Every year, somewhere between September and October, the enquiries change tone. People stop asking about surf and start asking about the last two weeks of December: will it rain, will anything be open, is it worth the flights, and is there still a villa left. We run two villas on the south coast of Lombok, so we have an obvious interest in the answer. We have tried to write this the way we would explain it to friends anyway, including the parts that do not flatter the season.
The short answer is that Christmas and New Year here are warm, green, busier for about twelve days and quieter either side. It is the wet season, and in our experience it is also one of the two busiest windows of our year. Both of those things are true at once, and planning well mostly means accepting both.
The short version
- Weather: wet season. Rain on most days is likely, often as afternoon or evening showers, and dry, bright spells are common but not guaranteed. Daytime temperatures typically sit around 27–32°C.
- Crowds: quiet until around 20 December, busy through New Year, then quieter again from the first days of January.
- Sea: swell is usually smaller, so the protected bays can be good for swimming and snorkelling on calm days; reef surfing is less reliable than in the dry season.
- Price: this is peak season. Nightly rates are at their highest of the year and minimum stays can be longer.
- Booking: plan early, especially for flights, and check live dates rather than assuming either way.
What the weather is actually like
December sits in the middle of the wet season, which on this coast runs roughly from November to March. It is a great deal wetter than August, but in our experience the pattern matters more than the monthly total. Rain often arrives as a heavy shower or a thunderstorm, frequently in the afternoon or evening, and then passes, and many days still have good dry spells. Some days are simply grey and wet, and it is better to expect a few of those than to be surprised by them.
What you will notice more than the rain is the colour. The dry-season hills turn a deep green, the air is humid and warm, and the light after a storm is some of the best of the year. What you will need is a plan for the afternoons: a long lunch, a massage, a film, a nap by the pool under the covered terrace. People who arrive expecting August weather are disappointed. People who arrive expecting the tropics in the rainy season generally have a very good time.
For the month-by-month picture, our when to visit page sets out every month side by side.
The sea: better for swimming than for surfing
The wet season brings smaller swell and, for most of the south-facing reef breaks, onshore wind. If your trip is built around surfing the reefs, the dry season is the better bet. That said, Selong Belanak — one of the gentlest learner waves anywhere — works year-round, and Gerupuk usually has something rideable. Our surf guide has the detail.
For everyone else, the calmer water can be an advantage. On calm mornings the protected bays can be flat and good for swimming; snorkelling visibility depends on recent rain and conditions on the day, and a boat day to the southwest Gilis is worth planning around a clear forecast rather than a fixed date. Our guide to the best beaches in South Lombok will help you choose where to go.
Who is here, and why it fills up
The festive fortnight gets busy because several holiday calendars overlap at once. Singapore’s school year ends in late November, and December is one of the two busiest windows for our Singaporean guests — the flight from Singapore is under three hours (see our from Singapore page). Indonesian families travel over Christmas and New Year too, around the national holidays and school break. Add Australians, Europeans escaping winter and people based across Asia, and the south coast changes character quickly around 20 December.
The practical consequence is that demand rises for everything at the same time: flights into Lombok International Airport, cars and drivers, restaurant tables on New Year’s Eve, and places to stay, not only in Kuta.
Christmas on a Muslim-majority island
Lombok is predominantly Muslim, and Christmas is not a local tradition in the way it is in Europe or Australia. Christmas Day is a national public holiday in Indonesia, and you will be met with warmth and good humour, but there are no Christmas markets or decorated high streets. The festive atmosphere on the south coast comes from the restaurants, beach clubs and places to stay, and from whatever you bring with you.
For many of our guests that is precisely the appeal. Christmas becomes a quieter, simpler thing — a long lunch, a swim, the family around one table — without the commercial noise. If you want a traditional Christmas with every trimming, it is worth being realistic about what is possible on a tropical island and talking to whoever is hosting you well in advance.
What is open over the holidays
In our experience the festive fortnight is the busy season for the tourism businesses on this coast, so restaurants, beach clubs, surf schools and boat operators generally keep working through it. Christmas Day and New Year’s Day are national public holidays, so banks and government offices close, and some smaller places change their hours around those two days — worth checking before you set out. What does need booking ahead: New Year’s Eve dinner, boat days, a car and driver for the evenings, and a private chef at the villa. Our team can make those bookings for you.
What Christmas at the villa can look like
Most of the festive stays we host are families or groups of friends who want to be together in one place rather than spread across hotel rooms. Last year, for example, nine adults and a child, travelling with a baby, spent ten nights over Christmas and New Year in Villa Serangan.
What we can arrange, with notice:
- A private chef dinner in the villa for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or New Year’s Eve, with Indonesian or Mediterranean menus for up to ten guests. Tell us your dates when you book so we can plan ahead.
- A bonfire on the beach, a movie night under the stars, or massages in the villa for a rainy afternoon.
- A pre-stocked villa, so the fridge is ready when you arrive after a long travel day.
These are charged as extras on top of the villa rate; the current prices are on our experiences page. If you have something particular in mind — a specific Christmas menu, decorations, a cake — ask us when you book and we will tell you honestly what we can do and what it would cost. Breakfast, daily housekeeping and our concierge are included as usual throughout the holidays.
New Year’s Eve
New Year’s Eve is the busiest night of the year on the coast. Expect the restaurants and beach clubs around Selong Belanak, Tampah and Kuta to be at their fullest, with the popular tables taken well in advance. Our eating guide lists the places our team actually sends guests to, by travel time. If you plan to go out, book dinner early and arrange a car and driver there and back: the coast road is unlit at night and we do not recommend scooters after dark.
The alternative, which a lot of families and groups choose, is to stay in. A private chef dinner at the villa, a bonfire on the beach and the children asleep upstairs is a very good way to see the year out.
Getting here over the holidays
Flights are the first thing to secure, because seats and fares move quickly once December approaches. Lombok is reachable directly from Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, and by short connections through Bali. Our getting here page lists the current routes and carriers.
Two practical points. First, the All Indonesia Arrival Card now has to be completed online within 72 hours before you land, so add it to your pre-departure checklist. Second, if your flight lands in the evening, read our note on arriving after dark and book your airport transfer in advance rather than on arrival.
What it costs
The festive fortnight is peak season, and there is no point pretending otherwise. As an indication only, our nightly rates over Christmas and New Year are the highest of the year — roughly double to triple our low-season rates, which start from USD 350 for Villa Serangan and USD 285 for Villa Selong Belanak — and minimum stays can be longer. Rates vary by date, so check the exact figure for your nights on our booking page. Across the coast, flights, cars and restaurant menus rise as well.
Two things soften the numbers. For a group, the cost per person is often lower than a hotel: Villa Serangan sleeps ten and Villa Selong Belanak eight, and the two together take up to eighteen people on one private estate. And booking direct is about 7% cheaper than the same dates on Airbnb. Our what a week costs page puts the whole trip — villa, food, transport and activities — into one budget.
When to book
For Christmas and New Year, we suggest planning early, and earlier still if you need both villas for a large group. In our own bookings, festive stays have been confirmed anywhere from three months to three weeks before arrival, so there is no single rule — but flights and the most popular dates tend to go first, and it is always worth checking actual availability rather than assuming.
For direct bookings we take a 50% deposit by bank transfer, with the balance due 14 days before arrival. Cancellations 60 days or more before check-in are refunded in full (see our booking terms), which gives you room to lock in dates while flights and plans settle.
Where we come into it
Wave Lombok is two villas on a private beachfront estate near Selong Belanak, set back a couple of minutes’ walk from a quiet beach across our own land. Villa Serangan has four bedrooms and a partial sea view; Villa Selong Belanak has three bedrooms plus a staff room and looks over its garden. Each has its own infinity pool with a shallow section for children, and breakfast, daily housekeeping and a concierge are included. Over the festive season our team can arrange a private chef for Christmas dinner or New Year’s Eve, massages for the rainy afternoons, boat days, surf lessons and airport transfers.
If you are planning Christmas or New Year for a family or a group of friends, have a look at the villas and our page on group stays, then check dates and book direct. If you would rather talk it through first, ask us about Christmas and New Year dates on WhatsApp and we will tell you honestly what is still possible.
Ready to see the shore for yourself?