Autumn Travel Destinations: 10 Great Places to Visit in Fall
Autumn is an excellent season for travel as fall foliage is abundant and some destinations still enjoy warm temperatures and sunshine.
Moreover, tourist crowds have dwindled compared to the summer season, making it easier to find great deals on flights and accommodation.
Obviously, the best destination for autumn travel depends on what you’re looking to experience on your trip.
Many people are searching for the best places to enjoy autumn foliage, while some see the season as the perfect time for a city trip, and others may want to escape the clouds and rain to a destination with sunshine and warmth.
In our top 10 best destinations to visit during autumn, you will therefore find a wide variety of destinations and trip ideas, ensuring there is something to match your wishes.
1. Romania
When it comes to gorgeous autumn foliage, dense forests, and breathtaking mountain scenery, Romania is perhaps the most underrated travel destination.
The great benefit of visiting Romania in autumn is the long Indian summer the country often enjoys, with pleasant weather and clear blue skies lasting well into late October.
The best places to visit in Romania during autumn are undeniably Transylvania, with its picture-perfect medieval towns, fortified churches, and castles, and rural Maramureș, the country’s most traditional and authentic region.
When you travel to Maramureș, make sure to hike in the Carpathian Mountains, ride the narrow-gauge Mocăniță railway through stunning autumn scenery, and visit the UNESCO World Heritage wooden churches.
Check our Romania travel guide for more inspiration on visiting this relatively undiscovered country.
2. Tunisia
If it’s some autumn sun you are searching, then Tunisia is a great travel destination in the fall season, as the country has great beaches and reliably warm weather.
From Europe, you’ll find plenty of charter airlines flying to the main tourist resorts of Enfidha, Monastir, and Djerba.
However, Tunisia isn’t just a sun-and-sea destination, as the country also has some amazing cultural sights.
It’s well worth visiting the Tunisian capital of Tunis with its Parisian boulevards and bustling souqs, as well as the nearby sights of ancient Carthage, La Marsa with its wide beach, and the picturesque town of Sidi Bou Saïd with its whitewashed houses.
3. Epirus
Greece is one of my favourite destinations in the world, but the country offers much more than just its capital of Athens and the famous islands like Crete or Santorini in the Cyclades.
One of the most beautiful regions of Greece is mountainous Epirus, located in the north-western part of the mainland.
Epirus is well known for its stunning mountain landscapes, centuries-old stone bridges, large lakes, and fantastic autumn foliage.
The region’s capital, Ioannina, is a lively city with a thriving café culture, and the mountain villages of Zagorohoria are full of charm.
Perhaps the best thing about Epirus is that it’s still an authentic part of Greece that hasn’t yet been discovered by mass tourism, so you’re unlikely to see any tourist crowds here!
4. Japan
Japan is one of the world’s most popular travel destinations, with particularly high numbers of international visitors in the summer and during the cherry blossom season in spring.
Autumn is an equally wonderful time to visit Japan, offering the added advantage of lower prices for accommodation and flights, while stilling having relatively warm and generally pleasant weather.
Japan’s autumn foliage is splendid, particularly in the mountains, and with the colourful leaves lasting much longer than the sakura in spring, there is less urgency among domestic tourists to see them, resulting in smaller crowds.
Do note that there is the odd chance of a typhoon hitting Japan during the fall season, and the best month to admire the autumn foliage depends on the exact region you visit in the country.
5. Southern Sweden
The autumn months, particularly September and October, are an excellent time of year to visit southern Sweden.
There is some lovely autumn foliage around Sweden this time of year, and you may still be lucky enough to catch good weather along the coast in places like Bohuslän or by the inland lakes.
Autumn is also a great time for a Swedish city trip, and while Stockholm may seem like the obvious choice, why not explore some of the equally beautiful and interesting cities in southern Sweden, such as Malmö, Gothenburg, or Lund?
6. Andalusia
The southern Spanish region of Andalusia is best visited in autumn or spring, as summers can be too hot, and while winters are generally mild, they are not always sunny.
There is much to see and do in Andalusia, and the region is undoubtedly a treasure trove of cultural heritage.
The Alhambra in Granada, the Royal Alcázar of Seville, and the Mezquita Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba are some of Spain’s most remarkable sights.
If you visit Andalusia in autumn, you can still enjoy the beach in places like Málaga or Marbella.
It’s also a great time to explore the history and lively atmosphere of cities like Cádiz or sample some local Sherry wine in Jerez de la Frontera.
7. New England
When you think of autumn and fall foliage, New England is of course the traditional travel destination that comes to many people’s minds.
Undoubtedly, there is some gorgeous autumn foliage to admire in the countryside of New England, and a city like Boston is well worth visiting at any time of the year.
It’s no coincidence that people first think of New England when it comes to autumn travel, as the fall foliage in this part of the world is truly special, with the yellow and red colours of the leaves appearing more vibrant here than anywhere else.
The big disadvantage, of course, is that you won’t be the only traveller to visit New England in the autumn months, so you can expect some tourist crowds.
This also affects price levels for everything from flights to accommodation and rental cars in a part of the US that even in other months is already rather expensive, so be sure to budget accordingly when you travel in peak autumn season.
8. Vietnam
While Vietnam is one of the easiest Asian countries to travel through, with well-trodden tourist paths, deciding which month to visit isn’t as straightforward.
The main reason it’s so difficult to pinpoint the best time of year to visit Vietnam is that the climate in the north, centred around Hanoi, is completely different from that in the south around Ho Chi Minh City or cities like Da Nang and Hoi An in the central part of the country.
Winters in the south of Vietnam are swelteringly hot and dry, while in the north, it can actually be too chilly at this time of year.
Summer is the main tourist season, and while it’s a great time to visit the cities and beaches of central Vietnam, it’s humid in the south, and in the north, the rains can ruin trekking plans or make a cruise around Ha Long Bay a rather drenched affair.
If you plan to travel the entire length of Vietnam, spring or autumn might offer a better balance, with October and November being particularly great months to visit Ha Long Bay.
Prices for accommodation and tourist crowds will also have dropped considerably compared to the high travel season in summer or festivals like Tet in winter.
However, in other parts of Vietnam, particularly the central coastal stretch, the weather in autumn can be a bit unpredictable, with warm, sunny days battling it out with the rain, though you rarely have to endure a prolonged spell of bad weather.
9. Bulgaria
Just like the travel destinations of Romania and the region of Epirus in Greece that we mentioned earlier, Bulgaria is also a great place to visit for an autumn holiday.
Bulgaria’s mountains look stunning in autumn foliage, and the season is also an excellent time for a city trip to Sofia or Plovdiv.
Indeed, there may be no better season for a proper Bulgarian road trip than autumn, and with a rental car at your disposal, you can also visit fabulous monasteries like Rila and Bachkovo or head to unique sights such as the communist-era Buzludzha Monument, built in the shape of a UFO on top of a mountain.
10. Rio de Janeiro
There is no city in the world with a more stunning natural setting than Rio de Janeiro.
With its sweeping beaches and monolithic outcrops like Sugarloaf Mountain right at the seashore, Rio is truly a spectacular place to visit.
There is of course plenty of fun to be had in Rio de Janeiro, whether you want to mingle with sunseekers and footvolley players on beaches like Copacabana or Ipanema, or enjoy a caipirinha in trendy neighbourhoods such as Lapa and Leblon.
High season in Rio de Janeiro runs from December to February, culminating around the annual carnival festivities when accommodation prices run sky-high.
A better season to travel to Rio is the autumn in Europe or North America, which is of course spring in the Southern Hemisphere.
Temperatures in Rio are slowly picking up in the months of September, October, and November, the weather is generally sunny, and accommodation prices are still generally affordable.
Conclusion
Autumn is one of the best times of the year to travel, as tourist crowds are smaller than in the high season, and prices for flights and accommodation are generally much lower.
A benefit of autumn travel is that there are plenty of countries in the Northern Hemisphere where you can admire beautiful fall foliage, ranging from classic autumn destinations like New England to more underrated places such as Romania or Greece’s Epirus region.
Of course, there are still plenty of places in autumn where you can enjoy some sunshine and warm temperatures, as is the case around the Mediterranean at destinations such as the Spanish region of Andalusia or Tunisia.
Check out our entire list of the top 10 best autumn travel destinations to get some inspiration for your next holiday during this beautiful season!
