Best Time to Visit Bali

When to visit Bali depends, of course, on what you plan to do there and not too much on the weather. The weather, in general, is pretty stable in Bali, and here are some tips for finding the best time to visit Bali. If you are going there for specific reasons, activities, or festivals, you might want to plan around it.

Weather in Bali

Bali has a tropical climate and is considered to have only two seasons – dry or wet. The dry season is from April to October, and the wet season is from November to March.

In terms of weather, the best time to go to Bali is from July to August, as the temperature is at its coolest and driest in terms of rain. But it is also the peak season naturally; thus, take note of the tourist crowds and book in advance.

Also, note that the weather is also changing nowadays and may differ from the usual schedule we know about. Therefore, come to Bali with an open mind and heart, and don’t let any weather changes affect your trip.

However, it is still possible to travel in the rainy season. It may still rain during the dry season and not rain for a week in the wet season, and it usually comes down in short blasts in the evening or late afternoons. Therefore if you must, traveling in Bali during the wet seasons is still possible if you do most of your sightseeing in the morning and early afternoons and rest in the evenings.

High/Peak and Low Season in Bali

April to September will be the high season in Bali, as it is purportedly the dry season and generally the summer holiday season in many parts of the world.

The quieter months are from October to March, and though it is considered the rainy season, most of the rains come only in the evening and leave pretty quickly. Therefore, enjoying Bali in this weather is still possible if you plan your days earlier and rest in the evening.

Best time to visit Bali

The best time to visit Bali is during the dry season of the tropical monsoon weather. The dry season which sees less rain, is between May to September, while the wet is from October to April. If you want to escape the crowd, though, the wet season would not be too bad as it mostly only rains a while with sunny most of the day. 

Personally, my favorite time to visit Bali in terms of weather and the crowd is the shoulder season, which is either March or October. You will have relatively dry weather yet without the tourist crowds at these times!

Take note also of peak seasons, which are July and August during the summer vacations of the Europeans and mid-December to late January for the Australian school holidays. This is especially obvious in the famous touristy places like Bali, Lombok, and Gili Islands.

If you are a surfer, the best waves are from May to October on the western side of Bali.

Festivals in Bali

If you want to visit some of the festivals in Bali, here are some of the popular and interesting festivals to visit that you might want to look out for:

February / March

Bau Nyale Festival – Hundreds of people will rush to Lombok in February or March to catch a glimpse of the first nyale (worm-like fish) at the huge fishing festival.

March / April

Bali Nyepi day – also known as the day of silence, is celebrated every year as the Hindu New Year (Saka new year). The date changes according to the Balinese calendar every year but usually falls between March and April.
Bali Spirit Festival – a gathering of world-renowned musicians, yogis, and dancers from around the world for a celebration in April.

June / July

Bali Arts Festival – Normally around June-July, There will be performances from all remote corners of Indonesia, nearly forgotten rituals and village dances, food and offerings, classical palace dance, and even contemporary dances from the schools of Denpasar.
-> Check out more about Bali Art Festivals.

July / August

Bali Kite Festival – held yearly in July in Padang Galak Area, Sanur Beach, Bali. People from Denpasar villages will make their traditional giant kites and fly them in a competition.

October

Ubud Writer’s Festival – its mission is to create a literary event that encourages free speech among people from all walks of life, race, and gender to celebrate the beauty of the written words.