September, the start of the second shoulder season, is arguably the best time of the year to travel. As well as lower prices and fewer crowds, you’ll also be rewarded with moderate temperatures that are perfect for exploring — and long daylight hours that make it easy to do so. Towards the end of the month, autumn starts approaching, bringing with it those breathtaking red and golden hues. Beyond Europe, this is when you’re most likely to encounter the dry season, especially in Africa. Meanwhile, the start of spring in the southern hemisphere will appeal to hikers. Need some inspiration? Here are some of the best places to visit in September.
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1. New Hampshire, USA
Echo Lake in Franconia Notch State Park
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Why go in September? For the autumn colours
A bucket list destination for autumn “leaf peeping”, New England is everything you see in the brochures and more. Think dense foliage in reds, oranges and yellows reflected in mirror-like lakes, with a church spire or gable roof peeking through at intervals. The temperature is just right for those mountain hikes — cooler in the mornings and evenings, but still warm enough to wear a T-shirt during the day. The trick is to get out of the city and head for those more remote corners of the state where phone reception is hit and miss, like Mount Washington. And aim for the end of the month when the transformation from green to golden is overnight.
Stay at the Glen House, where the main restaurant offers a breathtaking view of those autumn colours each morning.
• How to see New England in the autumn
2. Malta and Gozo
Malta Maritime Museum in Birgu
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Why go in September? For a beach break without the crowds
The summer hoards may have departed Malta but the balmy weather certainly hasn’t. In September, you can still expect temperatures to reach the high 20s — comfortable whether you’re looking to go sightseeing or simply flop on the beach. Valletta, with its cobbled streets, honey-hued fortifications, and magnificent churches, will no doubt be at the top of your list. But cross over the Grand Harbour to the Three Cities and you’ll get an even better view — Vittoriosa is the one to head for if you only have time for one. Sea temperatures, meanwhile, will have had an entire summer to warm up, and won’t have cooled much yet, which makes it ideal for snorkelling. So grab your gear, catch the ferry to Gozo and then bay hop.
Base yourself at db Seabank Resort + Spa in Mellieha for seafront views within easy reach of Gozo ferries and the rest of Malta.
• Best places to visit in Malta
• Best hotels in Valetta
3. Dodecanese, Greece
Skala harbour on the island of Patmos
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Why go in September? For an extended summer escape across the islands
If you’re not bound by the school holidays, September is the ideal month for travels in the Greek islands: air temperatures are a notch down from their peak, but still at summer holiday levels, and sea temperatures in Greece are warmer than in the earlier shoulder season month of June. Before ferry services in the Aegean start to wind down for winter, there’s time for unhurried island-hopping within the different groups in the archipelago. The Dodecanese is pleasingly varied, and aside from the main island of Rhodes, others include Kos with its long, sandy beaches, Kalymnos and its many rock-climbing opportunities, spiritual Patmos and the steaming volcanic caldera of Nisyros.
OKU Kos is just steps from a quiet stretch of beach on the island’s north coast, and is a place for grown-up relaxation and spa treatments, with cubist architecture echoing the Greek island look.
• Best Greek islands
• Best hotels in Kos
4. Valdes Peninsula, Argentina
Encountering a a southern right whale off the Valdes Peninsula
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Why go in September? For whale-watching on the coast of Patagonia
The coming of spring in Argentina shifts the thermostat to varying degrees in a country that touches the tropics at one end and points to Antarctica at the other. While southern Patagonia is just beginning to unfreeze, flowers start to bloom in the Argentine Lake District, it’s a less humid time at Iguazu Falls, and Buenos Aires is a pleasantly mild starting point for nationwide explorations. Perhaps best of all is the Valdes Peninsula in the province of Chubut, with its historic Welsh settlements. Southern right whales stay in the area from roughly June to December, and in September they migrate around the peninsula, often close enough to shore that they can be viewed from land.
Located in Puerto Madryn, gateway to the peninsula, the 86-room Hotel Tolosa has a degree of urban sophistication inside that might come as a surprise in a small city in a remote and rugged region.
• Best places to visit in South America
5. Galway, Ireland
Galway’s pedestrianised Latin Quarter
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Why go in September? For a city break with seafood and lots of craic
Live music in brightly painted pubs and on the cobblestoned streets is what most people come to Galway in search of. Food culture is another strength: while visitor numbers elsewhere on Ireland’s west coast tail off after mid-September, the last weekend of the month brings the Galway International Oyster Festival. Beyond the bivalves themselves, there are cooking classes and tasting trails devoted to other produce of the sea. Day trips north of the city lead to the hills and loughs of Connemara, while to the south are the limestone landscape of the Burren and the towering Cliffs of Moher.
The House Hotel is a sturdy stone building centrally located in Galway’s quayside Latin Quarter, with plenty of boutique touches inside including plush fabric headboards and deco-feel furnishings.
• Most beautiful places in Ireland
• Best luxury hotels in Ireland
6. Etosha National Park, Namibia
A giraffe drinks at a waterhole in Etosha National Park
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Why go in September? For the beauty of life in the desert
Namibia’s place names hint at a land not to be messed with, whether it’s the ships’ graveyard of the Skeleton Coast, or the Kalahari (“great thirst”) Desert. September in Namibia is generally the last full month of the dry season and sees a slow return to warmer days after southern winter minimums. It’s a perfect time to visit national parks such as Etosha in the north, where elephants, giraffes, lions and leopards crowd at watering holes dotted around a vast salt pan. Nights at desert safari lodges are still on the chilly side, though night skies are spectacular here, in one of the world’s most sparsely populated countries.
Blending well with the tawny colours of the landscape, Ongava Lodge has 14 stone-built thatched chalets, on a ridge overlooking a watering hole, in a private game reserve on the edge of Etosha National Park.
• Best safaris in Africa
7. Venice, Italy
Participants in the historical parade of the Regata Storica in Venice
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Why go in September? For an alternative to carnival in the city of canals
Perhaps no other European country goes in for historical re-enactment more than Italy, whose national calendar is dotted with events where proud citizens dress like extras from Romeo and Juliet, and compete in time-honoured challenges. September is no different, with the Giostra del Saracino in Arezzo and Palio di Castelfranco in the Veneto. The latter region’s capital stages its own spectacle on the first Sunday of the month: the Regata Storica, where the usual all-black gondolas on the Grand Canal are replaced by a colourful flotilla. Venice isn’t a complete time capsule though — it’s also time for the International Film Festival out on the island of Lido.
You don’t go to Venice for minimalism, but Ca’ Maria Adele adds some modern-minded quirks to the damask drapes and glass chandeliers, in a discreet spot near the opening of the Grand Canal.
• Best things to do in Venice
• Best hotels in Venice
8. Dordogne, France
The old town of Sarlat in the Dordogne
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Why go in September? For more room to savour a French holiday classic
As “la rentrée” sends schoolchildren and office workers back to their desks at the start of September, vacancies pop up in some of France’s most attractive corners. These include the Dordogne, a region that has sparked inspiration for at least 17,000 years, if the cave paintings of Lascaux are anything to go by. In September there should still be plenty of golden light, on castle towns huddled against riverside cliffs and through rows of grapevines now in the thick of the harvest. The season for the famous black truffles of Périgord (as the province was once called) is still two months off, but the area’s gastronomic reputation rests on other pillars too, from charcuterie to chestnuts.
The turreted 19th-century château turned Hotel Edward 1er looks out over the hills of the southern Dordogne from the edge of the medieval town of Monpazier, its 17 rooms complemented by a fine restaurant.
• Best villas in France
9. Sulawesi, Indonesia
The Wakatobi marine national park in Sulawesi
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Why go in September? For a fine blend of culture, eco-tourism and beach time
Indonesia is spread over some 17,000 islands. Bali nabs an outsize share of visitors, so why not show some love to other islands? There’s the world’s most populous, Java, with its rice fields, volcanoes and ancient temples such as Borobudur. Rare species hide in the jungles of Sumatra and Borneo, while the pint-sized Gili Islands are blessed with white sand. You’d expect some climate variety in such a sizeable country, but visit in September and, in most parts, you’ll hit the interval between peak-season August and the October start of big rains. Even in the typically wet northern tip of Sulawesi, with its rich coral life and fantastic diving, the month is the least rainy of the year.
Siladen Resort & Spa is a great choice for beach breaks and exploring the diversity of the Coral Triangle, with its offshore island location near Manado in northern Sulawesi.
• Best beaches in the world
10. Madeira, Portugal
Funchal, capital of Madeira
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Why go in September? For an island in tropical garb within easy reach of Europe
Madeira isn’t actually in the tropics, but with locally grown bananas, papayas and mangoes in its markets, and fern-cloaked gorges looking like a lost world, it might as well be. Though visitor numbers are down from July and August, temperatures into the high 20s aren’t. Almost the only thing spoiling the “Hawaii in Europe” illusion (other than the splendidly Portuguese architecture) is the lack of natural sandy beaches — and these can be had just a hop away on the neighbouring island of Porto Santo. It’s easy to get the measure of Madeira from its many clifftop viewpoints, but for an island speciality, try to fit in a hike along its lush levadas (water channels).
An 18th-century mansion in botanic gardens on a hill overlooking the capital Funchal is the setting for Quinta Jardins do Lago, which has both classic interiors and a sprawling swimming pool.
• Best things to do in Madeira
• Best hotels in Madeira
11. San Francisco, US
A Chinese yellow lion dance at the Autumn Moon Festival in San Francisco’s Chinatown
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Why go in September? For a second summer in the Golden State
It’s a curious feature of San Francisco’s summer that although rainy days are rare, you’ll often see fog rolling off the Pacific Ocean and over the Golden Gate Bridge. One consequence is that September tends to be the warmest month of the year in the city. Besides the obvious attractions of Golden Gate Park and nearby beaches at this time, September is usually when the Autumn Moon Festival falls: cue parades, lion dancers and festive eats in the streets of Chinatown. San Francisco is one of the best places in the US to sample different cuisines and new takes on them, and you can exercise your taste buds still more on wider West Coast journeys, taking in California’s wine country.
Hotel-wise, San Francisco Proper certainly looks the part, with its historic flatiron building on Market Street, eye-catching interior design and rooftop bar.
• Best things to do in San Francisco
12. Barcelona, Spain
The Festes de la Merce in Barcelona
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Why go in September? For major celebrations in the Catalan capital
Barcelona is one of the few places in Europe to combine a big-name city break with a beach holiday and September brings the best balance between the two. Visitor numbers dip somewhat from the highs of July and August, particularly in the second half of the month, while temperatures can be both more comfortable for a tour of Barcelona’s architectural treasures and eccentricities, and still warm enough for time on the sand. Of the two big events in September, the National Day of Catalonia on the 11th is more politically tinged, while the four-day Festes de la Merce later in the month brings parades of giant statues, thrilling “fire runs” and the famous Catalan human towers.
Though the rooms at Yurrban Trafalgar Hotel come in sober colours, there’s plenty of urban playfulness to enjoy at the rooftop pool and sun beds of this stylish spot on the edge of the Gothic Quarter.
• Best things to do in Barcelona
• Best family hotels in Barcelona
13. Black Forest, Germany
The historic old town of Gengenbach
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Why go in September? For peace and quiet on storybook woodland trails
Late summer is the most enticing time to put in the distance on the roads and hiking trails of this 100-mile chain of hills in Germany’s southwest. Located in its lower-lying regions, bordering the Rhine Valley and the beautifully preserved city of Freiburg im Breisgau, this is one of the country’s warmest corners; September typically sees the fewest rainy days of any month. At the centre of the region, the Kinzig Valley includes towns such as Schiltach and Gengenbach, which are part of a Germany-wide tour of the country’s finest half-timbered architecture.
Dating back at least 400 years, Hotel-Gasthof Zum Weyssen Rössle is a three-star inn in Schiltach with crown-glass windows in the wood-beamed dining room, and the odd four-poster in the bedrooms.
• Best river cruises in Europe
14. Namaqualand, South Africa
Flowering daisies in Namaqualand National Park
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Why go in September? For a brilliant flowering on the desert’s edge
The wildlife of South Africa makes a spotter’s checklist run to several pages, and in Kruger National Park, September is the last non-humid month to tick off sightings of the big five, if that’s your priority. But even with such eye-catching fauna, you shouldn’t overlook the flora either. The Table Mountain region alone has more plant species than the whole of Britain. Here and elsewhere in Cape Town’s cooler and wetter surrounds, many of the wonderfully diverse fynbos shrubs are in springtime bloom. Further north in Namaqualand, spilling into Namibia, the flowering season is short but glorious: aim for early September to see the semi-desert sport a vivid carpet of oranges and pinks.
In the hills of the Western Cape, Naries Namakwa Retreat offers guests a choice of rooms in a Cape Dutch-style manor house, self-catering cottages and luxurious, boulder-like domed suites.
• Best hotels in Cape Town
15. Cappadocia, Turkey
Hot-air balloons over Cappadocia
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Why go in September? For timeless cave hotels and tranquil balloon flights
The summer crowds have eased along the Mediterranean coasts of Turkey, but despite the temptations of sand-based days in the high 20s, now might be the time to turn your attention inland. The region of Cappadocia lies almost at the centre of this transcontinental country, on a plateau more than 1,000m high, meaning that while its summers are almost as hot as on the southern coast, its winters are much colder. This transition period is a delight for touring ancient towns that melt into a dream-like landscape of caves and rock spires, where traditional crafts are treasured and hot-air balloons take to the skies on calm days.
Aren Cave Hotel shows how far from primitive it can be to live in spaces hollowed out from the rock, with its ten gracefully furnished rooms in the Cappadocian town of Goreme.
• Best things to do in Cappadocia
• Cappadocia’s hot-air balloon rides: everything you need to know
• Argos Cappadocia hotel review
16. Perth, Australia
Wildflowers in bloom at Perth’s Kings Park Festival
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Why go in September? For good times at the kick-off of Aussie spring
The start of southern hemisphere spring brings more warmth and less rain in some temperate parts of Australia, while the tropical north is still awaiting its wet season, making September a happy average across this continent of a country. This is usually the driest month in Sydney, and a great time for hikes in mild temperatures in the nearby Blue Mountains. At the Indian Ocean end, the corner of Western Australia around Perth blooms with unique wildflowers, as does the city itself in the month-long Kings Park Festival. It’s an inviting time to sample the eateries and bars of Perth and its port of Fremantle, and to take a ferry to Rottnest Island, home to photo-bombing quokkas.
COMO The Treasury is a luxury hotel based in the Victorian-era State Buildings at the very heart of Perth, its 48 rooms spacious and elegantly understated with a few original details.
• Best things to do in Perth
• Best hotels in Perth
17. Singapore
Peranakan houses in Singapore’s Joo Chiat district
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Why go in September? Sightseeing without the threat of a downpour
Temperatures in Singapore are pretty much constant year-round but its two rainy seasons can put a damper on things. Fortunately September is when the drier season starts. The city state bills itself as a city in a garden, so leafy attractions like Singapore Botanic Gardens and Gardens by the Bay should be top of your list. For a small nation, it’s also extremely multicultural. Go on a walking tour of Kampong Glam to learn about its Arab heritage, see Little India via its many temples, and don’t miss the colourful Peranakan houses. For families, Sentosa is your haven — there’s a choice of beaches here but also theme parks like Universal Studios Singapore and Adventure Cove Waterpark.
Raffles Singapore is a classic hotel, and you’ll need to stop by the bar for a Singapore Sling and peanuts.
• Read our full review of Raffles Singapore
Best hotels in Singapore
• Best things to do in Singapore
18. Transylvania, Romania
Why go in September? For cottages and castles among the forests
A mountain-ringed land where rural traditions are still strong, Transylvania looks splendid with summer drawing to a close and autumn preparations under way, as harvest festivals start up and sheep are brought down from high pastures. Dracula-based clichés will only weigh more heavily as October 31 approaches, so this month is a good time to do a loop around the region’s historic cities, beginning in Cluj-Napoca with its good flight connections, and taking in Sibiu, Brasov and Sighisoara. There are also plenty of farm stays and thoughtfully renovated cottages for a taste of Romanian village life, plus an epic challenge for drivers on the hairpin-rich Transfagarasan Highway.
Copsamare Guesthouses spreads its rooms across four traditional Transylvanian Saxon village houses, one valley over from the world heritage-listed fortified church in Biertan.
• Best affordable city breaks in Europe
• Best Christmas holiday destinations
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