Asia - Bali in January - Rain? Furniture Shopping?

Have booked Bali Jan 19-25 for a Chinese New Year getaway, but concerned about going since it is the rainiest month. Thinking about staying in Ubud or Seminyak (potentially splitting time between the two).

So - how bad will the rain be? I'm not much of a beach person but would like to spend some time on the beach. From what I have read, the rainshowers are more in intense 2-3 hour spurts rather than the whole day. Has anyone been there in January - any thoughts?

Also, I am very interested in shopping for furniture and home accessories. Are there specific areas I should be aware that would be great for shopping for home furnishings?

Thanks in advance.

I have purchased furniture from an artisan in Ubud. You'll see tons of furniture stores throughout Bali with many in Denpasar. Just a side note ...Not sure where you are from or would be shipping the furniture to, but my experience was that the shipping and warehousing costs ultimately were about 3x what I expected. I contemplated abandoning the furniture as the bills just kept coming. (This was not due to misquotes in Bali, but unexpected extra charges in the US.)

Thanks so much. Let me know if there is an artisan/store you would recommend. I would likely be shipping to Hong Kong and maybe the US (NYC). Was it the duties for the US that were the charges coming through? Haven't shipped from Asia to US before but from my understanding you do get hit a lot on furniture.

I've been in Bali at end of January/early February. I didn't find it overly rainy, just showery from time to time, quite a bit of overcast, but also periods of sun. Rain wasn't horribly heavy and it didn't seem to last too long. Managed to catch a bit of beach time also. Weather shouldn't cramp your style too much.

Have booked Bali Jan 19-25 for a Chinese New Year getaway, but concerned about going since it is the rainiest month. Thinking about staying in Ubud or Seminyak (potentially splitting time between the two).

So - how bad will the rain be? I'm not much of a beach person but would like to spend some time on the beach. From what I have read, the rainshowers are more in intense 2-3 hour spurts rather than the whole day. Has anyone been there in January - any thoughts?

Also, I am very interested in shopping for furniture and home accessories. Are there specific areas I should be aware that would be great for shopping for home furnishings?

Thanks in advance.

I am there 18th-24th so same question about weather...

I was in Bali last week, so figure weather will be similar. Usually rained in the morning, but was often okay in the afternoon. Out of the 12 days we spent there, had nice days for 3-4 days, decent 6, and mostly rain 2-3.

Also, I am very interested in shopping for furniture and home accessories. Are there specific areas I should be aware that would be great for shopping for home furnishings?

Thanks in advance.

Hi jg, just to address the furniture situation. There are hundreds of very good manufacturers and as all our tastes are so different , allow me to suggest the following.

Set aside one day and pick yourself a nice car or taxi and rent the car and driver for the day. This will cost you about $50 or 450,000IDR. Head up from the beach area to Ubud. Around Mas there are a multitude of craftsman. I deal with one young man who makes French copies for me. As you see the furniture appearing on the side of the road ask your driver to stop and get him to ask around for your next stop. Make your way to Ubud and check out the retail shops, have lunch at Tumak next to the oval. If you are after smaller pieces ask the driver to take the road up to Kitamani. About 1000mtr along Raya Andong past the supermarket there are some great retail shops and you should be able to spend a couple of hours checking them out. Once you reach the rice paddies of Tegalalang, turn around, thats enough for one day, in fact it will take you a week. If you decide to stay in Ubud, stay at Komenaka, the one on Monkey Forest Road. Have a good time.

I was in Bali for eight days just around this time last year and don't remember any evidence of rain disturbing me or affecting my activities or any need to carry an umbrella that affected me, but I do remember two strong rain showers when I was at the resort that caused them to use heavy plastic over what were otherwise open air walls to protect some lobby areas. These strong storms lasted for about twenty minutes and caused some temporary flooding of walkways, so waterproof footwear might be wise. The storms didn't seem to affect the temperature. There may have been some overnight storms that did not wake me.

Hit or miss. Can rain nonstop for days or not at all. Not much help, I know. In any case it is very humid so not much fun getting around.

Ubud has about the highest chance of rain and clouds. Coastal areas less so.

Thanks so much. Let me know if there is an artisan/store you would recommend. I would likely be shipping to Hong Kong and maybe the US (NYC). Was it the duties for the US that were the charges coming through? Haven't shipped from Asia to US before but from my understanding you do get hit a lot on furniture.

No, I didn't have any duty to pay, but the furniture first made an interim stop on its way to me and so I had lots of warehousing charges there (and unloading, loading, they charge for the pallet, the forklift, you name it there's a fee) and then the same charges at the freight warehouse nearest me. The fees got crazy, but I paid them. The shipping charges won't include any of the fees incurred when your crate(s) arrive.

I had the same experience when sending back stone sculptures from Bali. A pair of guardian sculptures cost about $200 at the artisan's shop in Mas, plus about $250 for the shipping to the US. But there were all kinds of port charges payable here in the US, and the potential for more if the package hadn't gotten out of customs quarantine as fast as it did. I can't remember exactly, but I want to say I planned for about $300 in charges on the US side and wound up getting hit for double that. All-in, $200 sculptures cost about $1000 by the time they got to my home.