The scattered archipelago nation of Indonesia has quite a broad range of weather patterns. Generally speaking, the perfect time for a luxury holiday in Indonesia would be between April and October, depending on the island. However, given that Indonesia stretches across 4000km of sea and 17,000 islands, there are, of course, variations within this. There are many different factors when considering the best time to visit Indonesia from a cultural perspective too.
It is safe to say that most of Indonesia’s islands are perfect for European and US summer holidays. However, we argue that there is no single ‘best time’ for an Indonesian holiday - it simply depends on what you’d like to experience.
Here is a more detailed guide to the weather in Indonesia. You’re always welcome to get in touch with one of our specialists to discuss when to go to Indonesia in more depth.
When to visit Indonesia
(Quick Summary)
Best Time
June - September
Monsoon Season
December - March
Beach Season
May - September
Wildlife
All Year
Weather in Indonesia throughout the Year
January - February
Indonesia is firmly in its wet season at the start of the year. There will be quite heavy rainfall yet temperatures will be warm (around 30°C) across the country, so the rain is often welcome to take the edge off the heat. Rain falls off sharply in Sumatra, making this a tempting time to visit, though the Orangutans are elusive. Rain also falls off in Sulawesi, particularly in the north, and while you can still expect rainfall in the south, that shouldn’t put you off as it is beautiful and green at this time.
March - April
Parts of Indonesia are starting to come into season as March turns into April. The wet season is tailing off in Flores, Sumba and Komodo, though humidity remains high. While in March, Bali still has very high humidity, there is some respite inland, and the island looks lovely and green. As we get to April, Bali becomes extremely attractive again from a weather perspective. Sulawesi is getting dryer in the south and March is an excellent time for the wildlife in the north. Weather in April is generally excellent islandwide. There are usually fewer showers in Sumatra and Kalimantan as we move from March to April while Java remains overcast and rainy through March, which gives way to sunny skies in April.
May - June
Long days of brilliant sunshine and no rain make May to June an excellent time to go to Indonesia. The beaches are sun-drenched, the mountains are crisp and dry, and skies will be clear across the country. Indonesia is the perfect summer holiday destination. The hot weather has not yet dried out the vegetation, so the islands look beautiful too. The real beauty of May and June is that the full peak tourist season is still to come, so tourist hotspots such as Lombok, Bali, Borobudur in Java and Komodo have far fewer visitors.
July - August
It’s peak season time throughout Indonesia - pretty much. There is very little rainfall, and the humidity is low, making it a great time to visit. It does get booked up early, though, so book your summer holiday in Indonesia early to get the best hotels and guides. Lombok, Bali, Java, Sulawesi, Flores and Sumba and all are in their peak season. However, in the further reaches of Indonesia such as the Moluccas and Raja Ampat, we would see some monsoon winds bringing in a little rainfall.
September - October
Indonesia enjoys excellent weather throughout September. The beauty of September is that tourism numbers fall sharply meaning you have the best of both worlds. This is true of Bali and Java in particular. October will see the slow return of the wet season, although there are still some pockets of excellent weather. The monsoon starts fully in December, so there is still dry sunshine to be enjoyed at the start of the winter months and fantastic deals to be had.
November - December
The wet season starts in earnest in November, and this means that by December, rainfall is generally heavy throughout Indonesia. In Bali, Java and Sumba there are dry spells in November so don’t rule it out entirely, but Sulawesi, Sumatra and Kalimantan have heavy rainfall from November onwards. There are visitors to Bali in December, especially those searching for themselves as opposed to a sunny beach; the seas can be rough at this time of year.
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Festivals and when to visit
If you’d like to catch one of the myriad festivals and traditions in Indonesia, there are several which you might want to bear in mind. For example, the famous funerals of the Torajan people in southern Sulawesi are a tremendous public spectacle where visitors are positively encouraged. There is such a thing as a funeral season - the best time to experience these is from July through to August - though funerals do happen year-round. The reason for this is that Torajan people preserve their dead until the time is right for the funeral, sometimes for several years. Funerals are generally held in the holiday periods when the large Torajan diaspora is able to return to Tana Toraja (the Torajan homeland) to attend.
Other famous festivals in Indonesia include Nyepi, the day of silence, held in Bali in, generally in March, and the ‘mock war’ of the Baliem Valley Festival in Papua in August. In February or March, two other exciting events take place: Pasola, the festival of jousting in Sumba and the Bau Nyale Fishing Festival in Lombok. There’s no particular pattern except to say that it is well worth considering travelling out of season if it means you will experience one of these extraordinary one-off spectacles!
Meet the Indonesia experts
Nick
Our Head of Travel, Nick loves exploring life in Asia and over the past decade he has spent a great deal of time in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. To add to his impressive repertoire, Nick also pioneered our Indonesia holidays and having done exhaustive tours to Bali, Java, Flores and Indonesian Borneo he is passionate about extolling the virtues of this often overlooked country.
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James
James didn’t leave Europe until he was 19, first venturing to California for three months and then four months in South America. But it was his first trip to South East Asia, travelling from Hanoi to Bangkok overland, which really captured his imagination. A few years later he embarked on an epic eight-month tour of India which saw him, among other things, working in the holy city of Varanasi and volunteering in a rural development commune in southern Kerala. James has since been back to India over ten times, and travelled to Malaysia and Borneo, becoming obsessed with the street food of Penang in the process. More recently he's been to Bali and Lombok where he particularly enjoyed climbing Mount Rinjani, Sri Lanka where he fell in love with the Mudhouse and back to off-the-beaten track Sikkim in India.
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Holly
Holly’s first job in travel was in a marketing role. However, it didn’t take her long to decide to exchange inspecting photographs of amazing destinations for being in them herself.
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Becky
Becky joined the Experience Travel Group team in July 2012, but was an explorer from a young age, thanks to her globe-trotting parents. Southeast Asia was where her young journeys began and later, combining her passion for history with travel, she delved into the culture, religions and traditions of Asia and the Middle East. Becky also spent a year studying at the University of Otago, in New Zealand, as part of her History degree.
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