Which of Canggu, Uluwatu and Ubud has the best weather?
Uluwatu, from July to September, and by the widest margin in August. In August Uluwatu gets 17 mm of rain, Canggu 56 mm and Ubud 118 mm. From December to February all three are wet and no one wins. Daytime highs are almost the same everywhere, 27° to 30°.
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Do the three really have different weather?
They follow the same curve, which is why many guides treat them as one: wet from about November to April, dry from May to October, August the driest month on the coast. What changes is the amount, and the strip shows where.
Rain per month, mm (2015-2025 averages)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canggu | |||||||||||
| January: 313 | February: 295 | March: 205 | April: 154 | May: 88 | June: 69 | July: 69 | August: 56 | September: 101 | October: 107 | November: 204 | December: 288 |
| Uluwatu | |||||||||||
| January: 391 | February: 355 | March: 261 | April: 108 | May: 85 | June: 72 | July: 47 | August: 17 | September: 70 | October: 121 | November: 227 | December: 338 |
| Ubud | |||||||||||
| January: 332 | February: 310 | March: 249 | April: 170 | May: 124 | June: 103 | July: 136 | August: 118 | September: 116 | October: 138 | November: 249 | December: 328 |
Averages 2015-2025 · Source: Open-Meteo, CHIRPS · How we measure
Uluwatu sits on the dry southern peninsula and is level with Canggu in May and June, then clearly drier from July to September. Ubud is inland and uphill, and collects the most rain from June to November. From October to February our totals put Uluwatu above Canggu instead, but read that as a tie: the rain-day counts are about the same, and the totals for the two come from different sources. For the whole island's calendar, see Bali by area.
Which base is driest in the wet season?
None of the three by a clear margin. In December, January and February Canggu gets 288, 313 and 295 mm, Ubud 328, 332 and 310 mm, Uluwatu 338, 391 and 355 mm. Rain falls on about 17 to 22 days of each month on all three, and the gaps are smaller than the uncertainty in the totals. If your dates fall between December and February, choose on everything else but the weather; the rainy season guide covers the local routines.
Is Ubud really cooler?
At night, yes. Ubud's lows are 21° to 23° all year, against 23° to 26° on the coast, and highs barely differ. If you sleep badly in heat, that two to three degree gap on nights is the strongest weather reason to pick Ubud. Uluwatu's lows are a degree or two warmer than Canggu's.
What about the cloud?
Cloud follows the rain. From December to February all three sit under about 85% to 90% cloud. In August it falls to 53% in Uluwatu, 60% in Canggu and 70% in Ubud, so Uluwatu is clearest in the dry season. If you film outdoors or fly a drone, that matters more than the rain total. A rain day counts at four millimetres or more, so a grey day of drizzle does not count while a sunny day with one short, hard storm does: read cloud and rain together.
What about May, June and October?
The edges of the dry season are where the three look alike. In May Uluwatu has 85 mm and Canggu 88 mm, in June 72 mm and 69 mm, so the coast is a toss-up and the choice is about surf and company. Ubud has 124 mm in May and 103 mm in June, the lowest it gets, and it is still the wettest of the three. October is the turn: 121 mm in Uluwatu, 107 mm in Canggu and 138 mm in Ubud, with the rain coming back on all three. If you want a dry stay outside July and August, June and September are the months to look at, and the strip shows how little separates the bases in them.
So which base should a nomad pick?
Weather alone gives a short answer: Uluwatu for a dry dry season, Ubud for cool nights, Canggu for neither, but nothing is bad. Work setup, community and food usually decide, and they are outside this data. What the weather can do is set your dates. Aim for May to October on any base, and for Uluwatu if you want the least rain from July to September. If you must come between November and February, expect rain on any base, and consider whether Thailand is drier for January and February.
A note on the numbers
These are monthly averages over each area, not readings from a rain gauge in your street, so use them to compare the areas with each other and not to promise a dry afternoon. Rain days, temperatures and cloud come from Open-Meteo’s weather model. Uluwatu's rain totals come from CHIRPS (satellite and rain-gauge data), which matches the Denpasar airport gauge there through the dry season. Canggu and Ubud keep Open-Meteo's totals, because CHIRPS reads their dry-season rain two to three times wetter than that gauge. Bali has sharp local differences, and the hills above Ubud can be wet while the town is dry. See Data Sources.
Which base suits you?
Uluwatu
17 mm in Aug4 rain days in Aug25° low in Aug
Clearest sky in the dry season: 53% cloud in August.
Suits: the least rain from July to September, cliffs and surf
Canggu
56 mm in Aug4 rain days in Aug23° low in Aug
In the middle on rain, and the lowest wet-season totals.
Suits: community, cafes and coworking; nothing is bad
Ubud
118 mm in Aug9 rain days in Aug21° low in Aug
The cloudiest in the dry months: 70% in August.
Suits: cool nights and quiet, if you can live with more rain
Frequently asked questions
Which is drier, Canggu or Uluwatu?
Uluwatu, from July to September: 47 mm against 69 mm in July, 17 mm against 56 mm in August and 70 mm against 101 mm in September. In May and June the two are level (85 mm against 88 mm, and 72 mm against 69 mm). From October to February our totals put Canggu lower (313 mm against 391 mm in January), but the two come from different sources and have about as many rain days, so call the wet season a tie.
Is Ubud rainier than Canggu?
Yes, most of the year. In August Ubud gets 118 mm of rain against 56 mm in Canggu, in November 249 mm against 204 mm, and in December 328 mm against 288 mm. In January and February the gap is smallest: 332 mm against 313 mm, and 310 mm against 295 mm.
Which Bali base is coolest at night?
Ubud, with night lows between 21°C and 23°C all year against 23°C to 26°C on the coast. Highs are about the same in all three.
When is the best month for all three?
August. Canggu gets 56 mm, Uluwatu 17 mm and Ubud 118 mm, with highs of 27°C to 28°C.
Where should I base myself from December to February?
None of the three is dry in these months: all get roughly 290 to 391 mm a month, with rain on about 17 to 22 days of each month. Uluwatu gets the most rain in December, January and February (338, 391 and 355 mm) and Canggu the least (288, 313 and 295 mm), so the weather does not pick for you. Choose on work setup and plan the weather as a given.
Is Uluwatu always warmer than Canggu?
Only at night. Highs are within half a degree in most months. Uluwatu lows are about one to two degrees warmer, around 25°C to 26°C.
Not sure where yet? Pick your months and what to avoid, and get your 3 best places → Where should I go?
Weather data: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0), open-meteo.com; rain totals: CHIRPS (Climate Hazards Center, UC Santa Barbara); Canggu (Bali) and Ubud (Bali): Open-Meteo. Processed by NomadWeather from stored copies of the data.