We all know that ‘March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers’. And while it's uplifting to learn that drizzly weather at the start of the year sprouts spring beauty, it doesn’t stop us from dreaming of warm weather and sunny skies. Fortunately, there are plenty of places around the world where you can soak up the sun in April. Whether it be hanging out with celebrities at Coachella Valley’s Music and Arts Festival in California, marvelling at Mayan cities in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula or off-roading along Namibia’s supernatural Skeleton Coast, April is the perfect time to tick off some bucket list destinations. Read on to find out where’s hot in April…
1. Namibia (25°C)
2. California, USA (22°C)
3. Mexico (28°C)
4. Vietnam (27°C)
5. Cyprus (23°C)
6. Mauritius (25°C)
1
Namibia
Average April temperature: 25°C
Average daily sunshine hours: nine hours
Flight time from the UK: 13 hours and 50 minutes (to Windhoek)
If Namibia doesn’t immediately spring to mind when you ask yourself, ‘where’s hot in April?’ then let us fill you in. Home to the world’s oldest desert (the Namib Desert) and the largest population of free-roaming cheetahs, yet the second lowest population density in the world, Namibia is a country of contrasts that surprises its visitors at every turn. Basking in a comfortable 25°C by day, you can take the country’s staggering surroundings in your stride as you cross the spine of its Naukluft Mountains, past dizzying dazzles of zebras, to the striking Sossusvlei dunes. While you may be at risk of experiencing an overview effect as you step out onto the vast Fish River Canyon, it’s difficult to imagine a more magnificent or characterfully African landscape to spend your April holiday.
Find out more about our tailor-made tours to Namibia.
Image by Uwe/stock.adobe.com
2
California, USA
Average April temperature: 22°C
Average daily sunshine hours: eight hours
Flight time from the UK: 11 hours and 15 minutes (to Los Angeles)
California holidays are hot and they know it. Yet while its climate boasts consistently toasty temperatures (up to 27°C in inland areas), its music and style remain candidly cool. Fortunately, Los Angelenos figured out a way to combine these cultured temperatures into a three-day festival in Coachella Valley. Dance under star-splattered skies, feel your heart vibrate in your ears and watch the main stage’s psychedelic light displays irradiate the desert’s sunburnt Santa Rosa Mountains. If you’re not feeling festival fever, then don’t fret. April is still a fantastic time to visit the ‘City of Angels’, particularly as half of its population will be some 132 miles away. Cruise up the Pacific Coast Highway to the quieter coastal towns of Carmel-by-the-Sea and Monterey or indulge the child within you (or with you) on a day trip to the first and original Disneyland in Anaheim.
Find out more about our tailor-made tours to California, USA.
Image by Isaac Marley Morgan
3
Mexico
Average April temperature: 28°C
Average daily sunshine hours: eight hours
Flight time from the UK: 11 hours and 40 minutes (to Mexico City)
Is there a more stereotypical easter trip than a holiday to Mexico? While we’re not suggesting you join the droves of spring break students in Tijuana, it’s not difficult to see why they make the party pilgrimage at this time of year. From the gastronomic and archaeological delights of Merida to Baja California’s Los Cabos, where palm-fringed beaches flirt with nearby mountains and attractive colonial streets, Mexico has the perfect mix of buzzy cities, soulful culture and iconic art. With temperatures reaching up to 26°C in Mexico City, meander through its museums and seafood palapas (shacks), explore the surrounding colonial towns, take a dip in the pool, and enjoy a few well-deserved margaritas…
Find out more about our tailor-made tours to Mexico.
Image by Alix Pardo
4
Vietnam
Average April temperature: 27°C
Average daily sunshine hours: four to eight hours
Flight time from the UK: 11 hours and 45 minutes (to Hanoi)
Vietnam was top of our expert consultants’ lists when we asked, where’s hot in April? Edging towards the end of its peak season, April is the perfect time to experience the country without the tourist crowds and unpredictable monsoons. Lose yourself in its labyrinthine cities, where traders teem, lopsided mopeds carry gravity-defying packages and wafts of street food fill the air. Sip rice wine with locals along Cay Lay’s colourful market on the Mekong Delta, learn how to shoot a Co Tu crossbow in Bho Hoong and crawl (literally) into the underground world of the incredible Cu Chi tunnel networks. Constructed by the Viet Cong during the war, they are a stark reminder of the country’s tumultuous history and proof that hot holiday destinations don’t have to start and end by the poolside.
Find out more about our tailor-made tours to Vietnam.
Image by Olivier Romano
5
Cyprus
Average April temperature: 23°C
Average daily sunshine hours: eight to nine hours
Flight time from the UK: four hours and 45 minutes (to Larnaca)
On holidays in Cyprus, history and heat complement each other perfectly. Boasting an average temperature of 23°C in April, it’s not too hot nor too cold, but just right – true to the Goldilocks principle. Spend a morning stepping into the past with the mythical Mediterranean marvels like the second century B.C. Kourion City or Paphos’ Tomb of the Kings, before catching rays on the island’s sugary beaches in the afternoon. Did we mention it’s also the birthplace of halloumi? Go mad for mezze in mountainous Platres, salivate over souvlakia in Coral Bay and make room for sticky baklava in Paphos Old Town. April hot holidays never tasted sweeter.
Find out more about our tailor-made tours to Cyprus.
Image by Ais60/Adobe Stock
6
Mauritius
Average April temperature: 25°C
Average daily sunshine hours: seven hours
Flight time from the UK: 11 hours and 50 minutes
Think lyrical landscapes of birdsong, swaying palm trees, cerulean seas and luxury resorts, and you’ll have your answer to where’s hot in April: Mauritius. While March signals the end of cyclone season and May ushers winter in, April is a great time to get to know this tropical nirvana. Be charmed by Chamarel village, set high in the Black River Gorges National Park, cool off in its fairytale-like waterfall and try your hand at preparing traditional samoussas, dall pouri (fried bread) and gato piment (chilli cakes). Mauritius is so much more than its beaches, but lounge on Le Morne in a gently swinging hammock and you’ll soon see why the island is consistently ranked as one of the top countries in the world to visit.
Find out more about our tailor-made tours to Mauritius.
Image by stock.adobe.com
Header image by Julia Nimke
