When is the dry season in Lombok and West Nusa Tenggara?

For travellers planning around weather in Lombok and the rest of West Nusa Tenggara, the practical answer is that the region typically enters the dry season between early April and early May, while rainfall can remain below 100 millimetres per month in parts of NTB during August and September. The timing varies by location and year.

When does the dry season begin in West Nusa Tenggara?

BMKG’s NTB Climate Station predicted the 2025 dry season would begin from the first ten days of April to the first ten days of May, depending on the area, according to BMKG NTB, 2025.

The forecast supports treating the dry season as a regional transition rather than a single island-wide date. Lombok, Sumbawa and smaller islands can move into the season at different times.

Is August and September always completely dry?

No. BMKG said rainfall below 100 millimetres per month had a high probability in parts of NTB during August and September 2025, according to BMKG, 2025. That is a forecast threshold for selected areas, not a claim that every location receives the same rainfall.

BMKG’s national seasonal outlook also identified Nusa Tenggara as one of Indonesia’s regions expected to experience the dry season earlier than other areas during April-June 2025, according to BMKG, 2025.

What does this mean for tourism conditions?

Tourism demand and hotel performance do not follow rainfall alone. BPS recorded a 38.76 percent room-occupancy rate at star-rated hotels in NTB in May 2025, with an average stay of 1.93 days, according to BPS NTB, 2025.

In the same month, BPS counted 8,641 foreign visitors arriving through BIZAM and 1,177,046 domestic tourists in NTB, according to BPS NTB, 2025. These are tourism statistics for the province and are not measures of rainfall or conditions at an individual destination.

Why should visitors distinguish Lombok from Sumbawa?

Seasonal forecasts are issued for zones and periods, so conditions can differ across the province. The official forecast’s early-April-to-early-May window is therefore more useful as a planning range than as a universal start date for every beach, mountain or inland route, according to BMKG NTB, 2025.

For the wider East Indonesia desk area, the same caution applies when comparing NTB with NTT: BPS reported a 50.95 percent occupancy rate at star-rated hotels in NTT in July 2025, while the average stay was 1.64 nights, according to BPS NTT, 2025.

Sources

• BMKG
• BPS-Statistics Indonesia Nusa Tenggara Barat