The Bali Secret guide
Short answer
The best time to visit Bali is the dry season, April to October. May, June and September give the best balance of good weather, manageable crowds and lower prices. July and August have the best weather but peak prices.
In this guide9 sections · 4 min
Bali has two seasons: dry (April to October) and wet (November to March). Most people should aim for the dry season, but the best month depends on whether you are optimising for weather, crowds or cost.
The short version
| If you want… | Go in | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Best overall balance | May, June, September | Genuinely few downsides. The sweet spot. |
| Best weather | July–August | Peak prices and peak crowds. |
| Lowest prices | February | Rainy-season afternoons. |
| Fewer crowds, good weather | April, October | Slightly higher rain risk at the edges. |
Month by month
- January–February. Wettest months. Rain usually arrives as heavy afternoon downpours rather than all-day grey. Cheapest flights and villas, quietest beaches.
- March. Rain easing. Good value, and the landscape is at its greenest.
- April. Start of dry season. Excellent conditions before prices climb.
- May–June. Arguably the best months — dry, warm, and 20–30% cheaper villas than peak.
- July–August. Peak season. Best weather, highest prices, busiest beaches and restaurants.
- September. Still dry, crowds thinning, prices dropping. A strong pick.
- October. Shoulder season. Occasional rain returning, good value.
- November–December. Wet season begins. December spikes in price for the holidays despite the weather.
Month by month, in numbers
| Month | Season | Crowds | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | Wet — heaviest | Low | Lowest |
| February | Wet | Lowest | Cheapest month |
| March | Wet, easing | Low | Low |
| April | Dry begins | Building | Good value |
| May | Dry | Moderate | 20–30% below peak |
| June | Dry | Moderate | 20–30% below peak |
| July | Dry — best weather | Peak | Highest |
| August | Dry — best weather | Peak | Highest |
| September | Dry | Thinning | Falling |
| October | Shoulder | Low | Good value |
| November | Wet begins | Low | Low |
| December | Wet | Spikes late | Holiday peak |
The temperature barely moves
Worth correcting a common assumption. Bali is a few degrees south of the equator, so it does not have a hot season and a cool one — it sits around 26–28°C essentially all year, day in and day out.
What actually changes between the seasons is rain and humidity, and with them sea conditions and insect numbers. So choosing a month is not about finding the warm part of the year. It is about trading rainfall against crowds and price, and all three move together.
If you surf, the season picks the coast
The single most useful thing to know, and the one most month-by-month guides leave out: Bali has good surf all year. It simply moves from one side of the island to the other.
| Season | Working coast | Typical spots |
|---|---|---|
| Dry, April–October | West and south-west | Uluwatu, Padang Padang, Canggu, Balangan |
| Wet, November–March | East and south-east | Sanur, Nusa Dua, Keramas |
The reason is wind. The dry-season trade winds blow offshore on the west coast, which grooms the waves there and blows them out in the east; in the wet season it reverses. So "bad season for surfing" is almost always a question of being on the wrong side of the island that week, not of there being no waves.
This matters for where you base yourself more than for when you go.
Dates that override the season
- Nyepi (Balinese New Year), March. The island shuts completely for 24 hours — no flights in or out, no going outside, lights off after dark, including for tourists in hotels. Extraordinary to experience, ruinous if you did not plan for it. Check the date before booking March.
- Galungan and Kuningan. Ten days of ceremony roughly every 210 days. Beautiful, busy, and many local businesses close.
- Australian school holidays, especially around late June to July, push southern-beach prices and crowds well above the baseline.
- Chinese New Year, Jan–Feb. A brief spike in an otherwise quiet stretch.
A note on the rainy season
Wet season in Bali is often misunderstood. It usually means a heavy downpour for an hour or two in the afternoon, not days of continuous rain — worth weighing against how much cheaper those months are. Mornings are frequently clear. If you are travelling on a budget and can work around afternoon rain, January and February are dramatically cheaper.
The real trade-offs are rougher seas for diving and snorkelling, and more mosquitoes.
How far ahead to book
- July, August and Christmas–New Year: several months out for anywhere good. The best-value places go first and prices only rise.
- Shoulder months: a few weeks is usually plenty, and late booking sometimes beats early.
- January–February: you can largely turn up. Availability is not the constraint.
- Around Nyepi: book flights early and deliberately, because the airport closes entirely for 24 hours and the days either side are congested.
Before you book
Every foreign visitor pays a one-time tourist levy of IDR 150,000 (about $9.30) per person. Pay it online before flying to skip a queue on arrival.
