Bali crowd index
Bali crowd index: how busy is it right now?
Bali had 6,948,754 direct foreign arrivals in 2025, a record, up 9.72 percent on 2024 (BPS Bali). But the crowds are not spread evenly. July drew 697,107 visitors, and February drew 450,697, a gap of nearly 250,000 people in a single month. This page turns the official monthly arrivals into a crowd rating for every month, so you can pick your dates with real numbers instead of guesses.
Foreign arrivals by month, 2025
Each bar shows direct foreign arrivals for the month, from Statistics Indonesia's Bali office (BPS Bali). Chart values are rounded to the nearest thousand; exact figures are in the table below.
Crowd rating by month
Our crowd rating runs 1 (quietest) to 5 (busiest), set from the arrivals bands below. It is our rating, derived from BPS data, not a BPS figure. Star-hotel occupancy is from the same BPS release, via the Bali Provincial Tourism Office's 2025 tourism statistics.
| Month (2025) | Foreign arrivals | Star-hotel occupancy | Crowd rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 529,897 | 60.28% | 2 |
| February | 450,697 | 51.62% | 1 |
| March | 470,851 | 46.61% | 1 |
| April | 591,221 | 57.23% | 3 |
| May | 602,213 | 58.10% | 3 |
| June | 637,868 | 64.66% | 4 |
| July | 697,107 | 67.75% | 5 |
| August | 682,866 | 69.54% | 5 |
| September | 635,149 | 68.17% | 4 |
| October | 594,853 | 64.57% | 3 |
| November | 483,364 | 57.97% | 2 |
| December | 572,668 | 60.88% | 3 |
| Full year | 6,948,754 |
Crowd rating bands, by monthly foreign arrivals: under 475,000 is 1; 475,000 to 550,000 is 2; 550,000 to 620,000 is 3; 620,000 to 670,000 is 4; over 670,000 is 5. Source: BPS Bali, annual release of February 2, 2026, and monthly releases via the Bali Provincial Tourism Office's 2025 tourism statistics.
What the numbers say
July and August are the peak. Together they drew 1,379,973 arrivals, about 20 percent of the whole year in two months. Star hotels ran at 67.75 percent occupancy in July and 69.54 percent in August, the highest of the year. Book flights and hotels well ahead for these months, and expect queues at the famous viewpoints.
February and March are the quietest. February had the fewest arrivals (450,697) and March had the lowest star-hotel occupancy (46.61 percent), lower even than February. The trade-off is rain: January to March are the wettest months on BMKG's long-term record, with 345 mm in January, 274 mm in February, and 234 mm in March. See the best month to visit Bali for the full weather picture.
June is the sweet spot. June gets about the same rain as July (53 mm against 55 mm) but had 59,239 fewer foreign arrivals in 2025. September and October are the other shoulder: dry, a little calmer than July, but far from empty. September still drew 635,149 arrivals.
December is a second high season. Arrivals climbed to 572,668, up 18.48 percent on November, as Christmas and New Year bring a second peak. November is one of the year's quietest months, and one of the cheapest months to travel.
2026 so far
Through August 2026, BPS counted 4,586,959 direct foreign arrivals, about 1.6 percent below the same months of 2025. The year opened soft and bottomed out in March at 472,070 arrivals, then climbed every month from April. July 2026 brought 697,809 arrivals, up 0.10 percent on July 2025, and August 2026 brought 685,994, up 0.46 percent. The peak months are holding at record levels even as the early year softened. This page is updated when BPS releases new monthly figures.
Crowds by area, not just by month
The monthly average hides big differences between areas. The same month can feel packed in one place and empty in another.
Busiest areas: Canggu and Seminyak are the most crowded bases year round, and their roads and beach clubs feel it first in July and August. Ubud's centre is busy by mid-morning in every month. Nusa Penida's viewpoints (Kelingking, Diamond Beach) are crowded from late morning, when the day-trip boats land, and quiet at sunrise.
Quietest areas: Amed, Sidemen, and Munduk stay quiet even in August. They are the escape valve for travelers who want Bali without the crowds, and the hotel content for them is thin because so few visitors go. Sanur and Nusa Dua are calm by design: resort enclaves and a sleepy beachfront village, busy in a slow way rather than a frantic one.
The timing trick: crowds follow the clock as much as the calendar. The famous sights are quietest before 8 AM and after 4 PM. An overnight stay near the sight, rather than a day trip, is the simplest way to beat the crowd without changing your month. See the Nusa Penida vs Nusa Lembongan comparison for how this plays out on the islands.
How to use this index: pick your month from the table above, then pick your area from the area guides. If you must travel in July or August, stay in Sanur, Nusa Dua, or the quiet north and east, and visit the famous sights early. If you can travel in February, March, or November, you can stay anywhere and the island will feel half as busy, with lower hotel rates to match. Low season (November to March) cuts rates 25 to 40 percent (VoyageHacks, 2026).
See the best month to visit Bali for weather and prices by month, the Bali hotel price index for what stays cost, and the area quiz to match your trip style to a base.