The 15 best destinations for November sun

November can be a gloriously quiet month to go in search of winter sun – here’s where to find warm weather, according to how hot you like it

November can be a glorious month to go in search of sun. With no school holidays anywhere in the diary (save for the autumn half-term, which intrudes on the first weekend in 2024), beaches, hotels and aircraft are likely to be calm – while many destinations offer tempting discounts in what is usually a quiet window ahead of the Christmas rush.
The weather is also behaving itself. The monsoon period which afflicts India and the Far East has generally rained itself out by the end of September. And if the hurricane season in the Atlantic is still in gust – it is generally deemed to last until the end of November – then the riskiest months (September and October) have already passed.
Looking for November travel ideas? Look no further…
Maximum temperature: 20C  Flight time from the UK: 2 hours  Time difference: +1 hour
Sometimes dismissed as one of the Mediterranean’s least imaginative destinations, Malta has a capacity to surprise. There are comfortable hotels in St Julian’s and Sliema – and history galore in Valletta, whose huge walls have retained a sense of medieval grandeur.
How to do it: A seven-night escape to the five-star Palace Hotel in Sliema, flying from Manchester on November 23, costs from £1,776 per person with breakfast, or £2,074 a head on a half-board basis, transfers included, with Kuoni (0800 086 9808, kuoni.co.uk).
Plan the perfect trip with our Malta travel guide.
Maximum temperature: 21CFlight time from the UK: 4.5 hours  Time difference: 0 hours
The Canary Islands are Europe’s most reliable options for winter sun, rarely dipping below 20C. Tenerife, the largest member of the archipelago, is famed for the beach hotels of the Costa Adeje and Playa de las Americas. But it also deals in volcanic majesty and wonderful hiking trails on its vast central peak, Mount Teide – as well as a range of quality restaurants in its frequently underrated capital, Santa Cruz.
How to do it: A seven-night dash to the five-star Tivoli La Caleta resort on the Costa Adeje, flying from Cardiff on November 8, costs from £1,470 per person, through Sovereign Luxury Travel (01293 324 499, sovereign.com). 
Plan the perfect trip with our Tenerife travel guide.
Maximum temperature: 22CFlight time from the UK: 11 hours  Time difference: -8 hours
America’s second biggest city is an act that never needs refining – at least in terms of its weather, with the mercury rarely straying from around the mid-Twenties Celsius. Los Angeles is, of course, a metropolis of all attractions. Hollywood is abuzz with bars and stars, the Museum of Contemporary Art dazzles, and Santa Monica (technically a different city, but part of the same enormous conurbation) is heaven for beach-breakers.
How to do it: A seven-night break to the five-star Mondrian LA in West Hollywood, flying from Heathrow on November 16, costs from £1,440 per person through Virgin Holidays (0344 472 9646; virginholidays.co.uk).
Plan the perfect trip with our Los Angeles travel guide.
Maximum temperature: 22C  Flight time from the UK: 4 hours  Time difference: 0 hours
You do not need a beach to enjoy winter sun. Marrakech is proof of that. This fabled citadel on the edge of Saharan sand is a mix of swirling souks, relaxed riads and epic Islamic architecture, all wrapped up in north African mythology. That it rarely drops below 20C between October and March is almost incidental.
How to do it: Kirker Holidays (020 7593 1899, kirkerholidays.com) sells getaways to Le Farnatchi, a four-star riad in the Marrakech medina. A three-night break costs from £1,048 per person, including flights, transfers, breakfast and guided walking tour.
Plan the perfect trip with our Marrakech travel guide. Read the latest advice on travel to Morocco here.
Maximum temperature: 24CFlight time from the UK: 21 hoursTime difference: +8.5 hours
Sometimes lost in the glare that emanates from New South Wales and Victoria, Australia’s most specifically southern state has more than enough attractions to fill a holiday. Adelaide, its capital, is a city of art and culture, Kangaroo Island is a wildlife haven, and wonderful wines are produced in the Barossa Valley.
The best hotels in Adelaide
How to do it: The Ultimate Travel Company (020 3966 3304, theultimatetravelcompany.co.uk) offers a 17-day “Naturally Australia” tour which begins its journeys with two and three days respectively in Adelaide and on Kangaroo Island. From £6,870 a head, including domestic flights and car hire (international flights extra).
Maximum temperature: 25CFlight time from the UK: 14 hoursTime difference: -4 hours
In some senses, Argentina’s capital is a place out of context. There it sits, towards the lower reaches of South America, pinned to that broadest of Latin rivers, the Rio de la Plata. Yet Buenos Aires stands out as a hive of cosmopolitan allure on a continent of rainforest and mountains – brimming with culture and cool in the museums of Puerto Madero, the bars of Palermo, the parrilla eateries of San Telmo and Recoleta, and the urban mystique of Boca.
How to do it: Journey Latin America (020 3553 1773, journeylatinamerica.co.uk) offers a 13-day “Signature Argentina” tour which spends three days in Buenos Aires, before forging on to Patagonia and Iguacu Falls. From £4,500 a head, international flights extra.
Plan the perfect trip with our Buenos Aires travel guide.
Maximum temperature: 27CFlight time from the UK: 10 hoursTime difference: -5 hours
The nickname says it all. The “Sunshine State” basks in warmth in the Twenties Celsius throughout the year, making for a destination where life looks towards the beach. To be exact, Florida boasts 1,350 miles of coastline (more than any US state other than Alaska), with its key cities (Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Jacksonville) clinging to the sand. That said, the interior also pleases. Orlando and its theme parks sit at the heart of the matter.
How to do it: A seven-night getaway to the five-star Don CeSar resort at St Pete Beach (a short hop from Tampa), flying from Gatwick on November 23, costs from £1,740 per person through British Airways Holidays (0344 493 0787, ba.com/holidays).
Maximum temperature: 28CFlight time from the UK: 9 hoursTime difference: -5 hours
The Castro era may have vanished into the mists of history, but the (vaguely) ebbing political tides have not immediately transformed Cuba into a country unrecognisable from its classic image of crumbling architecture and faded grandeur.
This is a good thing. The Caribbean’s largest island has long been a solid option for a winter escape – thanks in part to the broad beaches on its north coast, within easy reach of Havana (a city which, full of romantic Hispanic buildings, lives up to its mythology). Rather more modern, Varadero needs little introduction, and works well for families.
The best hotels in Cuba
How to do it: Intrepid Travel (0808 274 5111; intrepidtravel.com) runs a regular eight-day “Beautiful Cuba” escorted tour which calls on Havana, Vinales, Trinidad and Cienfuegos. Five separate departures are in the diary for November 2024, from £1,016 per person, not including flights.
Maximum temp: 29CFlight time from the UK: 12 hoursTime difference: +2 hours
Tanzania may be a first-rate safari destination, the Great Migration surging across its Serengeti plains. But it also offers one of the planet’s great places in the sun. Zanzibar is a gorgeous Indian Ocean sliver of an island – remarkably historic where its capital Stone Town adorns the west coast in a haze of medieval merchants’ houses, yet utterly glorious where its east coast turns its face to the open water, via a necklace of luxury resorts.
How to do it: Original Travel (020 3958 6120; originaltravel.co.uk) offers a two-part holiday; a 13-day “Tanzanian Safari & Coral Reefs of Zanzibar” package that combines Serengeti wildlife with five days on island beaches. From £7,635 a head, with flights.
Maximum temperature: 29CFlight time from the UK: 10 hoursTime difference: -6 hours
A country of epic history and geography, with shorelines on two vast bodies of water, Mexico is at its most accessible on the eastern edge of its Yucatan Peninsula. Cancun, purpose-built here as a hotspot of luxury resorts and beach hotels, attracts endless streams of holidaymakers who want to doze on the edge of the Caribbean Sea. But the past awaits in thrilling fashion, not least in the iconic Mayan sites of Chichen Itza, Tulum and Coba.
How to do it: Last Frontiers (01296 653 000, lastfrontiers.com) sells a 13-day “Classic Mexico” tour which covers the country’s Mayan heritage in detail, while also spending time in Mexico City. From £5,700 per person, including flights.
Maximum temperature: 30CFlight time from UK: 9 hoursTime difference: -5 hours
Flat and low-slung where plenty of its Caribbean colleagues are craggy and volcanic, Antigua is a dream of a destination, equipped – according to local folklore – with 365 beaches; one for every day of the year. The hotels dotted on the fringes of these sandy stretches are happy havens for escapes from the European winter. The island basks in temperatures of 30C during Britain’s cold months, and in a dry season of December-May.
How to do it: A seven-night all-inclusive getaway to the five-star Blue Waters resort, at the north tip of the island near Boon Point, costs from £2,769 per person, including flights, via Tropical Sky (01342 395 240; tropicalsky.co.uk). 
Plan the perfect trip with our Antigua travel guide.
Maximum temperature: 30CFlight time from the UK: 14 hoursTime difference: +6 hours
Torn apart by conflict in the Seventies, Cambodia has a dark history that cannot be avoided in Phnom Penh. But if the actions of the Khmer Rouge still cast a shadow, there is plenty of light too in a country of fine sights – the palaces and statues that also shape the capital, the towers and spires of the incomparable Angkor temple complex, the beach resorts that are appearing around Sihanoukville. Acknowledge the past, admire the future.
How to do it: Inside Asia Tours (0117 244 3380; insideasiatours.com) sells an 12-day “Into The Heart Of Cambodia” tour, which ticks off Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Angkor Wat, and concludes on the south coast, and the beach, at Kep. From £2,470 per person; international flights extra.
Maximum temperature: 31CFlight time from the UK: 7 hoursTime difference: +3 hours
There are several reasons that the most glitzy of the United Arab Emirates has become such a haven from the European winter – the architectural ambition of hotels such as the Burj Al Arab, the warm sands of Jumeirah Beach, the trendy eateries that dot the cityscape, the retail joys on offer in vast shopping temples such as the Mall of the Emirates. But mainly it is to do with the daytime heat, which pins itself resolutely to the 30C mark.
How to do it: A seven-night stay at the five-star One&Only The Palm resort costs from £1,849 per person, including flights, via Inspiring Travel (01244 729 797; inspiringtravel.co.uk).
Plan the perfect trip with our Dubai travel guide. Read the latest advice on travel to the UAE here.
Maximum temperature: 32CFlight time from UK: 12 hoursTime difference: +6 hours
Long seen as the Far Eastern country most reliable for winter sun, Thailand has vast appeal, with some 2,000 miles of shoreline laced along the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. Koh Samui sits on the west side of the latter, an island (Thailand’s second largest, after Phuket) fringed by sandy crescents – not least Chaweng and Lamai Beaches, on the east coast. No longer the undiscovered gem it once was, this, nonetheless, is a holiday paradise.
How to do it: A 10-night holiday to the five-star Melia Koh Samui, flying from Heathrow on November 23, costs from £1,284 per person, via Travelbag (020 4502 7116; travelbag.co.uk).
Maximum temperature: 30CFlight time from UK: 6 hoursTime difference: -1 hours
West Africa is still a fledgling destination when it comes to mainstream beach tourism, but Senegal arrived on the package map in November 2022, when Tui added the resorts near the capital Dakar to its brochure. Two years on, it is proving a popular destination – inexpensive, and almost entirely jetlag-free (the time difference is a mere hour).
How to do it: A seven-night all-inclusive holiday to the four-star Riu Baobab resort (60 miles down the coast from Dakar, at Pointe Sarene), flying from Gatwick on November 18, costs from £957 per person, through Tui (020 3451 2716; tui.co.uk).
This piece was first published in October 2019 and has been revised and updated.