Bali in October 2027: Weather, Crowds and What to Book

Bali in October gives you the last dry weeks of the year at shoulder-season hotel rates, while July and August give you the same sunshine at peak-season prices with Canggu and Uluwatu at their most crowded. For most people flying from Amsterdam, October wins, as long as you dodge the Dutch autumn school holiday week and get your beach days in before the rain starts building at the end of the month.

Think of October as the hinge month. The first half still behaves like dry season. The second half starts to hint at what November brings: heavier air, the odd afternoon downpour and greener rice terraces.

The October numbers

October in Bali is hot, mostly dry and humid, with the dry season (roughly April to October) giving way to the wet season (roughly November to March) by the end of the month. Here's what that means in practice, plus the entry costs you'll actually pay.

Weather and what to pack

Coastal Bali (Seminyak, Canggu, Sanur, Uluwatu) typically sees daytime highs of 30 to 32°C in October and nights of around 23 to 25°C, based on long-term climate norms for Denpasar. Ubud, at roughly 200 to 300 metres up, runs a couple of degrees cooler, and nights there feel pleasantly fresh.

The sea around Bali sits at about 27 to 29°C in October, warm enough to swim all day without a wetsuit. The exception is around Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan, where cold upwellings can drop the water into the low 20s. Divers grumble, but those currents are exactly what bring the ocean sunfish (mola mola) up from the deep.

Rain picks up through the month. Early October usually means scattered short showers; late October can bring proper tropical cloudbursts in the afternoon, typically over in an hour. Daylight barely changes near the equator: expect about 12 hours, with sunrise around 6:00 and sunset around 18:15 local time.

Pack light, breathable clothes, a compact rain jacket for the second half of the month, reef-safe sunscreen and sandals that survive a wet road. Bring one warm layer if you plan the Mount Batur sunrise trek, because the summit before dawn is genuinely cold. A sarong is useful for temples, though most hand one out at the gate.

Entry costs and timelines

The Indonesian Visa on Arrival (VoA) is a 30-day tourist visa that Dutch passport holders can buy online before travel or at the airport, and it can be extended once for another 30 days inside Indonesia. The Visa on Arrival costs IDR 500,000, according to the Directorate General of Immigration of Indonesia, 2024. Apply for the electronic version (e-VoA) only through the official portal at evisa.imigrasi.go.id; lookalike sites charge a hefty markup.

Bali also charges every foreign visitor a separate tourist levy. The Bali tourist levy is IDR 150,000 per person per entry, according to the Bali Provincial Government, which introduced it on 14 February 2024. You pay it through the official Love Bali website or app, ideally before you fly.

Your passport needs at least six months of validity from your arrival date, according to the Directorate General of Immigration of Indonesia, 2024. Check that now, not at Schiphol.

One more timeline quirk: Bali runs on Central Indonesia Time (WITA, UTC+8). The Netherlands moves from summer time to winter time on the last Sunday of October (31 October in 2027), so the gap with Amsterdam grows from six hours to seven. Worth remembering for any calls home.

Fares and rooms

October fares from Amsterdam to Bali are not tracked by baliamsterdam.com yet, so we won't put a number on them here. Our fare calendar for Amsterdam and Bali will show the cheapest months once the route data is in.

What we can say qualitatively: there's no nonstop between Schiphol and Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS). You'll connect once, typically with Singapore Airlines via Singapore, Qatar Airways via Doha, Emirates via Dubai, Turkish Airlines via Istanbul or Etihad via Abu Dhabi. October fares usually sit below the July and August peak, except during the Dutch autumn school holiday, when demand from the Netherlands pushes them up.

Hotel rates follow the same curve. October is shoulder season in Bali: the European summer crowd has gone home, and the Christmas and Australian holiday rush hasn't started, so villas and mid-range hotels often discount compared with August.

If you're setting the trip money aside now, bunq's Savings Account pays 1.51% a year and Rabobank's Rabo SpaarRekening pays 1.50% on the first EUR 10k, according to the baliamsterdam.com savings rate tracker, October 2026. Rates move often, so confirm with the bank; the full list sits on our cost of living and savings rates page.

What's on in October

The Ubud Writers & Readers Festival is Bali's best-known annual October event, a literary festival held in Ubud most years since 2004, usually in the second half of the month. Exact dates change each year, so check the festival's official site before you book Ubud nights, because rooms there fill up that week.

Balinese Hindu holidays Galungan and Kuningan follow the 210-day Pawukon calendar, so they land in a different month each year and don't fall in October every year. Check a current Balinese calendar if you want to see the penjor (decorated bamboo poles) lining the roads. Even without them, you'll see temple anniversary ceremonies (odalan) somewhere on the island almost every day.

On the Dutch side, the herfstvakantie (autumn school holiday) is a one-week break in mid to late October, staggered by region (north, central and south). Rijksoverheid publishes the official dates for each school year on rijksoverheid.nl. That week is when fares from Amsterdam climb.

The booking sequence

Book flights first, then the visa and levy, then accommodation, then the fun stuff. In order:

1. Pick your dates around the herfstvakantie. If you're free, aim for the first two weeks of October: drier, and usually outside the Dutch school break. Families tied to the holiday should book as early as possible.
2. Book the flight two to three months out. You can compare Amsterdam to Bali fares for early October across all the one-stop carriers in one search. Factor in the layover length, not just the price; a 2-hour connection in Singapore beats an 11-hour one in Doha.
3. Check your passport, then buy the e-VoA and pay the tourist levy. Do both online in the week before you fly and keep the confirmations as screenshots.
4. Book where you'll sleep. Split the trip: a few nights in Ubud for culture and cooler evenings, then the coast. In October the Bukit peninsula is at its best, and hotels around Uluwatu put you near the surf breaks and the clifftop sunsets.
5. Sort data before you land. Install a travel eSIM for data on arrival while you're still on Schiphol Wi-Fi, so you can order a Grab or Gojek ride the moment you clear immigration.
6. Book the return. If you're flexible, a late-October return also means you land back after the clocks change, which oddly makes the jet lag a touch easier.

Four things October does best

Mount Batur at sunrise. Clear dry-season mornings give you the best odds of a view over Lake Batur and across to Mount Agung. Book a Mount Batur sunrise trek with hotel pickup, which typically leaves around 2:00 to 3:00 in the morning.

Diving off Nusa Penida. The mola mola season runs roughly July to October, so early October is your last decent shot this year. Sightings are never guaranteed, but the manta rays at Manta Point are there year-round.

Surfing the Bukit. Uluwatu, Padang Padang and Bingin still get dry-season swells and offshore winds in October. Beginners should stick to Balangan or take lessons in Kuta.

A road trip north. The roads to Munduk, the Jatiluwih rice terraces and the Ulun Danu Beratan temple are dry and quieter than in August. If you're comfortable driving on the left, car hire for a day trip north beats haggling with a driver, though hiring a driver is often barely more expensive.

One thing to skip

Skip planning beach days in Kuta and Legian for the last days of October. As the westerly winds of the wet season arrive, plastic starts washing up on that stretch, getting much worse from November. Head to Sanur or the Bukit beaches instead.

The common slip-ups

The most common mistake is treating October as guaranteed dry season. The first fortnight usually is; the last fortnight is a coin toss on afternoon rain. Plan outdoor mornings and keep afternoons flexible.

The second is booking during the herfstvakantie without checking. You'll pay more for flights and share Seminyak with half of your neighbourhood. If you've no kids in school, there's no reason to fly that week.

Other edge cases people run into:

• Fake visa sites. Several sites mimic the official e-VoA portal. The real one is evisa.imigrasi.go.id; anything else is a reseller.
• Driving without the right permit. To ride a scooter or drive legally in Indonesia you need an International Driving Permit alongside your Dutch licence. ANWB issues them in the Netherlands. Travel insurers often refuse scooter claims without one.
• Underestimating Ubud evenings. They're not cold, but after a day at 31°C on the coast, 22°C with humidity feels cool. Bring long trousers.
• Assuming the Nusa islands are a casual day trip. Fast boats from Sanur cross in rough water, and the cold upwellings that bring the mola mola also make the strait choppy. Go early and stay overnight if you can.
• Forgetting the time change. Work calls booked for after 31 October 2027 shift by an hour on your end.

October against its neighbours

October sits between peak-season August and the start of the rains in November. The figures below are approximate climate norms for coastal Bali, not baliamsterdam.com data.

If November tempts you with lower rates, read our guide to Bali in November first; it's a different trip, with more rain and much greener scenery.

The verdict

Go in the first half of October. You get dry-season weather, the tail of the mola mola season and shoulder-season room rates, and you're out before the rain gets serious. Avoid the Dutch autumn holiday week unless school dictates otherwise, base yourself in Ubud then Uluwatu, and leave Kuta for another trip.

Last updated: October 2026