In a world full of warm-weather destinations, deciding where to vacation this month is tricky. But if an active adventure filled with wildlife-watching, amazing wine and meals, colorful community celebrations and hotels that will wow you check all your boxes, we’ve got a handful of recommendations you’re going to love. At Backroads, we gravitate to all that naturally.
Tasmania, Australia
As austral spring warms this southern Australian island, birdsong sets the soundtrack for outdoor adventures and the landscape vividly comes to life. Longer days and mild temperatures (between 60 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit) make November an ideal time to explore outdoors. For many travelers, Tasmania is an introduction to incredible new sights and scents: the ringing call of the currawong, spiky echidnas snuffling at the roadside for termites and, at dawn and dusk, pademelons (small kangaroo cousins) emerging, often with a joey in tow. In the ancient rain forests, the air carries a heady mix of eucalyptus, spicy sassafras and fresh tea tree.
November also hits a sweet spot between winter’s storms and summer’s crowds. On the coast, calm mornings reveal glassy waters in places like Wineglass Bay, where bottlenose dolphins and Australian fur seals may surface alongside your kayak. Inland, the Overland Track showcases the season’s transition: snow lingering on alpine peaks, button grass plains turning green, and delicate violets tucked into damp forest edges near rushing waterfalls.
Food and wine culture is another highlight this time of year. Festivals like Effervescence in the north celebrate Tasmania’s world-class sparkling wines, while the Bicheno Food & Wine Festival delivers a relaxed, beachside feast. The Royal Hobart Wine Show draws tens of thousands and showcases some of Australia’s finest cool-climate wines. Across the island, farmgate experiences open their doors—offering oysters fresh from the water, leatherwood honey paired with artisan cheeses and native bush ingredients like the island’s signature pepperberry. Like much else in Tasmania, it’s a revelation.
Post Up at This Premiere Hotel: Pumphouse Point in Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair National Park
Backroads’ 8-Day Adventures to Tassie: A Multi-Adventure Tour, a Hiking & Walking Tour, a Women’s Hiking & Walking Tour
Tucson + Saguaro National Park, Arizona
As late fall settles over southern Arizona, Tucson (population 550,000) and nearby Saguaro National Park (populated by 2 million namesake cacti) are delightful desert destinations. November brings warm, sunny days—typically 70 to 80 degrees—and crisp, cool evenings, perfect for unhurried exploration.
In the national park, which bookends the city, you might catch a roadrunner or javelina darting across the trail and hear cactus wrens chattering from their nests. Of course, what you’re likely here for is the iconic cacti, which stand tall—some over 40 feet high. They are marvels of water storage; their ribbed skin expands to hold up to 1,000 gallons when the monsoons douse the landscape. Hop your bike and pedal the paved, eight-mile Cactus Forest Loop on the eastern side, through a cosmos of strange and beautiful Sonoran Desert vegetation, which also includes ocotillo, prickly pear and cholla cacti and mesquite trees. On the park’s west side, hike to Signal Hill to see petroglyphs—spirals, stick figures, snakes!—etched into the rock over 550 years ago by the Native Hohokam people.
Tucson is a UNESCO City of Gastronomy, with celebrated dishes that range from Sonoran hot dogs, handmade flour tortillas and carne asada to saguaro syrup, grilled nopales and prickly pear agua fresca. Downtown’s adobe architecture and colorful murals are equally interesting, and the shops and eateries of the open-air Mercado San Agustín draw locals and visitors alike for alfresco dining.
In the foothills north of town, Sabino Canyon is a cool recreational oasis with a creek at the base of the Santa Catalina Mountains. You can rock climb, mountain bike, hike and camp. If you do stay the night, turn your eyes to the skies for some of the most stellar starwatching in the States.
Post Up at This Deluxe Hotel: Hacienda del Sol Guest Ranch Resort, in north Tucson’s Catalina foothills
Backroads’ 4-Day Trips to the 520: A Multi-Adventure Getaway
The Himalayan Foothills of Nepal
Trekkers know that the best months to hike in Nepal are late September through late November: the monsoons have passed, skies are clear, visibility out to the towering Himalayas is at its best and temperatures are mild—between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit in the capital city of Kathmandu and between 55 and 65 degrees on the popular Annapurna Circuit.
The Festival of Lights, known as Tihar, is celebrated in November. It honors the ties between humans, animals and deities, notably Lakshmi, goddess of abundance, and the streets are decorated with marigold garlands, lit oil lamps and colorful rangoli, floor art made of powders and rice. Visit historic Patan Durbar Square, a complex filled with dozens of temples, and the massive Boudhanath stupa, which overlooks the city and is surrounded by Buddhist monasteries; pilgrims come to spin prayer wheels, light incense and walk around the site while chanting to cleanse their karma.
Thus blessed, hike on to the Himalayas. On the Annapurna Circuit, the 8,000-plus-meter peaks (26,000+ feet) are snow-dusted and the terraced fields golden, and as you wend your way up the trails, you can hear the tinkling of yak bells. Stop at a teahouse en route to refuel with steaming momos (local dumplings) and sip zingy ginger tea.
In the lowlands, Chitwan National Park shifts into prime safari season this month. Wildlife sightings might include one-horned rhinoceroses, rhesus monkeys, crocodiles and even elusive Bengal tigers and Asian elephants. The park is also home to more than 600 species of birds; keep your eyes peeled for the electric-blue wings of the Indian Roller and the four-foot tall and big-beaked Great Hornbill. The whirrs and whistles of all the birdsong are a fun auditory addition to the experience.
Post Up at This Premiere Lodge: Taj Meghauli Serai, on the banks of the East Rapti River in Chitwan National Park
Backroads’ 9-Day Journey to Temples & Towering Peaks: A Lodge-to-Lodge Trekking Tour
The Mediterranean Island of Cyprus
You can still comfortably swim in Cyprus’s turquoise waters and relax on its white-sand beaches in November. Light breezes, daytime highs in the low 70s and sea temps hovering around 73 make this an ideal Mediterranean destination if you’re looking to extend summer well into fall. These conditions are also perfect for cycling the island’s rolling terrain and coastal roads.
Visiting in November offers a chance to see life as a local: elderly men playing backgammon in village cafes, families harvesting olive groves and vineyards—one of the world’s oldest wines, robust Commandaria, is produced here—cooks preparing dishes with ripe pomegranate seeds and fish and shepherds letting their sheep and goats out to graze. Mid-month is also a homecoming for thousands of flamingos, which flock to the salt lake near southern Larnaca.
Spin through vineyards, cedar-scented Troodos National Forest Park and past magnificent monasteries like Kykkos, with its colorful mosaics and frescoes, and Machairas, a secluded mountain fortress. Wander the ruins of a temple dedicated to Aphrodite, a medieval castle and fourth-century tombs. In Nicosia, the capital city, cross from the Greek southern side to the Turkish northern side for a deeper understanding of the island’s layered identity, languages and traditions.
Understanding a people extends to its cuisine, which draws heavily upon local, seasonal produce. Cypriots might start their day with a traditional breakfast of fresh bread with grilled Halloumi cheese, drizzled with carob syrup; snack on baklava or figs; and, in the evening, cook a warm lamb stew or freshly caught red mullet or a simple, earthy yellow split-pea soup served with a side of olives and onions.
Post Up at This Premiere Property: Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort, in Peyia
Backroads’ 6-Day Spin from Beaches to Ruins: A Mediterranean Bike Tour
Spain’s Canary Islands
Spend November soaking up the sun in the Canary Islands. This subtropical archipelago off northwest Africa averages 300 bluebird days annually. November boasts that winning combination of mild weather (around 70 to 75 degrees) and far fewer crowds than peak season. This adds up to a more immersive, relaxed trip, free from traffic, packed trails and scramble for beach space.
For the most well-rounded adventures, we like Tenerife, La Gomera and La Palma. (Incidentally, your best chance of spotting the islands’ namesake bird—the canary—is here, especially on quiet forest trails where birdsong carries.) In a single day, you can hike through misty laurel forests, head offshore into protected waters in search of resident pilot whales, migrating humpbacks or finbacks, cycle past drywall-terraced hillsides, shop in a colonial town and swim in a sea-carved swimming pool.
If trekking is your pleasure, La Palma’s dramatic Ruta de los Volcanes traverses black- and red-rock lava fields, as well as craters and cones, with stunning ridgetop views of the sparkling blue Atlantic and neighboring islands. The islands are also deeply green this month. Garajonay National Park on La Gomera shelters some of Europe’s most ancient woods, dense with giant ferns and tangled trees covered in moss. Tenerife’s Macizo de Anaga is a UNESCO-designated reserve lauded for its biodiversity. Cyclists gravitate to the slopes of Tenerife’s 12,198-foot Mount Teide—Spain’s highest peak—and the steep ravines (barrancos) of La Gomera.
The Canaries’ countless active options are nicely matched with a relaxed pace come November. Hotels and restaurants are freed from the high-season bustle, while local festivals celebrate wine, the arts and cinema. It’s a great month to explore more than just the terrain that these islands are so famous for.
Post Up at This Premiere Property: Hacienda del Conde Meliá Collection Hotel & Spa, on Tenerife
Backroads’ 6-Day Trips to Europe’s Sunniest Destination: A Canary Island Multi-Adventure Tour (with new Biking and Multi-Adventure tours available on our site in late June)
