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Quick Answer

These month-by-month guides answer one question: where is it warm, dry and good value right now? Each page ranks 14 destinations on the same five measures (daytime high, sea temperature, rain days, flight time from Western Europe, and price level versus August), sourced from national met services and WMO climate normals, and lists that month’s school-holiday and long-weekend dates.

Top picks for November

Show all 13 guides

Where to Go in November 2026: Winter Sun and Cheap Cities

Not sure which of these suits you? Find my November trip

“Where should I go in October?” is a different question from “when should I visit Greece?”, and the answer changes every four weeks. These guides are built for the first question. Every one uses the same table, so you can compare a Canary Islands October with a Thailand November on the same terms.

The month guides

  • Where to go in September: the Mediterranean’s best month. Sea still 23 to 26 degrees, schools back, prices down sharply after the first week.
  • Where to go in October: the southern Mediterranean, the Canaries, Egypt, Turkey and Morocco for sun; New York and Japan for cities and colour; plus the autumn half-term dates.
  • Where to go in November: winter sun begins (Canaries, Egypt, Cape Verde, Dubai, Thailand’s dry season) and European cities hit their cheapest weeks before the Christmas markets.
  • Where to go in December: two Decembers in one month (1 to 18 December is the year’s quiet half, 19 December to 3 January the priciest), winter sun from the Canaries to Thailand, Christmas markets and the first ski weeks.
  • Where to go in January: only five spots in Europe average above 20°C, all Atlantic islands led by Santa Cruz de Tenerife at 21.0°C, and prices drop the moment the Christmas school holidays end.
  • Where to go in February: the winter-sun map shrinks to four Canary Islands above 20°C, led by Lanzarote at 21.3°C, while school holidays run unbroken from 1 February to 8 March.
  • Where to go in March: the shoulder month, the Canaries hold steady sun at 22.9°C on Lanzarote while the Mediterranean mainland is still too cool to swim, and 8 to 19 March is the quietest fortnight to book.
  • Where to go in April: the Mediterranean’s south turns warm enough for sightseeing but not yet for swimming, with Seville reaching 23.4°C and the sea off Türkiye still 18.1°C.
  • Where to go in May: the Mediterranean finally opens for swimming in the south and east, with the sea off Türkiye reaching 20.8°C and Seville hitting 27.2°C on land.
  • Where to Go in June 2027: Warm Seas and Midnight Sun: Where to go in June 2027: the whole Mediterranean turns beach-warm, Croatia finally dries out, and long-haul dry seasons peak. Met-service normals and the clean weeks.
  • Where to Go in July 2027: Escape the Heat and Crowds: Where to go in July 2027: cool Atlantic coasts, Scandinavia, the Alps and Madeira, the hot spots to time carefully, sea temperatures and the school-holiday dates.
  • Where to Go in August 2027: Warm Seas and Cool Escapes: Where to go in August 2027: the warmest Mediterranean sea of the year, cooler escapes up north, Ferragosto, safari season and the monsoon to avoid.
  • Christmas Markets in Europe 2026: Dates for 24 Markets: Christmas markets in Europe 2026: dates for 24 markets read from official sites, which ones run past Christmas, and the quiet weekdays to go.
  • Winter Sun Europe: Where Is Warm in Dec, Jan and Feb: Winter sun in Europe, by the met-service numbers: the Canaries hit 21 °C in January, Cyprus and Madeira suit sightseeing, the Mediterranean is not beach-warm.
  • Cheapest Ski Resorts in Europe 2026/27: Lift Pass Prices: Cheapest ski resorts in Europe for 2026/27: official lift pass prices for Jahorina, Kopaonik, Kranjska Gora, Livigno and more, plus the cheapest weeks to go.
  • Best Halloween trips in Europe: Derry, Edinburgh, Disneyland Paris and seven more, with 2026 dates, ticket facts and the October half-term overlap.

All twelve months now have a guide. For the kind of trip rather than the date, see the seasonal guides in Trip Types and the country pages under Destinations.

How these guides work

VoyageHacks compares the same published figures for every destination: 1991 to 2020 climate normals from the national meteorological services (Met Office, AEMET, DWD, JMA and others) or WMO, sea temperatures from the same sources, and price levels described relative to August rather than as invented percentages. Where a price is quoted, its season and booking window are stated in the same sentence. Every page prints the date its facts were last verified.

Two things these pages do not do: they never claim a destination is “guaranteed” sunny, and they never hide the catch. If a place is warm but wet, or cheap because it is stormy, the table says so, and the disruption guides in Travel Insurance cover what to do when the weather wins.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does VoyageHacks rank destinations for each month?

Each month guide compares the same columns for every destination: average daytime high, sea temperature, number of rain days, flight time from Western Europe and the price level relative to August, taken from national meteorological services and WMO climate normals, with the verification date printed on the page. Picks are ranked by how reliably warm and dry they are that month, then by value.

Which months are cheapest to travel from Europe?

The cheapest windows are the shoulder and low seasons that follow school holidays: the first three weeks of September, most of October outside the autumn half-term weeks, and November until the Christmas markets open. Airlines switch to the thinner winter schedule on the last Sunday of October (25 October 2026), which is when many sun routes drop frequency, so book those early.

Where can you still swim in the sea in autumn?

Sea temperatures above about 22 degrees Celsius feel comfortable to most swimmers. In September that covers the whole Mediterranean; in October it narrows to the southern and eastern Mediterranean, the Canary Islands, Madeira, Egypt’s Red Sea coast and Turkey’s south coast; by November the reliable warm-sea options from Europe are the Canaries, Egypt, Cape Verde, Dubai and long-haul destinations.