Where to Travel in October
Hungary, Azerbaijan and Belarus among 102 destinations in their best season this October.
A season painted in gold.
October is the year’s most photogenic month. Forests turn, the harvest is in, and the air sharpens just enough to make walking a pleasure again. It is also the month when the long journey starts to make sense once more, as the tropics shake off the rain.
102 published destinations name October in their own best-time guidance. Each card links to that destination's page, where the season is described in full.
Where to go in October
In their own words, from each destination's best-time guidance.
Asia in October
The widest range of journeys on the map, and the most seasons to plan around. 34 destinations name October in their own best-time guidance.
ChinaGenerally the best window of the year — dry, clear and comfortable, with autumn colour in the north. Avoid the first week of October entirely: Golden Week is the largest domestic travel period on Earth.Explore China →
CyprusThe other clear window, and the sea is at its warmest of the year. The summer crowds thin through September, the Paphos sites become comfortable again, and October is often still shirt-sleeve weather when much of the Mediterranean has shut.Explore Cyprus →
LebanonThe other clear stretch. The summer heat has broken, the sea is at its warmest, and the light on the coastal sites is at its best. The Qadisha valley and the cedars are ideal walking in these weeks.Explore Lebanon →Journeys to inspire you
Published journeys in the destinations whose own best-time guidance names October.
8 NightsPrague, Vienna & Budapest — 8 NightsPlan this journey →
4 NightsBaku, Absheron & Gobustan, 4 NightsPlan this journey →
6 NightsCanadian Rockies to Vancouver: Banff, the Icefield and Jasper, 6 NightsPlan this journey →
6 NightsBeijing & Shanghai, 6 NightsPlan this journey →
7 NightsParis & the Riviera — 7 NightsPlan this journey →
6 NightsAthens & Santorini — 6 NightsPlan this journey →What are you in the mood for?
A month tells you when. This tells you what kind of journey it should be.
Europe in October
Cities, coastlines and countryside within easy reach of one another. 33 destinations name October in their own best-time guidance.
BelarusThe forest turns and the light is excellent. September is genuinely good; by late October it is cold and the days are short. A fine time for Minsk and the castles, less so for long forest days.Explore Belarus →
BulgariaThe equal of May and often better: the heat has broken, the coast has emptied, the Rhodopes turn, and the monasteries are near-silent. Late October starts to close the higher roads.Explore Bulgaria →
FranceWarm days, wine harvest in the vineyards and thinner crowds after the summer peak.Explore France →Africa in October
Where the landscape is the itinerary. 18 destinations name October in their own best-time guidance.
MauritiusWarming up before the humidity arrives, with excellent water clarity for diving and snorkelling. A strong window for honeymoons and for families travelling in the Indian festive break.Explore Mauritius →
MoroccoThe summer heat breaks in September, the dunes become comfortable again by day and are not yet cold at night, and the cities are pleasant. October is arguably the single best month for a full loop that includes the Sahara.Explore Morocco →
TanzaniaClear skies, thinning grass and animals gathered at water — the easiest game viewing of the year. The migration is in the northern Serengeti and the Mara river crossings run from about July. Kilimanjaro is at its driest. Also the busiest and most expensive months, and camps in the north fill early.Explore Tanzania →South America in October
Altitude, coastline and cities worth the long flight. 8 destinations name October in their own best-time guidance.
ColombiaOne of the wettest coastlines on earth, visited for one reason: humpback whales come to calve in these waters. Outside that window there is little reason to make the journey.Explore Colombia →
BoliviaThe reliable window. Clear skies over the altiplano, roads and tracks at their best, and the Uyuni salt flat firm and drivable across its full extent. Nights at altitude are genuinely cold — this is the southern winter and Bolivia is very high — so pack for it rather than for a tropical trip.Explore Bolivia →
ArgentinaThe most comfortable months in the capital. Midsummer is hot and humid; midwinter is cool but perfectly walkable.Explore Argentina →Oceania in October
The far side of the world, keeping its own calendar. 5 destinations name October in their own best-time guidance.
AustraliaThe best all-round months. Sydney and Melbourne are warm without being hot, the Reef is calm, and the desert is comfortable. Spring brings whales along the east coast, wildflowers in Western Australia and jacarandas in Sydney around October and November. Diwali falls squarely in this window.Explore Australia →
FijiLower humidity, cooler nights, calm seas for the island crossings and the clearest water of the year for snorkelling and diving. Manta rays move through the Yasawas. This is when Fiji is at its best, and May and June coincide with the Indian school holidays.Explore Fiji →
Cook IslandsThe southern winter, and the clear window. Lower humidity, less rain, calmer seas and the best lagoon visibility. Humpback whales pass close inshore through roughly July to October, which is a genuine reason to choose the middle of this period.Explore Cook Islands →North America in October
Big country, and the road trips that make sense of it. 4 destinations name October in their own best-time guidance.
United StatesNew England and upstate New York turn red and gold from late September into mid-October, California has its harvest and its warmest sea, and the canyons cool down again. Fewer people than summer, better prices, and the Diwali school break falls inside it. The best all-round month is September.Explore United States →
MexicoDía de Muertos on 1–2 November fills Oaxaca, Mexico City and the villages around Lake Pátzcuaro with marigolds, altars and all-night cemetery vigils — a festival, not a performance, and worth building a trip around. From November to March the monarch butterflies winter in the forests of Michoacán and the State of Mexico by the million.Explore Mexico →
Costa RicaResplendent quetzals are most reliably seen in the cloud forest from about February to April, in the breeding season. Green turtles nest at Tortuguero from July to October. If a particular animal is the point of the trip, its season sets the dates.Explore Costa Rica →
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Plan My Journey →Photo credits · Diego Delso via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 (licence, source) · Pixelwuwu · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 (licence, source) · Nikodem Nijaki via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 (licence, source) · Hiba Itani via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 (licence, source) · Mike1979 Russia (Mikhail Lyganov) · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 (licence, source) · Pudelek (Marcin Szala) · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 (licence, source) · Mont St Michel at sunrise by Lynx1211, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (licence, source) · www.elbpresse.de · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 (licence, source) · "dronepicr" · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 (licence, source) · Dan Sloan via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0 (licence) · Pavel Špindler via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0 (licence) · Christopher Johnson via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0 (licence, source)