Bali Weather in November: Unpredictable, and Cheap

November is the first month of the Bali wet season, with around 150 mm of rain over roughly fourteen days. That figure sits exactly halfway between October and December, which is the honest summary of the month: it can behave like either.

What makes November worth considering is the price. Rates are low right up to the December spike and the island is empty. Within a fortnight of the first real rain the whole place turns green again, and the waterfalls start filling.

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November in figures

Orders of magnitude measured on the south coast, which is where every published average for Bali comes from. Ubud runs wetter and cooler at night, and above a thousand metres none of it applies.

Day	31 °C	88 °F, warm and increasingly humid
Night	24 °C	75 °F, heavier after dark
Sea	29 °C	84 °F, warming and clouding
Rain	About 150 mm	roughly fourteen days with rain on them
Sun	7 h	average per day, down from eight
Humidity	About 83 %	back to wet season levels

Is November a good time to visit Bali

Yes, if your plans can move

November is a question about how you travel rather than about the weather. If you can decide at breakfast what the day is, November gives you an empty island, low prices and a landscape coming back to life. Plan the mornings properly and treat the afternoons as a bonus.

If your trip is a fixed list of sights across a fixed week, November will take one or two of them away. The sea turns rough late in the month and the crossings start being cancelled again, which is the first thing to fall.

Is November right for your trip

November is the one month where the style of the trip matters more than the type. A flexible traveller gets one of the year's best deals. A scheduled one gets the year's biggest disappointment.

Diving in November: Declining, and unreliable

Fine month for this. The first runoff of the season reaches the reefs and visibility drops off the October figure, typically to twelve or fifteen metres. Crossings start being cancelled from the second half of the month. The mantas are resident and unaffected. Early November is worth diving. Late November is a gamble.

Surfing in November: The coasts swap over

Fine month for this. The trade winds fade and the wet season pattern establishes, so the Bukit goes onshore and the east coast starts working instead. Sanur, Nusa Dua and Keramas pick up. It is an inconsistent month on both sides, and almost nobody is out on either.

Families in November: Risky for a fixed week

Fine month for this. A family trip is usually a fixed week with a list on it, which is exactly the shape November punishes. Humidity is back to 83 percent, mosquitoes are returning, and afternoon rain will cost you beach days. It works from a base with indoor options and a loose plan.

Couples in November: Quiet, green and cheap

Strong month for this. Two people can be flexible in a way a family cannot, which is what November rewards. Empty sites, hotels discounting hard before the Christmas spike, and a landscape that goes from dusty to brilliant green in a fortnight. Ubud in November is at its best.

Ubud, which handles a wet afternoon better than the coast

Budget in November: Low, before the spike

The best month for this. November is one of the four cheapest months of the year and it holds until the very end. Rates stay low right up to about the twentieth of December, when they go vertical. Flights out of Australia and Europe are well below both the September and the Christmas figures.

Waterfalls in November: Filling back up, fast

The best month for this. The first rains hit the catchments and the falls recover quickly from their September low. Tibumana and Tegenungan are back to real volume by mid month. Early November still lets you swim. Late November does not, as the water starts loading with silt.

The waterfall guide, month by month

First time in November: Not for a first trip

Fine month for this. A first trip has a list and limited days, and November is the month most likely to take a day off that list without warning. October is a better version of the same idea: nearly the same price, far more certainty, and the crowds are gone in both.

November is not one month

November divides cleanly in two, and the line is the sea. The first half is a good shoulder month and the second half is properly wet season, including the crossings.

1 to 15 November: Shoulder, with rain in it

Often still dry season in character: bright mornings, occasional afternoon storms, sea still workable. Rates are at their low and the island is empty. This is the half of November worth booking, and it is the closest thing to October at a discount.

16 to 30 November: The season establishes

Rain becomes a daily feature rather than an occasional one, humidity settles at wet season levels, and the channel to the Nusa islands turns rough. Crossings start being cancelled at short notice. Prices stay low, which is the compensation.

What November does badly

Eroded limestone cliffs and white water along the west coast of Nusa Penida near Broken Beach — From about mid November the crossing to the Nusa islands stops being routine. Operators cancel on sea state, often on the morning of departure.

Certainty. November has less of it than any other month. It is the month that can behave like October or like December depending on the year, and there is no way to know which until you are in it. That is fine for a trip that can move and expensive for one that cannot.

The concrete casualty is the sea. From roughly mid month the channel turns and fast boats to Nusa Penida start getting cancelled. Put any island day early in the trip so there is room to move it, and keep a land based alternative ready.

Mosquitoes also come back with the rain. Dengue is present on Bali and the mosquito that carries it bites during the day, so repellent stops being optional from November onward.

Booking around November

November is a month to book things you can unbook. Free cancellation is worth more than any discount here, because the thing you are protecting against is the morning the crossing is called off.

A small tour boat running along the limestone cliffs of Nusa Penida on a calm sea

From≈ $28/ pers.

The month the season turns back

Free cancellation

Bali day tours, with cancellation that holds

Duration: 3 to 12 hFrom ≈ $28 / pers.

✓Free cancellation on most listings, right up to the day before
✓Operators who cancel a crossing on sea state rather than let you find out at the pier
✓Waterfalls filling back up, and the paths still dry enough to walk comfortably
✓Small group tours run with space rather than selling out

See Bali tours and activities

Affiliate link. Booking through GetYourGuide costs you nothing extra and supports the guide. Prices are indicative and vary by option and season.

Bali in November: common questions

Temperature, rain, the sea, crowds and what to wear.

Is November a good time to visit Bali?

It depends on how you travel rather than on what you want to see. November is cheap and empty and the landscape turns green again within a fortnight of the first rain, which suits a flexible trip very well. It is the most unpredictable month of the year, so a fixed list of sights across a fixed week will probably lose one or two of them. October gives you nearly the same price with far more certainty.

How much does it rain in Bali in November?

Around 150 mm across the month over roughly fourteen days, which sits exactly halfway between October's 85 mm and December's 250 mm. The month splits in two: the first half often still behaves like the dry season with bright mornings and occasional storms, and the second half establishes the wet season pattern of daily afternoon rain.

Is November the start of the rainy season in Bali?

Yes, in most years. The wet season runs roughly November to March, but the changeover is a fortnight or so either side rather than a date and it shifts annually. November and April are the two months that can behave like either season depending on the year, which is exactly what makes November hard to plan and cheap to book.

Are boats to Nusa Penida running in November?

In the first half of the month, usually yes. From about mid November the channel between Sanur and the Nusa islands turns rough and operators start cancelling at short notice, sometimes on the morning of departure. If an island day matters to you, put it early in your trip so there is room to move it, and keep a land based alternative in reserve.

Is Bali cheap in November?

Yes, it is one of the four cheapest months and the rates hold right up to about the twentieth of December, when they go vertical for the Christmas period. Flights from both Australia and Europe are well below their September and December figures. November is the last inexpensive window before the most expensive fortnight of the year.

What should I pack for Bali in November?

A cheap poncho rather than a rain jacket, which you will never wear at 31 °C and 83 percent humidity. A dry bag for a phone. Shoes with grip, because waterfall paths and temple steps start being wet stone again. Strong mosquito repellent, since the mosquitoes return with the rain and the one that carries dengue bites during the day. And one warm layer for the highlands.

Bali weather in November