Bali 101 - When to go

Weather

Good news, Bali weather is sunny and warm pretty much all year round! So if you want to travel off holiday season it’s a great place to go. While Bali only has two seasons, dry season and rainy season, and rainy season is not continuous monsoon type rain, rather it’s usually an hour or so of heavy rain every few days, then gloriously hot sunshine. As its Australian summer during the rainy season, its actually usually the most hot and humid time of the year. However the weather in Bali is becoming more unpredictable with climate change, and the line between these seasons are beginning to blur, and you can never really be sure if it’s not going to rain or not whether it’s dry season or rainy season.

Dry season tends to be from May until September, while from November to April you will tend to have a few hours of rain every few days, however at either end of the rainy season the rain does tend to be more sporadic.

image from bamboou.com

Peak Travel

Peak season in Bali co-insides with school holiday times, particularly summer (July & August) and Christmas and New Year break, but it can also get busy around Easter. Peak season tends to mean higher prices particularly for flights and accommodation and a lot more people on the island. While August is probably the nicest month weather wise in Bali (Its hot and sunny with a breeze from Australia’s winter), traveling in peak season means everything feels a lot busier and the traffic can be really bad, particularly if you plan on heading to some of the tourists hubs like Canggu and Ubud. If you do plan on travelling in peak season, I would recommend booking accommodation, trendy restaurants and beach clubs in advance.

Ceremonies

Bali is called the Island of the Gods for a reason, its unique and beautiful religion and their rituals can be seen everywhere. From the offerings on the street, to household shrines, to larger temple complexes, Balinese religion is the lifeblood of the Island. No matter when you travel, you are likely to see some form of religious ceremony however there are a few particularly large and special ones throughout the year you might want to plan your trip around, or even avoid if you’re that way inclined. These large ceremonies never fall on the same day every year, as the Balinese calendar is different to the Gregorian one, therefore make sure to check beforehand if you’re interested in matching your travel plans to see these ceremonies.

The Balinese New Year Celebrations

Balinese New Year celebrations last for 6 days and are marked by a series of different rituals and ceremonies. It begins with the Melasti Ceremony, which is a large water purification ritual that takes place by coastal and rivers regions. It is one of the biggest and most important ceremonies to take place in the Balinese Calendar, with processions of Balinese going to bodies of water to leave offerings and perform rituals. Water is sacred and symbolic within the Balinese religion, and these ceremonies are believed to purify and cleanse the soul ahead of the New Year.

A few days after Melasti is Nyepi, the day of silence, which is Bali’s most sacred and important holiday. It is a day of rest, and the Balinese take it very seriously. The entire island comes to a standstill, including the tourism industry; all shops, restaurants and experience excursions are closed, there is no electricity (except in some private villas and some hotels), and people are expected not to leave their homes and go out on the streets. It is a wonderful day of complete silence which descends on the island, without the usual traffic, bustle and noise. If you happen to be in Bali during Nyepi, don’t plan to go out that day, rather stay in and relax, and enjoy the serenity of the day.

The night before Nyepi you may want to catch the spectaular Ogoh Ogoh Parade. Down many of the big high streets or along some of the beaches, swaths of local people with giant papeir-marce effigies of evil spirits on giant bamboo platforms are paraded down the street. These statues have usually been created by local youth organisations in the weeks building up to Nyepi. During the parade loud gamelan music is played and the effigies are burnt at the end of the night. This parade is meant to scare away and banish any evil spirits that have caused harm to the community during the previous year.

Gulingan and Kuningan

Gulingan and Kuningan are particularly significant and beautiful celebrations in the Balinese calendar and they bookend a 10 day period where Gods, dieties and the spirits of ancestors can descend from the heavens and visit the Island. It begins with the Gulingan celebrations which mark the victory of dharma over adharma, which is the victory of good over evil, and kicks of the 10 day period of ceremonial rituals, prayers and feasts which take place across Bali. During this period you will see lot of curved intricately decorated bamboo poles along the road side and outside houses, these are called Penjor, and are believed to signal to Gods, dieties, or ancestors that come down from heaven that they are honoured guests wherever the Penjor stands. It ends with Kuningan which is a day full of ceremonies for the Balinese, where special offerings of special yellow turmeric rice are made (Kuning means yellow in Indonesian) and there are sacred dance performance performed all over the island. Personally it’s one of my favourite times of year in Bali, the ceremonies give you an authentic taste of the culture, while the Penjor and decorations creating an enchanting and romantic atmosphere across the island.

If you are interested in booking a trip to Bali and want my help, please feel free to contact me at: 

travelmatterswithmira@gmail.com