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Timing your trip to Maluku can be different from most of the rest of Indonesia as far as weather is concerned. In fact, even within Maluku, there are three different climate patterns in the three main regions.
NORTH MALUKU
In most of North Maluku, there are no marked seasonal differences - even my local friends could not tell me when their "rainy season" is supposed to be! It tends to be hot and humid year-round, with rains a possibility at any time. If you are really trying to plan around this, it rains a bit more during the northern hemisphere's summer. The Sula Islands follow the Cenral Malukan pattern though.
CENTRAL MALUKU
In most of Central Maluku, including the most popular destinations like Ambon, the Lease and the Banda Islands as well as the south coast of Seram, there is a marked increase in rainfall during the northern summer months. Travel is still possible during this time, but the seas can be more rough making travel by small boats less regular, and conditions for diving and snorkelling are less than ideal. Bring a good book for the rainy hours, but on most days there will be sunny periods, too. In contrast, the northern coast of Seram has a less marked rainy season during the northern winter, like most of Indonesia.
SOUTHERN MALUKU
Southern Maluku follows the climate pattern typical of most of Indonesia, with more rain falling during the northern winter months. The amount of rainfall here tends to decrease, and the seasons become more distinct, as you travel westwards from jungly Aru towards arid Kisar.
You can find actual weather statistics on the following websites:
World Weather Information Service offers a very clear chart for only one place in Maluku:
Weatherbase offers less clearly presented, but more detailed and useful date for:
For the really concerned, Weather Underground offers the most detail, and on the largest number of places. You can find current weather conditions, short term and extended forecast, and most interestingly even detailed data on actual weather conditions from the past years for the following places:
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