Best Time To Visit Ubud

June is dry, clear and comfortable, sitting two to three degrees cooler than Denpasar. This is the strongest month for the Campuhan ridge walk and the waterfall trips.

July is dry but busy. If you are pairing Ubud with Gili Air, note that those crossings are at their roughest in July and August on a southerly swell, not in the wet season.

August is the driest month of the year in Ubud. It is also the busiest, so villas, drivers and cooking classes need booking well ahead.

September keeps the weather and loses the crowds, which makes it the best all-round month. Prices ease from the middle of the month.

October is the turn of the season. Showers return through the month but mornings are usually clear, so it works if you finish outdoor plans before lunch.

November is properly wet and the tracks to the waterfalls get slippery. The terraces are at their greenest, which is the trade you are making.

December and January are the wettest months, and January is the peak. Ubud takes close to four times as much rain in January as it does in August.

Ubud is still the better wet-season choice in Bali, because the spas, galleries, cooking schools and cafes all work in the rain. Nusa Penida and the beaches do not.

February and March are wet but improving, with the rain falling away from January's peak through both months. March is the better half of the pair.

Late March is underrated. The landscape is at its most lush, crowds are thin, and the dry season is only weeks away. Lombok works well as an add-on from here.

Ubud sits at about 210 metres inland, which makes it two to three degrees cooler than Denpasar and close to a third wetter across the year.

Plan around that gap. A month that reads as dry on a Kuta or Seminyak forecast will hand Ubud more cloud and more afternoon rain, so keep the outdoor plans for the morning.