Seasons in Indonesia
Temperatures in Indonesia change little from season to season, so the seasons are defined by rain. BMKG explains the annual cycle through the Asia-Australia monsoon: in the rainy season the monsoon wind blows from Asia to Australia and brings more water vapour, in the dry season it blows from Australia to Asia with less water vapour. The rainy season generally runs from October to March and the dry season from April to November. BMKG also distinguishes three rainfall patterns: a monsoonal one with a single wet and a single dry period, an equatorial one with two peaks, and a local one that is the opposite of the monsoonal pattern.[1] The two date ranges overlap because the season does not change everywhere at once: it starts in northern Sumatra and spreads gradually to the other regions.[2]
El Niño tends to reduce rainfall across most of Indonesia and La Niña tends to increase it.[1]
Region by region
Lake Toba (Sumatra)
Lake Toba is the one place in our data without a long dry season. June, July and August are the only months that rate best, with 107 mm, 74 mm and 114 mm of rain. Rain then climbs to 194 mm in September and peaks at 281 mm in October, 273 mm in November and 264 mm in December, and a second, smaller high follows in March and April with 216 mm and 247 mm. Temperatures hardly change: the mean daily high stays between 24.8 °C and 26.6 °C all year and nights cool to between 16.1 °C and 17.1 °C.
Java (Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Malang)
Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta and Malang all rate best from June to September, and Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Malang keep that rating in October. The wet season is long and heavy: in January Jakarta gets 374 mm of rain, Yogyakarta 371 mm and Malang 373 mm, and all three rate poor. Bandung is wetter for longer, with 294 mm in March and 284 mm in April, and no month from November to April rates better than mixed. Temperatures are steadier than rain: the mean daily high in Jakarta stays between 30.8 °C and 33.5 °C all year, while the nights in Bandung cool to 17.4 °C in August.
Heavy wet-season rain can flood parts of Jakarta: in February 2021 BMKG recorded 226 mm in a single day at Pasar Minggu.[3]
Bali and Lombok
Bali and Lombok rate best in every month from May to October, and Bali also rates best in April. Both islands are driest in August, with 23 mm in Bali and 29 mm in Lombok. Both islands rate mixed from December to February, when Bali gets 296 mm in January and Lombok 308 mm. March is the one shoulder month in which they differ: Bali rates good with 192 mm and Lombok mixed with 267 mm. Tropical storms are rare: in April a storm passed within 200 km of Bali in 1 of the 30 years in our storm data and of Lombok in 1 of 30, and in no other month.
The sea is not calm just because the weather is dry. BMKG's maritime bulletin for June to August 2026 recorded significant wave heights of up to 3.0 m in June and July and up to 4.0 m in August, with the highest waves consistently in the Indian Ocean south of Bali and West Nusa Tenggara, the province of Lombok.[4] The one date that can disrupt a trip to Bali is Nyepi, the Day of Silence. The observance runs from 6 a.m. until 6 a.m. the next morning, the airport is closed with no incoming or outgoing flights, and beaches, shops and restaurants are closed for everyone.[5] The date follows the Balinese lunar calendar and falls in March or April.[6] In 2027 it is Monday 8 March.[7]
Labuan Bajo (Komodo)
Labuan Bajo rates best from May to November, seven months in a row, and is driest in September with 18 mm. From December to April it rates good in December (216 mm), March (185 mm) and April (133 mm) and mixed in January (272 mm) and February (266 mm). April is the only month with a tropical storm in our data: one passed within 200 km in 2 of the 30 years.
Komodo National Park has rules that matter as much as the weather. Since 1 April 2026 the Ministry of Forestry has capped visitors at 1,000 a day, a limit that covers Padar, Rinca and Komodo islands and 23 dive sites.[8] The park management does not allow visitors to explore on their own because Komodo dragons live on almost all of the main islands, and tickets are sold at the Komodo Visitor Center in Labuan Bajo.[9]
Raja Ampat (Southwest Papua)
Raja Ampat flips the pattern. It never rates best in our data: October to March rates good with 161 mm to 204 mm of rain a month, while April to September rates mixed, with 293 mm in May, 338 mm in June and 333 mm in July at the peak. The wet peak therefore falls in the middle of the year, when Java, Bali and Labuan Bajo are at their driest. No tropical storm passed within 200 km in any month of our storm data.
BMKG's records for Sorong, the mainland city that serves as the gateway to Raja Ampat, show one rain peak in June and July and a low from November to February.[10] The same analysis found less annual rain in the El Niño years 2015 and 2019 and more in the La Niña years 2007 and 2010 to 2011.[10]
Indonesia month by month
Indonesia in January
Lake TobaJakartaBandungYogyakartaMalangBaliLombokLabuan BajoRaja Ampat
Great or good weather: Raja Ampat.
Most rain: Jakarta, 374 mm.
Hottest days: Bali, 32 °C on average.
January is the wet-season peak almost everywhere in the country. Raja Ampat is the only one of the nine places that rates good, with 191 mm, while Jakarta (374 mm), Yogyakarta (371 mm) and Malang (373 mm) rate poor.
Indonesia in February
Lake TobaJakartaBandungYogyakartaMalangBaliLombokLabuan BajoRaja Ampat
Great or good weather: Lake Toba and Raja Ampat.
Most rain: Malang, 360 mm.
Hottest days: Bali, 32 °C on average.
Lake Toba (155 mm) and Raja Ampat (178 mm) are the only places that rate good in February, and Malang is the wettest of the nine at 360 mm and the only one still rating poor. On Lombok the Bau Nyale festival centres on the night the sea worms appear, around the 20th day of the tenth month of the Sasak calendar.[11]
Indonesia in March
Lake TobaJakartaBandungYogyakartaMalangBaliLombokLabuan BajoRaja Ampat
Great or good weather: Lake Toba, Bali, Labuan Bajo, and Raja Ampat.
Most rain: Malang, 344 mm.
Hottest days: Bali, 32 °C on average.
Four of the nine places rate good in March (Lake Toba, Bali, Labuan Bajo and Raja Ampat), none rates best, and Java and Lombok are still mixed. The holiday calendar matters more than the weather this month: in 2027 Nyepi falls on Monday 8 March and Idul Fitri on 10 and 11 March, with shared leave days on 9, 12 and 15 March.[7] Bali's airport is closed for the 24 hours of Nyepi, so do not book a flight on that day.[5]
Indonesia in April
Lake TobaJakartaBandungYogyakartaMalangBaliLombokLabuan BajoRaja Ampat
Great or good weather: Bali, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Lombok, and Labuan Bajo.
Most rain: Bandung, 284 mm.
Hottest days: Jakarta, 33 °C on average.
April is the changeover month. Bali rates best with 124 mm, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Lombok and Labuan Bajo rate good, and Raja Ampat slips to mixed with 247 mm.
Indonesia in May
Lake TobaJakartaBandungYogyakartaMalangBaliLombokLabuan BajoRaja Ampat
Great or good weather: Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Bali, Lombok, Labuan Bajo, Lake Toba, Bandung, and Malang.
Most rain: Raja Ampat, 293 mm.
Hottest days: Jakarta, 33 °C on average.
May is the first month in which Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Bali, Lombok and Labuan Bajo all rate best, while Raja Ampat has its first heavy month at 293 mm; Lake Toba, Bandung and Malang rate good. In 2027 Idul Adha (17 May) and Waisak (20 May), with shared leave on 18 and 19 May, make 17 to 20 May a four-day holiday.[7]
Indonesia in June
Lake TobaJakartaBandungYogyakartaMalangBaliLombokLabuan BajoRaja Ampat
Great or good weather: Lake Toba, Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Malang, Bali, Lombok, and Labuan Bajo.
Most rain: Raja Ampat, 338 mm.
Hottest days: Jakarta, 33 °C on average.
Eight of the nine places rate best in June. Only Raja Ampat does not, because June is its wettest month at 338 mm.
Indonesia in July
Lake TobaJakartaBandungYogyakartaMalangBaliLombokLabuan BajoRaja Ampat
Great or good weather: Lake Toba, Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Malang, Bali, Lombok, and Labuan Bajo.
Most rain: Raja Ampat, 333 mm.
Hottest days: Jakarta, 33 °C on average.
Yogyakarta gets 25 mm in July, Labuan Bajo 21 mm and Jakarta 60 mm, and Lake Toba is at its driest of the year with 74 mm. Raja Ampat is the only place that does not rate best, and its 333 mm matches the June and July rain peak in BMKG's records for Sorong.[10]
Indonesia in August
Lake TobaJakartaBandungYogyakartaMalangBaliLombokLabuan BajoRaja Ampat
Great or good weather: Lake Toba, Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Malang, Bali, Lombok, and Labuan Bajo.
Most rain: Raja Ampat, 249 mm.
Hottest days: Jakarta, 33 °C on average.
August is the peak of the dry season: Yogyakarta (17 mm), Malang (18 mm) and Bali (23 mm) are at their driest in our data.
Indonesia in September
Lake TobaJakartaBandungYogyakartaMalangBaliLombokLabuan BajoRaja Ampat
Great or good weather: Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Malang, Bali, Lombok, Labuan Bajo, and Lake Toba.
Most rain: Raja Ampat, 227 mm.
Hottest days: Jakarta, 34 °C on average.
September is the driest month for Labuan Bajo (18 mm) and Jakarta (40 mm), and Java and the Lesser Sundas still rate best, while Lake Toba is the first to turn with 194 mm and a good rating and Raja Ampat stays mixed at 227 mm.
Indonesia in October
Lake TobaJakartaBandungYogyakartaMalangBaliLombokLabuan BajoRaja Ampat
Great or good weather: Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Malang, Bali, Lombok, Labuan Bajo, Bandung, and Raja Ampat.
Most rain: Lake Toba, 281 mm.
Hottest days: Jakarta, 33 °C on average.
In October Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Malang, Bali, Lombok and Labuan Bajo still rate best and Raja Ampat rates good with 173 mm. Lake Toba is the exception: with 281 mm this is its wettest month. For Bali and Lombok it is the last month rated best before the rains return in November.
Indonesia in November
Lake TobaJakartaBandungYogyakartaMalangBaliLombokLabuan BajoRaja Ampat
Great or good weather: Labuan Bajo, Jakarta, Bali, Lombok, and Raja Ampat.
Most rain: Bandung, 312 mm.
Hottest days: Jakarta, 33 °C on average.
Labuan Bajo is the only place that still rates best in November, with 112 mm, while Bali, Lombok, Jakarta and Raja Ampat rate good and Bandung is the wettest of the nine at 312 mm. In 1 of the 30 years in our storm data a tropical storm passed within 200 km of Yogyakarta and Malang in November.
Indonesia in December
Lake TobaJakartaBandungYogyakartaMalangBaliLombokLabuan BajoRaja Ampat
Great or good weather: Labuan Bajo and Raja Ampat.
Most rain: Malang, 377 mm.
Hottest days: Jakarta, 32 °C on average.
Malang is the wettest of the nine places in December at 377 mm and rates poor, while Labuan Bajo (216 mm) and Raja Ampat (189 mm) rate good and everywhere else is mixed.
Frequently asked questions
When is the best time to visit Indonesia?
For Java, Bali, Lombok and Labuan Bajo the best time is May to October, when Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Bali, Lombok and Labuan Bajo all rate best in our data. BMKG gives April to November as the general dry season and October to March as the general rainy season.[1] Raja Ampat is the exception, rating good from October to March.
When is the rainy season in Bali?
In our data the wettest months in Bali are December to February, with 296 mm in January, and Bali rates best from April to October.
When is the best time to visit Raja Ampat?
In our data Raja Ampat rates good from October to March, with 161 mm to 204 mm of rain a month, and mixed from April to September, with 338 mm in June as the peak. BMKG's records for Sorong, the gateway city, show one rain peak in June and July.[10]
When is the best time to visit Komodo and Labuan Bajo?
Labuan Bajo rates best from May to November, and September is the driest month with 18 mm. Since 1 April 2026 Komodo National Park has admitted at most 1,000 visitors a day,[8] and the park management does not allow visitors to explore on their own.[9]
Is Bali closed during Nyepi?
Effectively yes: the observance runs from 6 a.m. until 6 a.m. the next morning, the airport is closed with no incoming or outgoing flights, and beaches, shops and restaurants are closed.[5] In 2027 Nyepi is on Monday 8 March.[7]
What is the weather like in Jakarta?
Jakarta is hot all year, with a mean daily high between 30.8 °C and 33.5 °C, and rain is the main variable: January brings 374 mm and rates poor, while May to October all rate best.
About the data
Temperatures and rain are long-term averages for 1991 to 2020 from TerraClimate, and the typhoon risk counts tropical storms from NOAA IBTrACS. The ratings use the same rules for every country. How the rating works.
Long-term averages, not a forecast. The weather in a given year can be quite different.
Travel guide: Indonesia
Sources and background
Numbers in the text such as [1] refer to these sources.
- [1] BMKG (Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika): Climate Variability of Indonesia (leaflet). Retrieved October 15, 2026.
- [2] BMKG (Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika): Prediksi Musim Hujan 2026/2027 di Indonesia (in Indonesian). Retrieved October 15, 2026.
- [3] BMKG (Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika): Seluruh Wilayah DKI Jakarta Masih Berpotensi Hujan Intensitas Lebat Sepekan ke Depan (press release, 21 February 2021, in Indonesian). Retrieved October 15, 2026.
- [4] BMKG, Direktorat Meteorologi Maritim: Buletin Meteorologi Oseanografi Indonesia, edisi Juni sampai Agustus 2026 (in Indonesian). Retrieved October 15, 2026.
- [5] Bali Provincial Government (Love Bali): Nyepi, Balinese New Year: Day of Silence. Retrieved October 15, 2026.
- [6] Ministry of Tourism (Indonesia.travel): Planning to Spend Nyepi in Bali? Read These Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved October 15, 2026.
- [7] Kementerian Agama, Kementerian Ketenagakerjaan, Kementerian PANRB (hosted by Kemenko PMK): Keputusan Bersama Nomor 1205, 3 dan 2 Tahun 2026 tentang Hari Libur Nasional dan Cuti Bersama Tahun 2027 (in Indonesian). Retrieved October 15, 2026.
- [8] Kementerian Kehutanan (Ministry of Forestry): Jaga Keberlanjutan Ekologi-Ekonomi, Kemenhut Batasi Kuota Wisatawan di TN Komodo (press release SP. 115/HKLN/04/2026, in Indonesian). Retrieved October 15, 2026.
- [9] Balai Taman Nasional Komodo (Komodo National Park Authority): Komodo National Park, official website, FAQ (in Indonesian). Retrieved October 15, 2026.
- [10] BMKG (Stasiun Klimatologi Papua Barat), Buletin Meteorologi, Klimatologi dan Geofisika: Analisis Perubahan Tren Linier Curah Hujan di Kota Sorong Papua Barat (in Indonesian). Retrieved October 15, 2026.
- [11] Kementerian Pariwisata (Ministry of Tourism): Menyambut Festival Bau Nyale 2026 (in Indonesian). Retrieved October 15, 2026.
