Denpasar (Bali) weather in December
December in Denpasar: sweltering, soaked, with clean air — a gamble, with 28 rainy days.
Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis
#10 of 12 months in Denpasar · #933 of 1413 destinations to visit in December · comfort 62/100 (tier C)
- Days
- 31°C
- Nights
- 25°C
- Wet days
- 28
- Sun
- 9.4 h
- Humidity
- 87%
- Daylight
- 13 h

What December is like in Denpasar
Wet and humid, and busy anyway: the last fortnight is the most crowded of the year despite the rain.
monsoonpeak
confidence: high
Traveller notes on Denpasar in December
Notes from nearby Canggu (8 km away)
Denpasar doesn't have its own notes for December yet — these are about Canggu, close enough to share the season.
Bali-forum threads on December weather (Canggu specifically flagged in beach-condition threads) are consistent that the wet season is genuinely underway, but outcomes vary wildly by trip: one detailed account logged just about two hours of rain total across three weeks spanning mid-December into early January, surfing and swimming at Canggu and nearby beaches without any real weather problem. Other posters describe a more typical wet-season stretch of downpours and cloudy stretches. Bali's microclimates mean a rainy day in Ubud can be a clear one in Canggu or Sanur, so conditions genuinely differ block to block. The recurring practical warning: wet-season currents wash rubbish onto some beaches, worth checking locally. Crowds and traffic climb steadily from mid-December regardless of the weather. The record: 30.9C days feeling like a punishing 37C, 25.3C nights, a notably high 270mm across 28 days, 86 percent humidity, a 29.8C sea and 9.7 hours of sun.
Other months in Denpasar
Regulars are specific this falls within the dry season here, May through September, mornings typically clear or briefly overcast until around 8:30 before turning sunny with light sea breezes along the coast, any downpour usually arriving mid-afternoon and clearing again by evening. Our row backs that hot, genuinely wet read, 30.7C reading as a scorching 37C, over 25.2C nights feeling 30C, with a substantial 114.6mm of rain across 18.3 days and humidity at 86 percent. Regulars are consistent this counts among the best months to visit by local consensus, mostly sunny days the norm even with a quick afternoon shower a real, near-daily possibility. The sea sits at a bath-warm 29C. The record: 10.6 hours of sun, a 12.8 kph wind and AQI 48.
Bali-forum threads on January weather are consistent that it's peak wet season island-wide, with outcomes swinging from an unbroken run of rainy days to the more typical pattern of on-and-off showers with real sunny stretches between. Regulars are specific that rain here doesn't run cold - a downpour arrives, the sun comes back out shortly after, and the heat never really lets up regardless. Microclimates matter for where to base a stay: the north runs drier than central and southern Bali, and the driest pocket in January is the east coast around Amed. One recurring downside of the wet season - ocean currents wash rubbish onto surf beaches like Kuta, Legian, Seminyak and Canggu, worth checking before planning beach time in the south. The record: a sticky 31C by day feeling like 38C, 25C nights, a notably high 366mm across 28.5 days, 87 percent humidity, a 28.8C sea and 9 hours of sun - the wettest entry on the island's whole calendar.
Bali-forum threads on September call it a genuinely good month - lower-rain by local standards, hot and sunny through the day, with any showers usually holding off until evening rather than interrupting daytime plans. Posters are quick to add the island runs on microclimates: it can be pouring in one spot and cloudless a mile down the road, inland areas running wetter than the coast as a rule. The record complicates the low-rain read more than the forum chat suggests, though: 30.1C days feeling like a sticky 35C, 23.9C nights, 90mm across a notably high 15.5 days, 87 percent humidity, 11.1 hours of sun and a 26.6C sea - genuinely September-in-the-tropics wet, just concentrated enough in short bursts that it rarely ruins a day out.
June is one of the months Bali regulars recommend without argument: the dry season, clear skies, lower humidity, days around 27 to 30C, fewer visitors than the peak and calm enough seas that the fast boats rarely get cancelled. The qualification they attach matters more here than almost anywhere. Bali is a stack of microclimates - it can pour in one place and be clear a few hundred metres away, Ubud and the centre are much wetter than the coast, and the east is the driest side. Their own line is that it rains somewhere on Bali 365 days a year, and that the rain is usually short. Our row for Denpasar says 80.4mm across 16.6 days, which is that pattern rather than a wet month. The record: 29.8C days that feel like 35C, 24.5C nights, humidity 85 percent and a 28.2C sea.
Add your own note from Denpasar's card on the map.
Denpasar climate normals — December
Monthly averages from ERA5 reanalysis. AQI is the mean US Air Quality Index for the month.
Crowds in Denpasar in December
How busy the place itself is — school and mass holidays, the months an editor tagged, and how sought-after the weather makes them. Never part of the comfort score.
Peak crowdsthe editor's peak month, Christmas and New Year peak, Year-end break in Indonesia
Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet
Best months for Denpasar's weather
Ranked by this destination's own climate comfort score across the year — a different thing from how busy it gets (see Crowds above).
Toughest weatherDenpasar's weather peaks June–August.
Best weatherFair weatherToughest weather
What's on in Denpasar in December
Recurring seasonal events, natural spectacles, closures and holidays — curated and sourced.
- Rule
Bali tourist levy
1 Jan – 31 DecEvery foreign visitor pays a one-off provincial levy, ideally online before arrival; there are desks at the airport for those who did not, and a QR receipt is checked at some sites. Source ↗
- Season
Monsoon debris on the west beaches
1 Dec – 15 Mar · usuallyRiskThe wet-season swell and the rivers push rubbish onto the west-coast sand from Kuta to Seminyak, in some years by the truckload. The east and the Bukit beaches are largely spared. Source ↗
- Holiday
Christmas and New Year peak
18 Dec – 5 JanChristmas & New YearCrowdedBook earlyThe most crowded fortnight of the year despite being the wettest, with villa rates at their annual high and the airport at capacity. Source ↗
- Season
Wet season
MonsoonRisk28 rainy days and about 345 mm in the month — the real kind of rainy season, not afternoon showers.
from the climate normals
Nearby, and something's on
Within 300 km of Denpasar — a day trip or a short hop — with something on this month. Never part of the comfort score.
Where is Denpasar?
Denpasar in December — FAQ
- Is December a good time to visit Denpasar?
- December in Denpasar: sweltering, soaked, with clean air — a gamble, with 28 rainy days. It ranks #10 of 12 months for Denpasar on SeasonMap's comfort score (62/100).
- What is the weather like in Denpasar in December?
- In December, Denpasar averages a daily high of 31.1°C and a low of 25.2°C, with about 344.6 mm of rain over roughly 28.1 rainy days.
- What is the air quality in Denpasar in December?
- Denpasar has a mean US Air Quality Index of about 35 in December.
Within 300 km: Canggu's Bali tourist levy on 1 Jan – 31 Dec, and Nusa Penida's Bali tourist levy on 1 Jan – 31 Dec.