The Best Places to Travel in March
Top pick: Tokyo, JapanMarch is the month the travel year wakes up: cherry blossoms open in Tokyo, the Caribbean and Mexico hit peak dry-season form, the desert cities bask at 25°C, and the southern hemisphere serves golden autumn. It's also a split-personality month for prices - spring-break routes spike while everything else stays winter-cheap. Ten places genuinely at their March best, ranked with honest weather and costs.
Where is best to travel in March?
The best places to travel in March are Tokyo as cherry blossom season opens in the last week of the month, Mexico and the Caribbean at peak dry-season reliability, Marrakech and Cairo in ideal 24-27°C spring warmth, and Buenos Aires for its golden autumn. March is dry season in most of the tropics and shoulder season in Europe - prices stay low everywhere except school-break beach routes.
Where to go in March: every pick compared
Every destination compared - jump to the one that fits your group, budget and dates.
| Destination | Why it wins | March weather | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo | First cherry blossoms of the year | 9-14°C, crisp - blossoms typically open Mar 22-28. | $$ |
| Cancun & Riviera Maya | Peak dry season, sea at its clearest | 27-29°C, sea at 26°C - rain near zero and no sargassum yet. | $$ |
| Marrakech | Spring warmth with snow still on the Atlas | 22-25°C days, cool nights - gardens peak, High Atlas still snow-capped. | $$ |
| Key West & the Florida Keys | America's warmest March, no passport needed | 25-28°C, dry - ocean swimmable, hurricane season months off. | $$$ |
| Cairo & the Nile | Last comfortable month before the heat | 23-26°C, dry - the last cool month before Egypt's summer. | $ |
| Sedona & the American Southwest | Red rock spring in perfect hiking weather | 18-22°C days, cool nights - wildflower season begins. | $$ |
| Lisbon | Europe's earliest spring, at winter prices | 17-20°C, mixed sun - terraces reopen, flights still at low-season rates. | $ |
| Buenos Aires | Golden autumn in the Paris of the South | 22-26°C, golden - harvest season in the wine regions. | $ |
| Istanbul | Tulip season in the city that invented them | 12-16°C, brightening - tulips from late March. | $ |
| Miami Beach | Beach, art-deco and 26°C certainty | 24-27°C, dry - the last calm month before humidity returns. | $$$ |
The best places to visit in March, ranked
Price band is a typical nightly hotel rate: $ budget · $$ mid-range · $$$ high-end. Booking links open Trip.com.
TokyoJapan
$$Mid-rangeFirst cherry blossoms of the year
Late March Tokyo is the trip people plan years around: the sakura front usually reaches the city in the final week, turning the Imperial Palace moats, Ueno Park and the Meguro River into pink corridors. Go the last week of March for opening blossoms with slightly thinner crowds than the early-April peak - and book beds months out.
March weather: 9-14°C, crisp - blossoms typically open Mar 22-28.
See Tokyo hotelsLive mid-range prices for your datesTokyo tours & ticketsSkip-the-line entry and day trips- Free cancellation on most rooms
- No booking fee
- Prices on Trip.com
Cancun & Riviera MayaMexico
$$Mid-rangePeak dry season, sea at its clearest
March is the statistical sweet spot of the Mexican Caribbean year: rain near zero, humidity low, the sea a warm 26°C, and sargassum season not yet started. It's also US spring-break month - the party zones roar, but Tulum, Isla Mujeres and the cenote routes stay easy to enjoy.
March weather: 27-29°C, sea at 26°C - rain near zero and no sargassum yet.
See Cancun & Riviera Maya hotelsLive mid-range prices for your datesCancun & Riviera Maya tours & ticketsSkip-the-line entry and day trips- Free cancellation on most rooms
- No booking fee
- Prices on Trip.com
MarrakechMorocco
$$Mid-rangeSpring warmth with snow still on the Atlas
March Marrakech pairs 24°C golden afternoons with the year's best backdrop: the High Atlas still snow-capped behind the palms. Gardens peak, rooftop season begins, and desert excursions run in comfort before the real heat arrives. Prices sit below the April-May spring bump.
March weather: 22-25°C days, cool nights - gardens peak, High Atlas still snow-capped.
See Marrakech hotelsLive mid-range prices for your datesMarrakech tours & ticketsSkip-the-line entry and day trips- Free cancellation on most rooms
- No booking fee
- Prices on Trip.com
Key West & the Florida KeysUSA
$$$High-endAmerica's warmest March, no passport needed
The Keys in March are the easiest warm-weather win in the country: 27°C days, ocean swimmable, the Overseas Highway at its most cinematic, and hurricane season months away. It's peak season - book ahead - but the payoff is near-guaranteed sunshine when most of the US is still gray.
March weather: 25-28°C, dry - ocean swimmable, hurricane season months off.
See Key West & the Florida Keys hotelsLive high-end prices for your datesKey West & the Florida Keys tours & ticketsSkip-the-line entry and day trips- Free cancellation on most rooms
- No booking fee
- Prices on Trip.com
Plan itBest beaches in Florida
Cairo & the NileEgypt
$BudgetLast comfortable month before the heat
March closes Egypt's prime season in style: Cairo at a perfect 24°C, Luxor and Aswan warm but not yet punishing, and Nile cruises still running full schedules at end-of-season prices. By April the thermometer starts its climb toward summer's furnace - March is the value play.
March weather: 23-26°C, dry - the last cool month before Egypt's summer.
See Cairo & the Nile hotelsLive budget prices for your datesCairo & the Nile tours & ticketsSkip-the-line entry and day trips- Free cancellation on most rooms
- No booking fee
- Prices on Trip.com
Plan itBest time to visit Egypt
Sedona & the American SouthwestUSA
$$Mid-rangeRed rock spring in perfect hiking weather
March opens the Southwest's golden window: Sedona's trails at 20°C, desert wildflowers beginning, and the Grand Canyon crisp and clear before summer crowds. Spring training baseball fills Phoenix if you want a game with your hikes.
March weather: 18-22°C days, cool nights - wildflower season begins.
See Sedona & the American Southwest hotelsLive mid-range prices for your dates- Free cancellation on most rooms
- No booking fee
- Prices on Trip.com
LisbonPortugal
$BudgetEurope's earliest spring, at winter prices
Lisbon does spring before anywhere else in Europe: 18-20°C by mid-March, jacaranda buds stirring, café terraces reopening - all while flights and hotels still price like low season. Day trips to Sintra run mist-free more often than winter, and the Algarve south is already beach-walkable.
March weather: 17-20°C, mixed sun - terraces reopen, flights still at low-season rates.
See Lisbon hotelsLive budget prices for your datesLisbon tours & ticketsSkip-the-line entry and day trips- Free cancellation on most rooms
- No booking fee
- Prices on Trip.com
Buenos AiresArgentina
$BudgetGolden autumn in the Paris of the South
March is Buenos Aires' most elegant month: summer's humidity breaks to 24°C golden days, the plane trees turn amber, and wine country hits harvest season - Mendoza's vineyards are heavy with grapes exactly now. The counter-seasonal play for anyone craving one more month of warmth.
March weather: 22-26°C, golden - harvest season in the wine regions.
See Buenos Aires hotelsLive budget prices for your datesBuenos Aires tours & ticketsSkip-the-line entry and day trips- Free cancellation on most rooms
- No booking fee
- Prices on Trip.com
IstanbulTurkey
$BudgetTulip season in the city that invented them
Late March starts Istanbul's tulip festival - millions of blooms across Emirgan and Gülhane parks, a tradition older than Holland's. The city sits at strolling temperature, queues at Hagia Sophia run short, and hotel rates stay in their winter band until April.
March weather: 12-16°C, brightening - tulips from late March.
See Istanbul hotelsLive budget prices for your datesIstanbul tours & ticketsSkip-the-line entry and day trips- Free cancellation on most rooms
- No booking fee
- Prices on Trip.com
Miami BeachUSA
$$$High-endBeach, art-deco and 26°C certainty
March Miami is the American beach month done right: reliably warm, ocean swimmable, humidity still low, and the city's food and art scenes at full tilt. It's also peak spring break - South Beach buzzes, while Mid-Beach and Key Biscayne stay grown-up.
March weather: 24-27°C, dry - the last calm month before humidity returns.
See Miami Beach hotelsLive high-end prices for your datesMiami Beach tours & ticketsSkip-the-line entry and day trips- Free cancellation on most rooms
- No booking fee
- Prices on Trip.com
Plan itBest beaches in Florida
How to choose your March trip
Blossom-chasing needs commitment; beaches don't
Tokyo's late-March window is the month's biggest prize and its biggest gamble - the front shifts year to year, and peak-week hotels sell out months ahead. Book flexible dates and refundable beds, or aim for the more forgiving early-April tail. The beach picks (Cancun, the Keys, Miami) need only ordinary planning.
Spring break moves prices - route around the weeks
US school breaks cluster in the second and third weeks of March and can double beach-route airfares. Traveling the first or last week of the month buys the same weather at a real discount - or point at destinations spring break ignores: Lisbon, Istanbul, Cairo, Buenos Aires.
Europe is a value play, not a beach play
March Europe rewards city trips: low-season prices, short queues and first-spring light in Lisbon, Istanbul and points between. What it doesn't offer is reliable swimming - even the Canaries run cool. If the sea matters, cross the Atlantic or head to the desert's edge instead.
Southern hemisphere autumn is the sleeper
March is harvest month below the equator - Argentina and Chile's wine regions, New Zealand's golden trails, South Africa's late summer. Flights on these routes sit at their annual lows between the holiday peaks, and the weather is arguably better than their summer.
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Photo credits (8)
Photos via Wikimedia Commons, used under their respective licences.
- Tokyo: Kakidai - CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
- Marrakech: Self-photographed - CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
- Key West & the Florida Keys: runarut - CC BY 2.0 · source
- Cairo & the Nile: Olaf Tausch - CC BY 3.0 · source
- Sedona & the American Southwest: vote4nosh - CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
- Buenos Aires: Diego Delso - CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
- Istanbul: Helge Høifødt - CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
- Miami Beach: Marc Ryckaert - CC BY 3.0 · source