In Season
Where to go when: a year of travel inspiration
Sometimes a holiday begins with a destination you’ve wanted to visit for years. Other times, you have a space in the diary and the freedom to see where it might take you.
The month you travel can make a real difference. It might mean arriving as the cherry blossom opens, finding a favourite coastal town a little quieter, or catching the dry season in a country where the weather changes dramatically from one region to another.
From winter sunshine to summer adventures and autumn escapes, here are some of the places we’d consider throughout the year. These suggestions follow typical seasonal patterns, with room for the weather to have ideas of its own.
January: Caribbean beaches and Sri Lankan adventures
After the bustle of December, the idea of breakfast outside and a swim before lunch has considerable appeal. January is a lovely month for the Caribbean, with generally drier weather making Barbados and Antigua tempting choices. You could settle into a beachfront hotel, gather the family in a villa, or spend a few days sailing between beach stops.
Sri Lanka offers a different sort of winter escape. January usually suits its south and southwest coasts, so time around Galle or on the beaches near Tangalle can sit alongside a journey inland. There’s enough variety to fill a longer holiday, from historic streets and temples to tea country and scenic train journeys.
The choice comes down to how you want to spend those first days away. The Caribbean lends itself beautifully to settling in, while Sri Lanka rewards a little more movement, with a few days by the sea to finish.
February: clear lagoons or a summer road trip
February is a strong choice for the Maldives, falling within its driest period and often bringing good visibility for snorkelling and diving. For anyone imagining warm water, a reef to explore and very little need to check the time, this is a month to consider. Choosing the right island matters: some suit sociable family holidays, while others are better for quiet days and dinner for two.
Across the world, New Zealand is enjoying summer. February offers the chance to spend much of a holiday outdoors, with coastal walks, boat trips and long drives through scenery that makes you want to stop repeatedly. It’s a particularly appealing option if you have time for a longer journey and enjoy exploring several places along the way.
These are two very different ways to escape the British winter: a small island where you can properly unpack, or a road trip where the next view is part of the pleasure.
March: Cape Town, vineyards and Costa Rican wildlife
March is a rewarding month for Cape Town and the surrounding Winelands. The Cape is moving towards autumn, with opportunities for coastal days, vineyard visits and meals outside. The grape harvest adds another reason to spend time around Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, particularly if food and wine are a big part of how you like to travel.
For a holiday with more wildlife and rainforest, Costa Rica deserves a look. March falls within the Pacific side’s dry season, making it a good time to combine exploring inland with a stay on the coast. Think forest walks with a guide, searching the canopy for wildlife, and a few beach days after the early starts.
Both destinations suit a holiday with several stops. Giving each place enough time makes the journey feel more satisfying, especially when there’s space for an unplanned afternoon between the bigger outings.
April: blossom in Japan and spring in Morocco
April brings one of Japan’s most celebrated sights: cherry blossom around parks, rivers and temple grounds. The timing changes with the location and the year, with the season moving north as spring progresses. It’s worth building a trip around the places you want to explore as well as the flowers, so Tokyo’s neighbourhoods, Kyoto’s temples and a stay in a traditional inn remain highlights in their own right. Late April also approaches the busy Golden Week holiday period.
Closer to home, Morocco is appealing in spring, when exploring Marrakech is generally more comfortable than during the intense summer heat. Mornings can be spent in the medina, followed by lunch in a courtyard and an afternoon back at your riad. A longer stay could include time beyond the city, with the mountains or coast adding a different setting.
April works particularly well for holidays built around discovering somewhere on foot. A good base, a few thoughtfully chosen experiences and time to wander can be more valuable than a packed schedule.
May: Italy before high summer
May is a wonderful month to consider Italy, especially if your idea of a holiday includes exploring as much as relaxing. Spring is well suited to combining the country’s cities and countryside, before the hottest and busiest part of summer. Florence followed by a Tuscan stay gives you galleries and architecture alongside smaller towns, vineyard views and lunches that needn’t be hurried.
For something more focused on the water, you could pair a city stay with the Italian lakes or head south towards the coast. There’s a particular pleasure in being able to spend the morning sightseeing and the afternoon sitting somewhere beautiful, with no need to choose between the two types of holiday.
We’d think of May as a month for enjoying the whole destination, rather than relying entirely on beach weather. Leave room for a cooler evening or a rainy afternoon, and choose somewhere you’ll enjoy whatever the day brings.
June: Greek island days and Norway’s long evenings
June is an appealing time for Greece, with summer underway before the busiest weeks of July and August. A few nights in Athens can lead into an island stay, giving you time for ancient sites before swapping city streets for harbourside dinners and days by the water.
Norway offers a very different June holiday. Long daylight hours give you more time to enjoy the fjords, coastal scenery and outdoor life, while the far north experiences the midnight sun. A boat journey or an evening walk can become a highlight simply because the light lasts so much longer than you expect.
For a classic early summer escape, Greece is hard to resist. For those who prefer scenery, walking and cooler air, Norway offers the pleasure of being outdoors without building the whole trip around the beach.
July: Bali’s dry season and Canada’s great outdoors
July falls within Bali’s usual dry season, making it a popular time to combine the coast with a stay inland. A few days around Ubud can bring temples, rice terraces and cafés into a holiday that also leaves plenty of time for swimming and relaxing. It’s a good option for travellers who like a beach break with somewhere different to explore halfway through.
Canada is another strong summer choice, particularly for families or couples who enjoy active days. Long daylight hours suit walking, boating and exploring, with opportunities to build a trip around mountain scenery or the west coast. There’s plenty of scope to balance outdoor adventures with comfortable stays and time in a city.
For either destination, July is a month to give the journey some breathing room. A smaller number of well-chosen bases leaves more time to enjoy each place and fewer days spent packing up again.
August: safari days and Sri Lanka’s east coast
August is a good month to consider Tanzania, where the dry season makes a safari particularly appealing. Early starts, game drives and time watching wildlife can give a family holiday a very different shape. The Great Migration may be part of the attraction, but its movements depend on conditions, so a particular river crossing should never be the only measure of a successful trip.
Sri Lanka also deserves a place on the summer shortlist, provided you choose the right coast. In August, the north and east are generally better suited to beach stays than the southwest. That opens up the possibility of combining cultural sights inland with a coastal finish around Trincomalee or Pasikudah.
School holiday dates don’t have to mean repeating the same kind of trip. Both options offer plenty for different generations to enjoy, though the pace should reflect the ages and interests of everyone travelling.
September: Portugal and a later Mediterranean summer
September is particularly appealing in Portugal, with warm weather and generally fewer visitors than during the main summer rush. Lisbon and the Algarve make a lovely city-and-coast combination, while Porto and the Douro suit a holiday with more emphasis on food, wine and countryside. Harvest activity can add interest to time spent in the wine regions.
Turkey is another option for holding on to summer. The weather is generally still warm, with conditions becoming more comfortable for exploring than in the hottest months. A coastal stay can include boat trips and time among historic sites, with plenty of afternoons left for the pool. September travel guidance
If you have the freedom to travel after the school holidays, this is a month worth keeping clear. You can still enjoy the pleasures of a summer holiday while making more room for walking, sightseeing and lingering over lunch.
October: Mauritian sunshine or autumn in New England
Mauritius is a strong choice for October, with temperatures rising after the island’s winter and the month typically among its driest. It suits a holiday where beach time is the priority, but there are options to explore when you feel like leaving the sun lounger. For an autumn family break, the right hotel can make it easy to balance everyone’s plans.
For a completely different experience, New England offers the chance to travel through autumn colour. A road trip can take in small towns, wooded landscapes and stops along the coast, with the changing leaves giving familiar scenery a seasonal character. The colour progresses through the region and varies each year, so the route needs to suit your dates.
October gives you a lovely choice: extend your summer beside the Indian Ocean, or embrace autumn somewhere it becomes the main reason to go.
November: Japan’s autumn colours and Mexico’s traditions
November is another beautiful window for Japan. Much of the country experiences cooler air and autumn colour, with Kyoto’s season often beginning around the middle of the month. Temple gardens and wooded paths become particularly inviting, while time in Tokyo can be filled with neighbourhood walks, restaurants and galleries. It’s a different experience from the blossom season, and every bit as worthy of a trip.
Mexico offers another reason to travel at this time of year. Around the beginning of November, Día de los Muertos brings traditions of remembrance into homes and public spaces, particularly in places such as Oaxaca and Mexico City. It’s a meaningful time to visit, best approached with curiosity and respect for the families and communities taking part. Across much of Mexico, the rainy season is also usually easing.
These are holidays where the season adds something you wouldn’t experience in quite the same way at another time. They reward looking beyond the usual sights and giving yourself time to notice what’s happening around you.
December: Thai beaches or a Lapland Christmas
For December sunshine, Thailand’s Andaman coast is a good place to begin. Phuket, Krabi and Khao Lak offer different styles of beach holiday, with the option of a Bangkok stop before heading south. The coast matters here: Koh Samui can still experience substantial rain in December, while the west coast is generally a stronger seasonal choice.
For those who want to embrace winter, Finnish Lapland offers short days, snowy landscapes and the excitement of a Christmas trip. Depending on conditions and where you stay, days might include snowshoeing, a husky outing or time warming up in a sauna. Snow cover and activities can vary, especially early in the season, so the location and timing deserve care.
December can be a chance to bring everyone together somewhere different, whether that means swims before Christmas lunch or coming in from the cold to a cosy cabin. For a special family trip, having time together matters just as much as choosing the setting.
Comments