Bali Weather in October: Quiet Sites, Rates Fall Back

October brings around 85 mm of rain over eight days, eight hours of sun and 31 °C, which makes it one of the two warmest months of the year. The sea stays mostly calm and the crossings keep running.

The reason to take October seriously is the order things happen in. The rain returns before the visitors do, so you get quiet sites, a landscape starting to green up and rates well below summer, in exchange for the occasional wet afternoon. A wet afternoon here is rarely a wet morning as well.

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October 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, the year's joint warmest
Night	24 °C	75 °F, warming again
Sea	28 °C	82 °F, warming through the month
Rain	About 85 mm	roughly eight days with rain on them
Sun	8 h	average per day
Humidity	About 80 %	climbing back through the month

Is October a good time to visit Bali

Yes, and it is the value pick

October is the best value month of the second half of the year. Prices fall back to shoulder, the crowds have gone, and the weather still behaves like the dry season for most of the month. Famous sites become walkable again.

Compared to September, you trade some certainty for a real saving. Compared to July, you give up very little weather and save a third or more on the same room while sharing Tegallalang with a fraction of the people.

Is October right for your trip

October scores well across the board without topping any category, which is what a genuinely good shoulder month looks like. Its strongest suit is what you pay for what you get.

Diving in October: Still very good

Strong month for this. Visibility is coming down off its September peak but is still well above wet season levels, typically twenty metres and better early in the month. The mola mola season runs to about the end of October, and the manta stations are quiet. Crossings run on most days, with the odd rough one late in the month.

Manta Point and what you actually see there

Surfing in October: The season winds down, quietly

Strong month for this. The south west swell eases and the wind starts turning, so the Bukit works on fewer days than in August. Those days are close to empty. October is a good month for intermediate surfers who found the July swell too big and the July line ups worse.

Families in October: Strong and affordable

Strong month for this. Warm sea, warm nights, mostly dry days and shoulder rates on family rooms. The first week overlaps with the tail of the Australian school break, so avoid it if you can. The rest of the month is one of the better family windows of the year.

What a Nusa Penida day trip really involves

Couples in October: As good as April

The best month for this. Quiet sites, warm evenings and hotels discounting again after four months of peak. The valley places around Ubud are back within reach, and the landscape starts greening within a fortnight of the first proper rain, which makes late October look better than early October.

Budget in October: The best of the dry season

The best month for this. Rates drop back to shoulder from the second week and flights out of Australia fall hard once the school break ends. You get most of September's weather for meaningfully less. Only February and March are cheaper, and they are a different proposition entirely.

Waterfalls in October: Recovering, and swimmable

Strong month for this. The first rains start refilling the catchments, so the falls come back up from their September low while the water is still clear enough to swim in. Tibumana and Tukad Cepung both improve across the month. Late October is better than early October for this.

The waterfall guide, month by month

First time in October: A very safe pick

Strong month for this. Enough certainty to plan, enough quiet to enjoy what you planned, and enough saving to extend the trip by a couple of days. The only thing October asks is that you keep the afternoons loose, which is a small ask for what it gives back.

The Gates of Heaven, and the queue nobody warns you about

October is not one month

October moves in one direction, downwards on price and upwards on rain. The first week still belongs to the Australian school break and everything after it is the month people should actually be booking.

1 to 7 October: The school break tail

The Australian Term 3 holidays run into the first days of October, which keeps the south coast full and the rates up. The dates vary by state, so check yours. Weather in this window is the best of the month, which is exactly why it is priced the way it is.

8 to 31 October: The quiet, cheap weeks

Rates fall back to shoulder and the crowds simply are not there. This is the best value window in the second half of the year. Rain becomes a more regular feature towards the end of the month, and so does the green coming back into the landscape.

What October does badly

Crowds of visitors photographing Kanto Lampo waterfall from the shallow brown pool at its base — The first proper rains put colour back in the rivers before they put volume in the falls. Late October is the turn, and it is not a clean one.

October is a bet on a changeover that has no date. The wet season does not start on the first of November, it fades in over a fortnight or so and the timing shifts every year. A late October trip occasionally gets a week that behaves like November, and the second half of the month carries more risk than the first.

The practical consequence is on the water. Crossings to the Nusa islands start seeing the odd rough day late in the month, and underwater visibility falls off its September peak as the first runoff reaches the reefs.

Humidity is also climbing back towards 80 percent, so October afternoons feel heavier than September ones despite reading warmer on the thermometer by only a degree.

Booking around October

October is the month where the same booking costs less and gets easier. Tours run with space and drivers are available, and free cancellation starts mattering again as the season turns.

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

From≈ $28/ pers.

Shoulder pricing, dry season conditions

Free cancellation

Bali day tours and island boat trips

Duration: 3 to 12 hFrom ≈ $28 / pers.

✓Shoulder pricing on tours and drivers from the second week of the month
✓Crossings still run on most days, and visibility stays above wet season levels
✓Free cancellation on most listings, which matters as the season turns
✓Small group tours run with space rather than selling out weeks ahead

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 October: common questions

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

Is October a good time to visit Bali?

Yes, and it is the best value month of the second half of the year. Rainfall is around 85 mm over eight days, there are eight hours of sun a day, and the sea stays mostly calm. What makes October worth booking is the order things happen in: the rain comes back before the visitors do, so you get quiet sites and shoulder rates while the weather is still behaving like the dry season for most of the month.

What is the weather like in Bali in October?

Warm and mostly dry, with rain becoming more frequent through the month. Around 31 °C by day, which ties October with March and April as the warmest month of the year, and 24 °C at night. Humidity climbs back towards 80 percent. Showers tend to fall in the afternoon and clear, so mornings stay reliable for most of the month.

Is October or September better in Bali?

September for reliability, October for value. September has clearer water, more certain skies and the better sea for the islands. October has noticeably lower prices, quieter sites all month rather than for ten days, and a landscape that greens up once the first rains arrive. If the trip depends on diving or on reaching Nusa Penida, take September. If it depends on the budget, take October.

Is it rainy season in Bali in October?

Not yet, but it is the turn. The dry season runs roughly April to October and the wet season November to March, with a changeover of a fortnight or so either side that shifts each year. In practice early October behaves like the dry season and late October can behave like November. Rain in October usually falls as an afternoon burst rather than a wet day.

Is Bali crowded in October?

Only in the first week, which catches the tail of the Australian Term 3 school holidays and keeps the south coast full. From about the eighth the crowds drop away sharply and stay low for the rest of the month. Sites that need an early alarm in August are walkable at ten in the morning in mid October.

Can you still see mola mola in Bali in October?

Usually, into the end of the month. The oceanic sunfish season around Crystal Bay runs roughly July to October, driven by cold upwellings, so October is the last reliable window. It is a cold, deep dive for experienced divers and it has nothing to do with the manta sites, which are resident year round and reachable throughout October.

Bali weather in October