The 10 Best Places to Visit This October

Just because the calendar year is winding down doesn’t mean your travels need to as well – particularly when October beckons with an abundance of epic adventures. Whether you want to relax in a steaming onsen (hot spring) in Tōhoku or wander through a bustling medina in Morocco, here are some ideas for where to go in October.

1. Menorca, Spain

Best for “winter spring”

After the heat of high summer abates, hardcore beach-loungers depart – but the sun hasn’t quite finished with the easternmost of the Balearic Islands. In the first weeks of autumn – sometimes called primavera l’hivern by locals describing the bright, warm days of “winter’s spring” – tourist facilities have yet to close up shop, and the Mediterranean waves lapping Menorca’s glorious beaches remain delightfully balmy. And you'll have the sand mostly to yourself.

Despite the odd shower as October wears on, conditions are good for discovering the Anglo-Spanish heritage of charismatic capital Maó (also known as Mahón) and former chief settlement Ciutadella; marveling at 4-millennia-old megalithic monuments; and hiking or biking the undulating 185km Camí de Cavalls coastal circuit. Menorca as a whole is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, centered on the bird-filled wetlands of Parc Natural S’Albufera des Grau. Pack binoculars, load up with famed Menorcan pastries and explore in glorious peace.

2. Montenegro

Best for scenic mountain trails

Don’t pack away the hiking boots just yet: thanks to their southerly latitude, the mountains of Montenegro remain open and awesome for ambling until November. And what mountains: the highest are within UNESCO-listed Durmitor National Park, a cluster of dark, serrated summits (of which 48 soar to over 2000m) scattered with pine forest, lush meadows and glittering glacial lakes. The park is home to all manner of wildlife, from birds to bears.

There’s also great hiking amid the peaks and primeval forests of Biogradska Gora National Park. Coastal high points such as Mts Orjen and Lovćen offer sweeping views of the Adriatic; mix hikes here with dips in the azure sea, which remains beautifully inviting (and wonderfully crowd-free) throughout October. A week’s walking could include an ascent of Rumija, on the south coast; hiking in the Kučka Krajina range near capital Podgorica; admiring the autumn colors around Mt Bjelasica in Biogradska Gora; and varied trekking in Durmitor, with the chance to stand atop Bobotov Kuk (2523m), the country’s highest peak.

3. New Mexico, USA

Best for a natural history tour

Known as the “Land of Enchantment, ” New Mexico is especially enchanting in sunny, mild October – with 68°F (20°C) days ideal for discovering the historical riches and extraordinary outdoors. Sites such as the 1000-year-old Taos Pueblo nod to the region’s Native American roots, while the capital Santa Fe (founded by Spanish missionaries in 1610) combines old adobe dwellings, grand ecclesiastical architecture and a slew of modern-art galleries. Then there’s the plentiful wilderness, from the Sangre de Cristos mountains of the north to the blinding-white dunes of the south. Scenic drives cut through these badlands, and there are activities and ranch stays aplenty.

4. Southwest England

Best for country walks and cozy pubs

England’s southwest is crowded with grand mansions and stately homes, castles and abbeys, plus megalithic henges and barrows. In summer, they’re jammed with tourists; many then close, at least partly, starting at the end of October. This makes that month an ideal time for a road trip that immerses you in centuries of history: playing lord or lady of the manor at Montacute or Cotehele, communing with ancestors among Avebury’s standing stones or jousting with King Arthur at Tintagel. Park the car to stretch your legs on one of the region’s many hiking trails – not least England’s longest, the South West Coast Path – which are wonderfully quiet and dotted with cozy country pubs.

5. Seychelles

Best for relaxing in paradise

The Seychelles is probably how Pixar would draw paradise: swaying palms, supernaturally blue seas, diamond-white sand, artfully smoothed and scattered boulders...and a few cute turtles wriggling ashore. All it in all, it’s fantasy made real. Given the otherworldly beauty and the balmy 25–30°C (77–86°F) year-round temperatures, there’s no such thing as a bad time to visit this Indian Ocean archipelago.

October – the period between the brisker southeasterly trade winds switching to the lighter northwesterlies – brings especially calm conditions and is an excellent month for swimming, snorkeling and diving. The water hovers around 29°C (84°F), visibility is around 30m, and migrating whale sharks have arrived. It’s also cheaper than the peak timeframe of June to August.

6. Fez, Morocco

Best for visiting a place frozen in time

Stepping through blue-tiled Bab Bou Jeloud takes visitors into a place that has changed little in 1200 years: a city without motorized traffic, and the most mesmerizing and extensive medieval city in the Islamic world. Visit in October, between sweltering summer and chilly, damp winter, to explore (or, more likely, get hopelessly lost in) the tangled skein of 9400 alleys that comprise Fes el-Bali.

This oldest section of the walled Medina is romantic and relentless in equal measure. You can admire glorious Moorish zellij tile work and ornately carved wood and alabaster adorning medersas (Islamic colleges); feast on pastilla (pigeon pie), tajines and a traditional glass of mint tea; and bed down in an Arabian Nights–worthy palace, riad or dar (courtyard mansion). Completing the sensory immersion, you can expect to be deafened by the hubbub of the souqs (bazaars) and hit by the stench of the colorful but pungent tanneries.

7. Cuzco Region, Peru

Best for discovering Inca culture

The famed Inca Trail winds for some 39km over (literally) breathtaking passes and past ancient remains to end with the big reveal framed by the Sun Gate: Machu Picchu. But this far from the only Inca trail in Peru. Those ingenious ancient Peruvians constructed a vast network of highways – the Qhapaq Ñan, spidering some 30,000km throughout the Andes – much of which remains more or less intact today, beckoning hikers keen to explore past glories and meet modern Quechua people.

Visit in October, after peak season but before the rains set in, to roam these historic paths in peace. The Salkantay Trek traverses thrilling Andean wilderness: snow-clad peaks, glaciers and mesmerizing lakes. The Lares Trek, north of the Sacred Valley, boasts fewer Incan sites but ample interaction with local communities. And Choquequirao rewards with another ridge-top citadel – a mini-Machu Picchu, with tiny crowds to match.

8. New South Wales, Australia

Best for hiking trails and wildlife

Sun, sand, surf, scuba, schooners: standard-issue fun awaits along the Pacific Highway, the justifiably well-trodden trail between Sydney and Brisbane. But there's a world of natural and cultural wonders to be found just a little inland, some well-known – the cliffs, cascades, caves and trails of the Blue Mountains – others much less visited. Spring shoulder season in the southern hemisphere brings warm sunshine, wildflowers and a flurry of animal activity – but without the crowds and costs of high summer (even the trails around Katoomba are quieter). Take the road less traveled to discover canyons and caves, historic mines and glow-worm tunnels, Aboriginal rock art and dizzying rainforest biodiversity.

9. Tōhoku, Japan

Best for food and forest walks

Most visitors to Japan head west from Tokyo towards Kyoto and Fuji, or bypass northern Honshū to reach Hokkaidō. Too bad for them: the six prefectures compsing Tōhoku encompass steaming onsens (try Nyuto), gleaming castles (Hirosaki-jō), golden-halled temples (Chūson-ji in Hiraizumi), peaceful farming valleys and forest-clad mountains, now flaming red and gold.

The clear days of harvest season are perfect for exploring the region’s culinary highlights: fabulous seafood and fish, of course (squid and mackerel are particular specialties), plus local takes on ramen, soba and udon noodles; apples; and excellent sake. Fuel up for hikes among the cedars on Haguro-san, through the virgin beech forests of mountainous Shirakami-Sanchi or along the 1000km-plus Michinoku Coastal Trail.

10. Fiji 

Best for couples 

Fiji is paradise made easy. The most accessible and tourism-attuned outpost of the South Pacific, Fiji has an idyll to suit everyone across its 333 islands. Expect white-sand, blue-sea magnificence across the archipelago – the dreamy Yasawa and Mamanuca groups are the most “developed” – but even here no buildings are taller than a coconut palm. You could happily swim, surf, snorkel and loll about for weeks at a lively or low-key resort here.