What can you do in Bali when it rains?

Rain in Bali usually arrives in the afternoon and lasts an hour or two. The trick is having a list, because the default is sitting in a villa watching it.

The reliable wet-afternoon list

A long spa session. Two hours of massage, scrub and flower bath at a good local spa is 250,000 to 500,000 rupiah. This is what rain is for.

A cooking class. Most run under cover, include a market visit in the morning and take three to four hours. The best value activity in Bali and entirely rain-proof once you are past the market.

Museums and galleries. The Neka Art Museum and Museum Puri Lukisan in Ubud, the Blanco Renaissance Museum, ARMA, and the Bali Museum in Denpasar. Bali has a serious art history and almost nobody visits it.

Coffee. Ubud, Canggu and Seminyak have a genuinely good specialty coffee scene, and sitting it out with a book is a legitimate use of an afternoon.

A long lunch. The restaurants here are the reason half the repeat visitors come back.

Indoor with children

Waterbom Bali in Kuta, which is a water park, so rain is irrelevant. It closes in lightning.

Beachwalk and Discovery malls in Kuta, with cinemas showing films in English.

Bali Safari Park, much of which works in light rain, with indoor areas.

A cooking class, most of which take children.

Trampoline parks, soft play and indoor climbing in Canggu and Seminyak, which exist because the resident families need them in February.

Cultural things that work in rain

A dance performance. Legong and Barong performances in Ubud run in covered venues most evenings.

Gamelan or wood carving lessons, arranged through hotels in Ubud.

Temple visits, which are quieter and more atmospheric in rain, with a sarong and a sense of humour.

Batik or silver-making workshops in Celuk and around Ubud, half a day and indoors.

Things that get better in rain

Waterfalls. Fuller and more dramatic, though some close for safety and the paths are slippery.

The highlands. Munduk in mist is beautiful in a way that Munduk in sun is not.

Hot springs. Banjar in the north or the Toya Devasya pools at Batur, sitting in warm water while it rains on you.

Rice terraces. Greener, moodier, and almost empty.

What does not work

Volcano treks, which are cancelled or miserable and give you no view.

Boat trips to the islands, which get rough and are sometimes cancelled.

Snorkelling near river mouths, where runoff kills visibility.

Scooter riding, which in a heavy downpour on an oily road is the most dangerous thing you can do here.

Planning around it

Do outdoor things before noon. This is the whole strategy in one line. Rain here is afternoon-weighted, so temples, terraces, waterfalls and beaches go in the morning.

Keep one flexible day. If the trek matters, do not schedule it for a fixed date.

Stay in the south, which gets meaningfully less rain than Ubud and far less than the highlands.

Check your villa has indoor space. Open-air living is wonderful in July and grim in a three-hour storm.

A wet-afternoon plan by area

Canggu and Seminyak. Spa, then a long lunch, then a cinema in Kuta if it is still going. Indoor climbing and trampoline parks for families.

Ubud. The Neka or ARMA museums, a covered dance performance in the evening, a silversmithing or batik workshop, or a cooking class that starts at the market.

Uluwatu. Very little indoors. A spa, a long meal on a covered terrace, or drive down to Kuta for the malls.

Sanur and Nusa Dua. Hotel spas, the Le Mayeur museum, or the aquarium and water sports in Benoa between showers.

The highlands. Do not fight it. Hot springs at Banjar or Batur, sitting in warm water in the rain, is one of the better things to do in Bali in any weather.

What to have in the villa

A deck of cards, a book, and enough food for one meal. Delivery apps work in rain but get slow, and the walk to the nearest warung in a downpour is 200 metres of soaking.