M_J

Bali. Rain and mosquitoes. Two questions. Suggestions please.

We are planning our first trip to Bali and plan to be arrive the middle of November.
(1) www.weather.com says average rain in November is 6 inches and then 11 inches in December.
If you have traveled to Bali in middle to late November, did it rain ALL day? Part of the day?
How did the rain interfere with your trip and experience?
(2) Mosquitoes love me. They bite and I develop quarter-size welts. We use a lot of Deet here in the southern USA. Please share your experience with Bali biting insects and any prevention measures. Do we need mosquito netting for the bed?

?Itching? with our travel plans.

Thanks

TravelMaster

Hi MJ:

I was in Bali during Feb '01 and took a small contained of insect repellant (with DEET) but never did use any (even during the jungle/rice paddy tours. We stayed at 2 hotels, both of which had mosquito netting for the bed, but I didn't notice misquitoes or other insects. Bali isn't in a 'mararia' area, so no worries there and most evenings I sat outside to listed to the news on the radio (I'd brought a small shortwave radio) and didn't notice any insects then either.

FYI - I certainly did go through a lot of sun screen though, and Bali is 'beyond beautiful'.

Hope this helps,

Z

Andrea_expat

Can't help with the rain question, but can share our experiences with mosquitoes.

We were there in May, and lots of the people in our group suffered from some mosquito bites. This group trip was planned at a budget level - the hotel rooms were traditional Balinese bungalow style with lots of areas that you can't close (you can't see in, but for example, the wooden blinds might slant downwards - the rooms have no aircon so they want to keep air flowing). All rooms had mosquito netting, but in one it didn't close all the way, and they certainly aren't treated. All the hotels did provide mosquito-repellant coils, though.

On our previous trip we stayed in more expensive hotels, which can still be authentic style, but are sealed off and have aircon (and these types of rooms start at $30 - $40 and range from buget with no character to much more expensive luxury).

I think you should be fine with mosquito repellant, though.

kuluk

It's hard to be very precise with the so-called "rainy season" weather, just as it would be in any other part of the world. Sometimes it will be raining in Kuta but not in Ubud, for example, so a lot depends on where you are staying. Also, even during the most rainy periods it almost never rains all day for several days. If there is a day with full rain for 8 hours it will be perhaps a couple of times a month or something like that. (every year I keep saying I will start to keep a rain diary). I would say that usually in Ubud during the most rainy days it will start to rain about 4 o-clock and go for a few hours. But then of course the weather is hard to predict.
About mosquitos....there is a fantastic lotion called Puspa Sari that is about a dollar or less for a months' supply and it feels something like a Vaseline intensive care lotion. I'm alergic to any kind of insect bite and use it during the night and sometimes at night if I do any kind of rice field walks or down in Kuta or Denpasar.

dko3tgk

I was in Bali a few years ago at the end of the rainy season, March. I was in Ubud, so it was pretty heavily forested. But I stayed in an airconditioned resort. So in the room was fine, but at night the bugs bit me up alot. However, I've learned over time, that if you ever go outside at night in SE Asia, in any area that isn't in a city, I wear pants. I've been fine ever since. No need for repellant. Just cover your legs.