Plan your timing
When to go, and where
Timing changes everything, from balloon-filled skies to quiet temple mornings. Here's a season-by-season guide to help you choose the perfect window.
Timing changes everything, from balloon-filled skies to quiet temple mornings. Here's a season-by-season guide to help you choose the perfect window.
A continent is not one climate. Here is a guide to the best windows across the world's regions, grouped by continent. When in doubt, ask us, timing is one of the first things we help you get right.
Africa spans desert, Mediterranean and Atlantic-island climates, so the ideal window depends on where you are headed.
October to April is the sweet spot for sightseeing across Egypt. The Red Sea stays warm and inviting for much of the year.
Cool, comfortable days, ideal for temples, deserts and the Nile.
Hot inland, great value and quieter sites, best paired with the Red Sea coast.
Spring and autumn are ideal for the imperial cities and the Sahara. Summers are hot inland but pleasant on the Atlantic coast.
Blossom, green valleys and warm days, arguably the finest time to travel.
Golden light, harvest season and comfortable desert nights.
Cape Verde enjoys a mild, year-round Atlantic climate, with the driest and breeziest months from late autumn into early summer.
Warm, breezy and reliably sunny, the classic window for beaches and island-hopping.
Hotter with occasional short showers, and the season of island music festivals.
From the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula to monsoon Southeast Asia and the four seasons of Japan, Asia's climates could hardly be more varied.
October to April is the prime window across the Arabian Peninsula and the eastern Mediterranean coast.
Cool, comfortable days across Jordan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.
Hot and dry, best for early starts, coastal resorts and indoor MICE.
November to March brings the most reliable weather. The green season rewards travelers with fewer crowds and vivid scenery.
The prime window across Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia.
Lush landscapes and lively festivals, showers are usually short.
Japan is a four-season country, at its most beautiful in spring for the cherry blossom and in autumn for the maple colour.
Mild days and the famous sakura sweeping north across the country.
Crisp air and fiery maple foliage in the temples and gardens.
The Maldives is a year-round beach destination, with the driest, sunniest weather from November to April.
Sunny skies, calm seas and superb visibility for diving and snorkelling.
Warmer waters and short tropical showers, with the best value of the year.
Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons, avoiding the fierce heat of high summer and the cold of deep winter.
Mild and blooming, perfect for cities and countryside alike.
Clear skies and comfortable temperatures across Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.
Europe runs from the sun-warmed Mediterranean to the cool, green British Isles, and comes into its own again for the winter festive season.
Southern Europe, from Portugal and Italy to Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Malta and Croatia, is at its best from May to October, with the shoulder months offering the finest balance of weather and calm.
Warm seas beginning, fewer crowds, long light-filled days.
Summer warmth without the peak-season bustle, superb for the coast and islands.
France, Germany and Central Europe are glorious in summer, and take on a magical glow during the December Christmas-market season.
Long, warm days for France, Germany and the great cities and river valleys.
Twinkling festive markets across Germany, Austria, France and Central Europe.
The United Kingdom is at its warmest and brightest from late spring to early autumn, with a charming festive season in December.
The mildest, brightest and longest days across the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Historic cities dressed for Christmas, with markets and winter lights.
The Americas stretch across almost every climate on earth, so timing is guided by the specific region you plan to visit.
The United States is a year-round destination, with spring and autumn the most comfortable across most regions, and each season showing a different face of the country.
Mild and fresh across most of the country, ideal for cities and national parks.
Golden foliage in the north and east, and warm, settled days nationwide.
Mexico's Caribbean and Pacific coasts are at their best from November to April, in the sunny, dry season.
Sunny, warm and reliably dry, the prime window for beaches and ruins.
Lush and warm with short afternoon showers, and fewer crowds.
South of the equator the seasons are reversed, so the Australian and New Zealand summer falls over the northern-hemisphere winter.
With reversed seasons, the southern summer from December to February is peak time, while autumn offers mild weather and quieter sights.
Long, warm days, perfect for the coast, cities and the great outdoors.
Settled, mild weather and beautiful light, with thinner crowds.
Tell us your dates or your dream, and we'll match the season to the destination for you.