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Where to go in September
More choice, fewer crowds
Travel in September and you'll sidestep the busiest times of high season in both hemispheres to discover that either spring has sprung or — in the case of the Balearics or Puglia — the sun still sizzles while the beaches empty out. Or lean into autumn in outdoor wonderlands such as British Columbia.
Puglia
Avg. temperature: high 25ºC; low 20ºC
Social butterflies should flutter to Puglia in September, when convivial locals come out to play at a glut of food, wine and film festivals. You could drink and dance your way around the heel-hugging region, from Bari to Lecce, or make a beeline for the all-to-yourself beaches — Puglia stays sun-kissed and warm throughout the autumn (but the back-to-school crowds won’t know that).
British Columbia
Avg. temperature: high 21ºC; low 13ºC
See Canadian nature at its fiercest in September: forests burning bright with seasonal colour, black and grizzly bears stalking salmon, and maybe even an orca pod breaching. Set beside busy Pacific waters and wrapped in old-growth forest, Vancouver Island’s far-from-it-all hideaways let you sit back and watch the wild show; or take a break from tameness with floatplane tours, surfing and rainforest trails.
Ibiza
Avg. temperature: high 27ºC; low 19ºC
You’ll miss Playa d'en Bossa’s biggest parties, but the trade-off for visiting Ibiza in September is tranquillity, as the busy season winds down and the beaches clear. Discover Old Town delights or sunbathe this one out; but superstar DJs don’t pack up just yet, so squeeze in a few late nights, too. To make your beach holiday that bit bougier, charter a boat to still-lively, Maldives-twinning isle Formentera.
Singapore
Avg. temperature: high 31ºC; low 27ºC
Singapore’s heat and humidity are a constant in September, but the upside is that there’ll be far fewer tourists and crowd-free attractions all autumn long. Singapore’s annual Design Week takes place this month, with a Marina Bay Sands backdrop, of course. And get in there early, as the Marina Bay Street Circuit dusts itself off ahead of the F1 Grand Prix in October.
Nepal
Avg. temperature: high 26ºC; low 3ºC
Break your walking boots in by late September — it’s when trekking season starts back up in Nepal. Quad-burning trails and hikes to big-hitter basecamps are no easy feat, but at least nature will be on your side with just-right temperatures and cloudless skies. Alongside the weather and verdant scenery putting on a show, several all-singing, all-dancing festivals dot Nepal’s cultural calendar too.
Asheville
Avg. temperature: high 26ºC; low 14ºC
It’s not just foliage that’s painted in colourful strokes in Asheville (North Carolina’s coolest hub) in September. As the city recovers from the devastation of Hurricane Helene in 2024, its social calendar is filling back up again, with Labor Day get-togethers, an arts and crafts fair, Friday-night gigs and drum circles, and various odes to the microbrew. And there’s always something new to see at the River Arts District.