Best time to film in Bali: seasons and holy days

By Film Permit Bali Editorial Desk

The best time to film in Bali for outdoor work falls in the dry months, though companies draw the window differently: Atlas Film Fixers says May to September, NEEDaFIXER roughly April to October. Check holy days next. Nyepi closes the island on 8 March 2027, and Galungan and Kuningan close many businesses.

What is the best time to film in Bali?

There is no single answer, because two separate tests apply and they can point in different directions. Weather decides whether your exteriors will work. The Balinese calendar decides whether your location, suppliers and crew will be available. A clear day during Galungan can still be a poor shoot day, and a working day in December can bring rain. Run both tests before you fix dates.

This table sets out the 2026-27 season month by month, as far as dated sources allow:

When does the wet season start?

For this season, BMKG predicted a start in November 2026 in about 15 percent of Bali's season zones (three zones) and December 2026 in about 85 percent (17 zones), as reported by the Denpasar city government.

That is one forecast for one season. It gives no end date and does not say how much rain will fall on a given shoot day, and one forecast shows no pattern. Do not carry these figures into 2027-28 or beyond. Because the start date differs by zone, also ask which zone your main location falls in.

Filming in the rainy season is a matter of risk and cost: exteriors need spare days, and gear and access need thinking through. An interior-heavy production has more room to move.

What do production companies recommend?

They agree on the middle of the year and differ at the edges. Atlas Film Fixers calls May to September the most reliable window for outdoor shoots. NEEDaFIXER says the dry season runs roughly April to October. These are two companies' views and not climate records, so this page does not merge them into a single window.

In practice, the gap leaves April and October as the months to discuss. If an outdoor sequence can only be shot once, the narrower window is the more cautious choice for your main dates. If you have spare days built in, the wider one gives you more options. For a landscape location such as a rice terrace, also check its own rules; the page on filming at Jatiluwih is one example.

Drone work has a daily window on top of the seasonal one. Part 107 limits operation to the hours between sunrise and sunset unless an exception applies, so a night aerial shot needs more than good weather.

Which window to use depends on what the shoot can absorb:

• Exteriors you can only shoot once: main dates between May and September, where the two companies overlap.
• Interiors and interviews: rain matters less, so the holy days become the main constraint.
• Drone-dependent work: the daylight limit applies all year, and a rained-off flight still has to fit its approved plan, so ask how much date margin an approval allows.
• Scenes at or near temples: start from the temple's calendar and not from the weather.

Which holy days affect a schedule?

Three matter most for 2027 planning:

• Nyepi, Monday 8 March 2027. The date comes from Indonesia's 2027 list of national holidays, reported by Hukumonline. Love Bali describes a full stop: the island shuts, the airport with it, and people remain indoors for 24 hours. The days around it are covered in filming in Bali during Nyepi.
• Galungan, 13 January 2027, and Kuningan, 23 January 2027. These dates come from Bali Discovery, a community guide published in September 2026. It treats both as official holidays on the island, when many businesses shut, and says the Galungan observance typically runs to four days.
• A second Galungan and Kuningan pair in 2027. The same list also shows a pair in August, while saying the pair occurs in January and December, and its own dates do not fit its ten-day rule. No firm date is printed here for that reason. Check the Balinese calendar with your local partner before you plan an August shoot.

A holiday affects a shoot in several ways. Bali Discovery says many businesses close, so ask your suppliers, local crew and temple contacts. Our guide to filming at temples in Bali covers the temple side. An island-wide list does not cover every local temple festival, so ask your partner about the villages near each location.

How far ahead do dates firm up?

Unevenly. The national holiday date for Nyepi is already fixed for 2027, the January pair of Balinese holidays is listed by one guide, the August pair is unresolved, and the weather forecast covers one season at a time. So you can fix the holiday constraints now and revisit the weather later.

Your own paperwork, starting with the film permit Bali productions apply for, sets the other limit. A twelve-week minimum before departure is what the Embassy in Canberra strongly advises for the film permit, and other missions publish different figures, which are compared on the film permit processing time page. Counting those twelve weeks back shows how early the calendar starts to matter:

The arithmetic is simple, but it catches schedules that only look at shoot dates. Work out your filing date first, then check that date against the calendar too.

Before you lock anything, put three questions to your local partner. Does a listed holiday fall in your preparation days as well as your shoot days? Will each location manager be working across it? And how many spare days can the budget carry if an exterior is rained off? The answers will tell you more about your own shoot than any general advice on seasons, because a three-day interview job and a six-week drama have very different exposure to both rain and closures.

What do producers ask about seasons and holy days?

Can film crews work during Galungan?

We know of no ban. Bali Discovery lists Galungan as an official holiday on the island, with many businesses shut for what is usually a four-day observance. The real limit is whether your suppliers, location and partner are working, so ask each of them before fixing dates.

When does the rainy season start in Bali?

For 2026-27, BMKG forecast a December 2026 start in most of Bali's season zones and a November start in a few. That applies to this one season, so look for a fresh forecast when planning any later year.

When is the dry season in Bali for filming?

It depends on which company you ask. NEEDaFIXER puts it at roughly April to October. Atlas Film Fixers calls May to September the most reliable window for outdoor shoots. These are company views, and April and October are the months in dispute.

Should I avoid Galungan for a shoot in Bali?

If the work relies on temples, local crew or open businesses, build the schedule around it. For early 2027, Bali Discovery lists Galungan on 13 January and Kuningan on 23 January, which leaves a ten-day stretch to discuss with your partner.

Which sources support this page?

• Denpasar city government: BMKG forecast for the 2026-27 wet season
• Atlas Film Fixers: Bali
• NEEDaFIXER: filming in Indonesia
• Transport Ministry Regulation 63 of 2021, Part 107 (BPK legal database)
• Hukumonline: 2027 national holiday list
• Love Bali: Nyepi, Day of Silence
• Bali Discovery: official holidays in Bali for 2027
• Indonesian Embassy in Canberra: procedure for foreign film producers

How do I reach the desk?

Give the desk your preferred month, the fallback month, and how much of the shoot is outdoors. It can flag calendar clashes, but it cannot promise weather or a date. Since a request may become a paid booking, read our answers with that in mind; the about page explains it. Fees and the contracting company appear only in a written offer, which is the only thing that binds. WhatsApp 6281139414563 or bd@juaraholding.com.