on the best time to visit Bali.
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Best Time to Visit Bali: Month by Month Breakdown
Bali Dry Season
The dry season is the best time to visit Bali when it comes to the weather because for half of the year you can expect beautiful clear skies and almost no rainfall.
The dry season in Bali runs from May to October, although this can vary each year. The peak months are the height of the Balinese winter, which is June, July, and August.
May in Bali
May is the start of the official dry season in Bali, but you can still expect a mixed bag when it comes to the weather.
One year it could be raining all through May but the next it can be dry from as early as April.
If it does rain in May though it’s guaranteed to just be a few light showers, and this is the best time to visit before you hit the high season from June to August.
Prices will be lower in May and with the better weather, it’s a good time to start diving and snorkeling, as the water visibility clears up.
It’s getting cooler too and less humid, so a hike to the summit of Bali’s mysterious volcano, Mount Batur, can be a great activity in May, as you’ll miss the crowds and enjoy better conditions for hiking.
June in Bali
June is the start of the high season in Bali, although it’s not quite as busy a month as July and August. The weather is likely to be perfect with temperatures averaging in the mid-twenties and humidity low.
You’ll have to be really unlucky to see even a light rain shower, so it’s a great time to hit up the beaches and make the most of the clear skies and sunshine.
Prices start to climb in June, but you’ll miss the worst of the high season which picks up towards the end of the month when the European summer holidays begin in earnest.
In June you should visit the more touristy attractions such as the famous temples in the south – Uluwatu for instance – or the increasingly popular Nusa Islands before the summer crowds make their appearance.
July in Bali
July is usually the busiest month to visit Bali, but for good reason, and that’s because you’ll be enjoying the best weather of the year.
But as well as enjoying sunny, clear skies and zero rain, you’ll be sharing the beaches and resorts with hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers. People flock here from Europe, America and more than anywhere else, from Australia.
Prices will be higher for flights and hotels, but if you do want to escape the crowds then head north.
This is a great time to experience a side of Bali that most miss, and by exploring the black sand beaches of Amed or the coast and jungle of Bali Barat National Park, you’ll see how the south of Bali was a few decades previously.
August in Bali
Much like July, August is always super busy in Bali. The weather is again beautiful, with clear skies and sunny days, and it’s a great time for lounging on beaches and drinking cold Bintang Beers.
If you want to escape the holiday crowds though then plan a trip north, and visit the beautiful coastline in more rustic destinations such as Lovina or Amed, where tourism has only recently begun to develop.
There are great snorkeling and diving up north too, including some famous shipwrecks, and as it’s the height of the dry season the water will be beautifully clear.
September in Bali
September can be the best time to visit Bali if you want a great mix of good weather and smaller crowds.
Things will still be busy and flights will be more expensive than the later shoulder season months. But you’ll save money compared to the true high season and have fewer people around when you explore touristy destinations such as Ubud, Kuta or the Nusa Islands.
October in Bali
October is a great shoulder season month, but the dry weather is coming to a close. There are more and more rainy days, but these can be unpredictable.
If you’re in Bali for two weeks, you’ll most likely have enough dry days to make the most of your visit.
Enjoy the south and the more traditional beach areas, get cultural in Ubud or escape to the north to see a wilder side of the island.
Bali Wet Season
The wet season in Bali runs from November through to April, corresponding with the southern hemisphere summer and fall.
It’s tropical, and that means that while it does rain hard when it rains, showers and storms are brief but fierce.
The rainy season can be a great time to miss the crowds but give December and January a miss because these two months are still incredibly popular despite the wet weather.
November in Bali
November is when the rainy season starts in Bali, but just how much rain there will be, can vary.
You’ll have good odds of having lovely sunny days still, and it’s a great time to visit because you’ll miss the Christmas crowds who are just around the corner.
You can get wonderful deals on flights and hotels through November, and you’ll still be able to snorkel and dive before the water gets too cloudy from the rains.
It’s getting hotter, but take a trip to the summit of Mount Batur and you’ll be able to cool down after a challenging hike to the top of Bali’s iconic volcano.
December in Bali
December is usually the rainiest month of the year, and weather-wise, this really is not the best time to visit Bali.
The tourist crowds would beg to differ though because while you might get soaked, it’s also incredibly warm still.
That draws over the Christmas crowds seeking winter sun from Europe and North America, and it still brings over the Aussie crowds looking for a cheap getaway.
It’s a lively time to be in Bali, and it’s not a bad place at all to spend Christmas and New Year, but be prepared for high prices and lots of other travelers and tourists.
January in Bali
January can be just as busy as December and unfortunately, just as rainy. This is the height of the wet season, but again, it doesn’t put off the crowds.
If you do visit, then the southern beaches and classic resort areas are best avoided. Head north instead, and find a bit more peace and quiet in the lesser-visited parts of Bali.
February in Bali
In February, the weather starts to cool down slightly and the rainy days begin to disappear, but it’s still very much the wet season.
It’s a great shoulder season month, right after the Christmas crowds go home, and you can enjoy many of Bali’s best sights with fewer people around.
Head to the waterfalls, as they will be in their element, and the jungle will be lush and green from all the rainfall over the last few months.
March in Bali
March can be a wet month or it can be a dry month, the weather gods in Bali are unpredictable this time of the year.
It will be a quiet month on the tourism front though and that makes it the best time to visit Bali if you’re a fan of shoulder season travel.
The Christmas and New Year crowds are long gone, and the dry season tourists are a few months away.
You can get great deals on flights and resorts if you book in advance, and you’ll find that lots of beach areas in the south such as Kuta, Seminyak or Canggu are quieter.
This is Bali though, so if you’re here for the social aspects then there are always other travelers around to hang out with.
April in Bali
April is a great shoulder month, but be careful of the Easter Holidays in Australia or Europe, as Bali becomes a popular holiday break destination during this time of the year.
You could enjoy almost all sunny days or conversely it could also rain a lot, but that’s the gamble in April as the rainy season draws to a close.
It’s the tail end of the wet season though and Bali will be blooming, making this a great month to visit the waterfalls and the rice paddies before they start to dry out again.
Visit Ubud for cultural festivals and then hike through the rice terraces nearby.
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