When to go to Bali for your honeymoon

Which month is best for a honeymoon in Bali?

May, June, September and October. They sit in the dry season but outside the July and August peak, when villas and day tours fill up.

In those four months most days are dry and sunny, the sea around Nusa Penida is usually calm enough for the boats, and the rice terraces near Ubud are green. May and June follow the rains, so the waterfalls still run strong. September and October are the driest end of the year, which is the best time for clear sunrises from the Mount Batur jeep.

July and August are the driest months of all, and also the busiest. Expect queues at the Tegallalang terraces, a full kecak amphitheatre at Uluwatu and less choice of villas if you book late. For a honeymoon, our pick is late May or September.

What is Bali like month by month?

Hot and humid with heavy showers from November to March, drier and slightly cooler from April to October, with the driest weeks in August and September.

Daytime highs and rain in words, from weather2travel monthly averages; the festival notes are our own planning tips:

The Denpasar airport climate normals put January at about 350 mm of rain over about 19 rainy days, against about 15 mm in August. The gap is that wide.

Which month should you not go to Bali?

January and February if you want reliable sunshine, and any trip that lands or leaves on Nyepi. July, August and Christmas are crowded rather than bad.

January and February are the wettest months. Rain often comes as heavy downpours with dry spells between, so a full day of sightseeing usually still works, but sea crossings to Nusa Penida get cancelled more often and paths to the waterfalls turn slippery.

The date that matters most is Nyepi. On the Day of Silence the airport at Denpasar closes for 24 hours and everyone stays indoors. A honeymoon that starts on 9 March 2027 starts a day late. More on that below, and in the Nyepi 2027 post.

What is the cheapest month to go to Bali?

The quiet wet-season months, outside Christmas, New Year and school holidays. Demand, not the weather, drives what villas and flights ask.

Three things push the cost of a Bali honeymoon up or down. First, demand: July, August, Christmas and New Year are the peak, and villa rates follow. Second, school holidays in Australia and Europe, which fill the island for a few weeks at a time. Third, how far ahead you book: the good villas with a private pool go first.

The months with the least demand are usually the wet ones, from late January to March and again in November. The day tours on this site are a smaller share of the bill and do not swing much with the season, since most of them are private cars. Where a wet month saves you something, spend it on the villa.

A rainy afternoon well spent: a couple's room by the river near Ubud, massage, scrub and, on the longest option, a flower bath.

★ 4.9 · 1.5 to 3 hours

Book this Tour details

What is the hottest month in Bali?

No month stands out. Daytime highs sit at about 29 to 31 °C all year; the muggiest stretch runs from November to April, and July and August have the coolest nights.

The averages peak at about 31 °C from October to December and in March and April, and dip to about 29 °C in July and August. What you feel is the humidity, which is highest in the wet season. Nights near the coast stay warm all year.

Altitude changes everything. Ubud is cooler in the evening than the coast, and the sunrise viewpoints on Mount Batur are cold before dawn, which is why the jeep tour tells you to bring a jacket. Pack one light layer even for a beach honeymoon.

Wet season or dry season: which is better for a honeymoon?

The dry season, from about April to October, for beaches, boats and sunsets. The wet season works if you want fewer people and accept some changed plans.

What the wet season changes, day out by day out:

• Boats: the Nusa Penida manta day runs rain or shine, but the listing says it may be cancelled for sea conditions, with a new date or a refund. Book it early in your stay so there is room to move it.
• Waterfalls: fuller, and often brown after heavy rain, as the Ubud tour listing warns. Tukad Cepung and Tibumana have slippery steps.
• Sunsets: the kecak at Uluwatu moves to a smaller stage in bad weather, the listing says.
• Indoors: a spa afternoon or a long lunch is easy to slot in on a stormy day.

Our opinion: if your dates are flexible, take the dry season. If they are fixed by a wedding in December, go anyway and plan one day out less.

The flagship day: a fast boat from Sanur, three snorkel stops where manta rays feed and the Kelingking cliff. Book it early in your stay.

★ 4.9 · 9 to 10 hours

Book this Tour details

When is Nyepi, and what happens on the Day of Silence?

Nyepi falls on 19 March 2026 and 9 March 2027. For 24 hours the airport closes, nobody travels, and guests stay inside their hotel.

Nyepi is the Balinese New Year. From 6 am on the day until 6 am the next morning there is no work, no travel, no entertainment and as little light as possible. Ngurah Rai airport closes for the whole day. Hotels keep running for their guests, who may move around inside the grounds but not go out.

The evening before is the opposite: ogoh-ogoh parades, with huge papier-mache demon figures carried through every village, and road closures to match. Seeing the parades is a real highlight; just do not plan an airport run or a day tour for that evening or for Nyepi itself. Other festivals, such as Galungan, fill the streets with bamboo penjor poles and can close roads for ceremonies, which the Uluwatu listing mentions too.

Do waterfalls and fireflies make the wet season worth it?

The waterfalls, yes: they are at their fullest. The fireflies depend more on a dark night than on the season.

From December to March the falls at Tukad Cepung, Kanto Lampo and Tibumana carry the most water. After a storm they also carry mud, and the listing for the Ubud day says the water can be brown after rain. Go on a morning after a dry night if you want the photos.

Fireflies are another story. The Taro village evening does not name a season, and one guest saw few fireflies under a bright full moon. Pick a night close to the new moon and hope for no downpour at dusk. Julie, from Australia: "The fireflies were so beautiful dancing above the rice fields". More on rain in the 2026-27 rainy season post.

A farm dinner in Taro village, then fireflies over the rice paddies. Choose a dark night near the new moon.

★ 4.9 · 3 to 8 hours

Book this Tour details

Frequently asked questions