Bali in August: Weather, Crowds and Prices for 2027

Bali usually sees less than 50 mm of rain in August, which puts it among the driest months of the year on the island. That makes August one of the best months in Bali for weather. It's also peak season, and from Amsterdam you're competing with the whole Dutch zomervakantie for seats, villas and space on the sand.

The short version: go if school holidays fix your dates, book early, and base yourself somewhere other than Canggu. If you can shift to September, you get nearly the same weather with fewer people.

What do people get wrong about Bali in August?

The most common August mistake is booking too late. By May, the better-value villas in Uluwatu, Seminyak and Ubud are often taken, and one-stop flights via Doha, Dubai, Istanbul and Singapore fill up with Dutch, Belgian and German families. Our advice: have flights and your first base sorted by February or March.

Packing only for heat. The coast runs at about 29 to 31°C by day, but the highlands are a different climate. In Kintamani, on the rim of the Mount Batur caldera, pre-dawn temperatures can drop to roughly 12 to 15°C, and the Batur sunrise trek ends on a 1,717 m summit in the wind. Ubud sits in between, with nights around 20°C.

Ignoring the Balinese calendar. Galungan is the Balinese Hindu festival marking the victory of dharma (good) over adharma, when ancestral spirits are believed to return home, and it follows the 210-day Pawukon calendar rather than the Western one. Counting forward from recent dates on that cycle, Galungan falls around 11 August 2027, with Kuningan, the closing day, ten days later around 21 August. Confirm both dates closer to the time, because they shape your trip: family-run warungs close, staff head back to their villages, and some tours run short.

Forgetting 17 August. Indonesian Independence Day (Hari Proklamasi Kemerdekaan) on 17 August is a fixed national public holiday, so government offices, immigration offices and banks close. If you need to extend a visa on arrival, don't let your deadline land on that week. The upside is a lovely atmosphere: red and white flags everywhere, village parades and panjat pinang, where teams scramble up greased poles for prizes.

Swimming where the waves are for surfers. Dry season swells hit the west and south coasts hard, from Kuta and Canggu down to the cliffs of the Bukit peninsula, and rip currents are common. Swim between the red and yellow flags set by Balawista, Bali's lifeguard service. For calm water with kids, Sanur, Nusa Dua and Amed are the easier bets.

Passport validity. Indonesia requires a passport valid for at least six months from your arrival date, according to the Directorate General of Immigration (Direktorat Jenderal Imigrasi), 2024. Check now, not at Schiphol.

What are the real numbers for Bali in August?

August in Bali means dry, sunny days with coastal highs of 29 to 31°C, nights of 22 to 24°C and sea temperatures around 26 to 27°C, based on long-term climate norms for the south coast. Here's the detail, plus the fees you'll actually pay.

Weather and what to pack

The dry season in Bali runs roughly April to October, driven by southeast trade winds, and August sits in the middle of it. Humidity is noticeably lower than in the wet months, and a whole week without rain on the coast is normal. The central highlands around Bedugul and the lakes still catch occasional afternoon cloud and showers.

Daylight is close to 12 hours, with sunrise around 06:30 and sunset around 18:15 to 18:20, local time. Bali runs on WITA (UTC+8), which is six hours ahead of Amsterdam in summer. The UV index is high at midday, so plan beach time for mornings and late afternoons.

Pack light linen or cotton, a fleece or light down jacket for Batur and Kintamani, a rash vest, reef-safe sunscreen and insect repellent (dengue is lower in the dry season but not absent). Bring a sarong and sash for temples, or rent one at the gate.

What's on in August

Independence Day on 17 August is the one fixed date. Galungan (around 11 August 2027) and Kuningan (around 21 August 2027) are the big moving ones, and during Galungan you'll see penjor, tall curved bamboo poles hung with offerings, lining village streets across the island.

August also falls in kite season, roughly June to September, when the steady trade winds lift huge traditional kites over the rice fields and beaches around Sanur. The organised kite festival at Padang Galak beach is usually held in July, but dates change each year; check with the Bali provincial tourism office (Dinas Pariwisata Provinsi Bali) before planning around it.

Back home, all three Dutch school holiday regions are off for most of August, and Amsterdam belongs to region Noord. Exact 2027 dates for each region are published by the Dutch government on rijksoverheid.nl.

Fees, fares and hotel rates

The Indonesian visa on arrival (VOA), a 30-day tourist visa extendable once for another 30 days, costs IDR 500,000, according to the Directorate General of Immigration, 2024. You can buy it as an e-VOA online at evisa.imigrasi.go.id before you fly or at the counter at Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS).

The Bali tourist levy costs IDR 150,000 per foreign visitor per entry, according to the Bali Provincial Government, which introduced it on 14 February 2024. Pay it through the official Love Bali website or app.

August fares between Amsterdam and Bali are not tracked by baliamsterdam.com yet, so we won't quote a number. When the data arrives, it will show up in the baliamsterdam.com fare calendar for Amsterdam and Bali. Expect August to be one of the priciest months to fly, since European summer holidays and Bali's peak season overlap.

Hotel and villa rates in Bali are at or near their highest of the year in August, alongside the Christmas and New Year fortnight. The biggest jumps are in Canggu, Seminyak and Uluwatu; inland and east coast places like Sidemen and Amed tend to hold their prices better.

If you're saving for next summer's trip, a holiday fund in a bunq Savings Account earns a base rate of 1.51% a year, according to the baliamsterdam.com savings rate tracker, October 2026. The same tracker shows Rabobank's Rabo SpaarRekening at 1.50% on the first EUR 10k, and ING's Oranje Spaarrekening and ABN AMRO's Direct Sparen at 1.25%. Parking EUR 4,000 at 1.51% for nine months would earn roughly EUR 45 (our calculation, before any box 3 tax). Compare banks on the baliamsterdam.com savings rate table, and confirm current conditions with the bank.

How do you plan an August trip to Bali, step by step?

The planning order that works: fix your dates, book flights, book beds, sort paperwork, then build the days around what August does best.

1. Fix your dates. Look up your region's 2027 zomervakantie on rijksoverheid.nl. If your children's school is in region Noord, compare the first and last weeks of the break; flying out at the very start or back at the very end usually means less competition than the middle.

2. Book flights early. There's no direct flight from Schiphol to Denpasar, so you'll connect once, typically through Doha, Dubai, Istanbul or Singapore. Start in the winter and compare one-stop fares from Schiphol to Denpasar across a few departure days, not just the Saturday everyone wants.

The return leg matters as much as the outbound. A return flight on a weekday in late August, or into the first days of September if your holiday allows, tends to dodge the busiest days at Schiphol too.

3. Pick a base, or two. For August we'd split the trip: a few nights on the Bukit peninsula for beaches and sunsets, then Ubud or Sidemen for rice terraces and cooler evenings. Look for hotels around Uluwatu first, because the clifftop places with pools go early.

4. Sort the paperwork. Buy the e-VOA online, pay the IDR 150,000 levy through Love Bali, and check imigrasi.go.id for any arrival declaration Indonesia currently requires. Doing this at home saves time in a peak season arrivals hall.

For data, having a Bali eSIM set up before you fly means you can order a Grab or Gojek ride the moment you land instead of queuing at a SIM stall.

5. Plan around what August does best. These are our picks, and one to skip.

• Mount Batur at sunrise. Clear dry season skies give you the best odds of seeing Mount Agung and Lake Batur at dawn. The easiest route is to book a Batur sunrise trek with hotel pickup, which typically starts around 02:00 to 04:00 from the south.
• Sunfish off Nusa Penida. Roughly July to October, cold upwelling brings oceanic sunfish (mola mola) up to the reefs at Crystal Bay and Toyapakeh. Water at depth can drop to around 20°C or below, so ask your dive shop for a 5 mm wetsuit.
• Surf the Bukit. The southeast trades blow offshore on the west-facing reefs at Uluwatu, Padang Padang and Bingin. Strictly for experienced surfers; beginners do better at Kuta or Batu Bolong in Canggu.
• The east coast by road. Sidemen, Tirta Gangga and Amed are at their greenest-meets-sunniest in August and far calmer than the south. If you're happy driving on the left in Balinese traffic, hire a car for the drive east; otherwise a car with driver for the day is common.

Skip the Kelingking Beach day trip squeezed into one day from Sanur. In August you'll spend most of it on a fast boat and bumpy Nusa Penida roads, then queue for the famous viewpoint. Stay a night on the island or save it for a quieter month.

How does August compare with July and September?

August and July share the same peak season crowds and prices, while September keeps the dry weather and starts to ease off once European schools restart.

If your dates are flexible and you don't mind some rain, the shoulder and early wet season months look very different on price and crowds; our guide to Bali in November covers the other end of the year.

Should you go to Bali in August?

Yes, if school holidays decide your dates for you. August gives Bali's most reliable weather, the Galungan festival lands in it in 2027, and the trade winds make it a strong month for diving, surfing and sunrise treks. Book flights and your first base by early spring, stay out of Canggu at peak, and keep the days around 11 and 17 August loose. If you're free to choose, go in mid-September instead.

Last updated: October 2026