Best time to visit Indonesia: Bali, Komodo, Sumatra and Raja Ampat

Two seasons, but not the same everywhere

The Ministry of Tourism's own summary is short: Indonesia has no spring, summer, autumn or winter, only a rainy season and a dry season, "both of which are relative". In most of the country, including Java and Bali, the dry season runs from April to October and the wet season from November to March. Temperatures change very little through the year; the ministry gives averages of about 28 °C on the coastal plains and 23 °C in the higher mountains, and notes that it gets roughly 1 °C cooler for every 90 metres you climb. Rain, not temperature, is what decides a trip.

The UK government's travel advice describes the same pattern from a risk angle: the rainy season usually runs from October to March, while in eastern Indonesia the wet season usually runs from April to August. Flash floods and landslides happen in the wet months, and Jakarta and Bali can have severe local flooding that snarls traffic, including on the toll road to Jakarta's airport. In the dry season, the same advice warns, forest fires are at their worst, usually from April to September.

The ministry also adds a caveat worth taking seriously: the seasons have become less predictable. When we checked on 2026-10-03, Indonesia's meteorological agency BMKG was forecasting a late start to the 2026/2027 rains because of a very strong El Niño. It expected the rainy season to begin in some areas in November 2026 and in more in December, with the wettest weeks arriving in waves between December 2026 and February 2027. For Lombok and the rest of West Nusa Tenggara, BMKG expected 93 per cent of the province to enter the rainy season only in December. So treat month ranges as a guide, and check BMKG's forecasts in the week before outdoor plans.

Bali, Java, Lombok and Komodo: the April–October window

This is the core route for most first trips, and it shares one rhythm. The ministry recommends the dry months of April to October for East Bali, for the sunrise climb at Borobudur (for clearer skies), and for the night walk to Ijen crater's blue fire, when clear views are more likely.

Some trips are tied to a calendar that is stricter than the weather. Mount Rinjani on Lombok closes every trail at the start of each year; the park's notice for 2026 listed a closure from 1 January to 31 March. Around Komodo, the Ministry of Tourism describes Padar's hills as green in the rainy season and dry and golden in the dry season, so the colour of the famous viewpoint depends on the month. It also advises against visiting Rinca in June and July, the dragons' mating period, when they stay near their nests and are harder to find. Labuan Bajo has heavy rain from December to March and much less from April to November.

Since 1 April 2026, Komodo National Park has limited visits to 1,000 people a day, according to the park office quoted by the state news agency Antara. That matters most in the busy dry-season months: book boat trips and park tickets early, and keep a spare day in Labuan Bajo in case the sea or your slot does not cooperate.

Sumatra: forests, Lake Toba and surf

Northern Sumatra's dry window is narrower than Bali's. For hiking in the Gunung Leuser mountains of Aceh and North Sumatra, the Ministry of Tourism names June to September as the best time. At Lake Toba, it gives April to October as the dry season, sunny and good for boating, hiking and viewpoints, and warns that heavy rain and strong winds between November and March can disrupt plans. It also recommends booking early for June to August, the lake's peak months.

Surfers read a different calendar. Off West Sumatra, the ministry calls May to October the peak surf season in the Mentawai Islands, when lodging is limited and fills up. Rain falls heavily there in every month, so a Mentawai trip is planned around swell, not dry skies.

The dry season has a downside in Sumatra and Kalimantan: smoke from forest and land fires. In August and September 2026, Antara reported haze bad enough that schools in Palangka Raya changed hours and moved young children to remote learning, and that schools in Berau in East Kalimantan switched to remote learning. If an orangutan trip to Kalimantan or a forest trek in Sumatra falls between August and October, check air-quality reports before you go and consider packing a fitted mask.

Raja Ampat and the far east: the reverse season

In the far east of the archipelago the pattern turns around. The Ministry of Tourism's Raja Ampat guide says the best time to visit is October to April, when the seas are calmer and better for snorkelling and diving. That is the same period when Java and Bali are in their wet season, so a single trip that wants dry Bali and calm Raja Ampat works best in October, or in April, at the edges of both windows.

Raja Ampat is not a side trip. The ministry's Raja Ampat guide describes flying from Jakarta to Sorong's Domine Eduard Osok Airport (DEO), about four to five hours direct with Garuda Indonesia, Batik Air or Lion Air, or with a stop in Makassar or Manado, and notes that fares depend on the season. From Sorong port, the ministry's Waigeo page describes boats to Waisai, the regency capital, taking about two to three hours. Give Raja Ampat a week on its own, and do not schedule the Sorong flight on the same day as your international departure.

Elsewhere in Maluku, flights can be cancelled at short notice: the ministry's Banda Neira page warns that flights from Ambon are often cancelled because of bad weather, engine problems and other reasons, and advises reconfirming them repeatedly. Build slack days into any trip to the eastern islands, whatever the month.

School holidays, Christmas and New Year: when the crowds come

Indonesia's busiest travel weeks are set by domestic holidays, not foreign ones. The long school holiday falls in the middle of the dry season: Statistics Indonesia (BPS) said Bali had the highest star-rated hotel occupancy of any province in July 2026, at 67.29 per cent, and attributed the national rise mainly to domestic travel during the school holidays. The same pattern explains the ministry's advice to book Lake Toba early for June to August.

The Christmas and New Year break is the second peak. Bali's hotel and restaurant association (PHRI Badung) told Antara that the 2025/26 season peaked between 20 and 27 December for Christmas and from 27 December to 5 January for New Year, when it expected occupancy around 97 per cent. That peak lands in the middle of Bali's wet season, so you pay peak prices for unsettled weather. Outside both peaks, April to June and September to October combine dry-season weather with fewer holidaymakers, although Lebaran can bring a short domestic rush whenever it falls.

• April to June: dry season starting in Java, Bali, Lombok and Komodo; Sumatra's Leuser treks begin in June; Raja Ampat's calm season ends in April.
• July and August: the driest, busiest weeks in Bali, Java and Komodo, with school-holiday crowds; Rinca's dragons are harder to find in June and July; good for Leuser treks and Mentawai surf.
• September and October: still dry in most of the west, quieter than midsummer; haze is possible in Sumatra and Kalimantan; October opens the Raja Ampat season.
• November to March: wet season in the west with afternoon downpours and flood risk; the best months for Raja Ampat; Rinjani closes from January; Christmas–New Year is the peak for prices in Bali.

Ramadan, Lebaran and Nyepi in 2027

On 15 September 2026, Indonesia's government fixed its 2027 public holidays in a joint decree of three ministers. When we checked on 2026-10-03, Antara's report of the decree listed Nyepi on Monday 8 March 2027, and Idul Fitri (Lebaran) on Wednesday 10 and Thursday 11 March, with collective leave days on 9, 12 and 15 March. Counting the weekends either side, that creates a run of up to ten days off, from Saturday 6 to Monday 15 March 2027. Ramadan, the fasting month, ends with Idul Fitri, so in 2027 it falls mainly in February and the first days of March.

Nyepi matters most for Bali. The Ministry of Tourism says the island observes a day of silence for 24 hours: Ngurah Rai airport closes, no planes land or take off, transport stops, shops close, and everyone, visitors included, stays indoors with lights low. Do not book a flight to or from Bali for that day, and plan to be in your hotel. The night before, villages parade and burn ogoh-ogoh effigies. In 2025, Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in East Java also closed completely for Nyepi and Idul Fitri, so check park notices on those dates for sights outside Bali too.

Lebaran affects the whole country. The ministry explains that the Idul Fitri holiday is usually extended by around 7 to 10 days of collective leave because families gather in their home towns; this is the mudik, the great homeward journey. Expect full trains, flights and ferries and heavy traffic on Java's toll roads before and after the holiday. During Ramadan itself, many restaurants and food stalls close in the daytime or draw curtains out of respect for those fasting, while fast-food and larger restaurants usually stay open. Ramadan is still a rewarding time to visit: in the late afternoon, takjil stalls selling sweet snacks for breaking the fast appear around markets and large mosques. Just book long-distance transport well ahead if your dates touch Lebaran, and in 2027 remember that Nyepi and Lebaran fall in the same week.