The Best Places to Travel in November
Top pick: Kyoto, JapanNovember is travel's best-kept secret: summer crowds are long gone, Christmas prices haven't started, and half the world hits its weather sweet spot at once - Kyoto's maples peak, the Caribbean's hurricane season ends, and desert cities finally cool down. These ten places are genuinely at their best in November, ranked, with honest weather and what each costs.
Where is best to travel in November?
The best places to travel in November are Kyoto for peak autumn foliage, Marrakech and Cairo for warm dry desert weather, Cancun and the Caribbean as hurricane season ends and before December prices spike, and Bangkok as Thailand's cool dry season begins. November is shoulder season almost everywhere - fewer crowds and lower prices than December - making it one of the smartest months of the year to fly.
All 10 picks at a glance
Every destination compared - jump to the one that fits your group, budget and dates.
| Destination | Why it wins | November weather | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kyoto | Autumn foliage at its absolute peak | 10-17°C, crisp and mostly dry - peak foliage roughly Nov 15-30. | $$$ |
| Marrakech | Warm days, cool nights, zero summer heat | 22-25°C days, 10°C nights - ideal city and mountain weather. | $$ |
| Cancún & Riviera Maya | Hurricane season ends, prices haven't risen | 28-30°C, drying out fast - late November is the safest bet. | $$ |
| Cairo & the Nile | Pyramid weather, finally | 24-27°C and dry - the year's best sightseeing window opens. | $ |
| Bangkok & Thailand | The cool, dry season begins | 30-32°C, drying out - the start of the Nov-Feb prime season. | $ |
| New York City | Pre-Christmas magic without January's cold | 5-13°C, crisp - pack layers; festive from mid-month. | $$$ |
| Lisbon | Europe's mildest big-city November | 17-19°C with sunny spells - Europe's gentlest November. | $$ |
| Vietnam (south & centre) | Dry season opens in Saigon and the Mekong | South 30-32°C and drying; north cool at 20-24°C. | $ |
| Queenstown & New Zealand | Southern spring before the summer peak | 12-18°C and fresh - spring shoulder before the rush. | $$ |
| Sydney | Beach season warming up, prices not yet | 18-25°C, sunny - beach days begin without peak prices. | $$$ |
The picks, ranked
1.KyotoJapan
$$$Autumn foliage at its absolute peak
Mid-to-late November is koyo - the two weeks when Kyoto's maples turn scarlet and the temple gardens of Tofuku-ji, Eikan-do and Arashiyama become the most beautiful places in Japan. Crisp 10-17°C days are made for temple walking, and evening illuminations light the gardens after dark. It's the single best month to see the city.
When to go: 10-17°C, crisp and mostly dry - peak foliage roughly Nov 15-30.
See Kyoto hotelsCompare stays for your dates2.MarrakechMorocco
$$Warm days, cool nights, zero summer heat
November is Marrakech at its most comfortable: 22-25°C afternoons for the souks and palaces, cool evenings on the riad rooftop, and clear light on the snow-dusted Atlas behind the city. The summer furnace is a memory and the Christmas-week price jump hasn't landed.
When to go: 22-25°C days, 10°C nights - ideal city and mountain weather.
See Marrakech hotelsCompare stays for your dates3.Cancún & Riviera MayaMexico
$$Hurricane season ends, prices haven't risen
Late November is the Riviera Maya's sweet spot: the rainy/hurricane season winds down, humidity drops, the sea sits at 27°C - and rates are noticeably below the mid-December to Easter high season. You get high-season weather at shoulder-season prices for a few short weeks.
When to go: 28-30°C, drying out fast - late November is the safest bet.
See Cancún & Riviera Maya hotelsCompare stays for your dates4.Cairo & the NileEgypt
$Pyramid weather, finally
Egypt in summer is brutal; Egypt in November is perfect - 25°C days for Giza, Saqqara and open-air temple sites, and cool nights on a Nile cruise deck. It's the start of the season Egyptians themselves call the best, before the December-January peak crowds reach Luxor.
When to go: 24-27°C and dry - the year's best sightseeing window opens.
See Cairo & the Nile hotelsCompare stays for your dates5.Bangkok & ThailandThailand
$The cool, dry season begins
November flips Thailand's switch: the monsoon retreats, humidity falls, and the 'cool' season (a very relative 30°C) begins. Bangkok's temples, the northern hills around Chiang Mai and most islands all come into their best window - with the Loy Krathong lantern festival usually landing in November as the bonus.
When to go: 30-32°C, drying out - the start of the Nov-Feb prime season.
See Bangkok & Thailand hotelsCompare stays for your dates6.New York CityUSA
$$$Pre-Christmas magic without January's cold
November New York stacks the good stuff: crisp walking weather, the Thanksgiving Day Parade, ice rinks opening, and the holiday windows and lights arriving from mid-month - all before the deep cold and the late-December tourist crush. Hotel rates outside Thanksgiving week are gentler than December's.
When to go: 5-13°C, crisp - pack layers; festive from mid-month.
See New York City hotelsCompare stays for your dates7.LisbonPortugal
$$Europe's mildest big-city November
While the rest of Europe goes grey, Lisbon idles at 17-19°C with regular sun between Atlantic showers - warm enough for miradouro terraces and day trips to Sintra, at some of the year's lowest hotel rates. It's the best-value European city break of the month.
When to go: 17-19°C with sunny spells - Europe's gentlest November.
See Lisbon hotelsCompare stays for your dates8.Vietnam (south & centre)Vietnam
$Dry season opens in Saigon and the Mekong
November starts the south's dry season: Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong Delta and Phu Quoc island dry out and shine, while the north stays pleasantly cool for Hanoi and Ha Long Bay. Costs remain some of the lowest of any major destination on this list.
When to go: South 30-32°C and drying; north cool at 20-24°C.
See Vietnam (south & centre) hotelsCompare stays for your dates9.Queenstown & New ZealandNew Zealand
$$Southern spring before the summer peak
November is late spring in New Zealand: lupins colouring the South Island valleys, waterfalls at full flow, long daylight - and rates and crowds still below the December-February peak. It's the smart month for the great self-drive routes.
When to go: 12-18°C and fresh - spring shoulder before the rush.
See Queenstown & New Zealand hotelsCompare stays for your dates10.SydneyAustralia
$$$Beach season warming up, prices not yet
Late spring in Sydney means jacaranda-purple streets, ocean pools warming past comfortable, and the coastal walks at their best - before Christmas-holiday pricing and crowds arrive in December. November is the month locals recommend.
When to go: 18-25°C, sunny - beach days begin without peak prices.
See Sydney hotelsCompare stays for your dates
How to choose
Chasing perfect weather? Go where seasons flip
November's magic is the handover month: Southeast Asia and Egypt enter their best season, the Caribbean exits its worst, and the southern hemisphere warms into spring. Pick the region whose season is arriving, not leaving - that's Thailand over Greece, Cancun over Croatia.
Chasing low prices? Avoid two weeks
Thanksgiving week (US routes) and the last days of November (when Christmas pricing creeps in) carry premiums. The first three weeks of November are consistently among the cheapest flying of the whole year - that's your window.
One-week trip? Stay within two time zones
Kyoto and Sydney reward 10+ days; Cancun, Lisbon and Marrakech deliver full value in five to seven. If you have a single week, burn fewer hours in the air - the Caribbean from North America, Morocco or Lisbon from Europe.
Foliage or beaches - November does both
It's the rare month where you choose between peak autumn color (Kyoto, New York, New England) and the opening of beach season (Cancun, Thailand, Sydney). Decide which photo you want first; the list splits cleanly in two.
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