As popular as summer vacations are, they certainly aren’t for everyone. Everywhere is often overcrowded, temperatures are at all-time highs or all-time lows depending on where in the world you are, and prices are often skyrocketed due to increased tourism.
If you’re looking for a quieter time to travel, October is certainly one of the best times of the year for fewer crowds coupled with more temperate weather. Here are ten amazing places to visit in the month of October.
10 Egypt
Egypt is a hot travel destination, both in terms of temperature and popularity.
To avoid scalding, October is a great time to visit as temperatures average only around 80 degrees Fahrenheit, which is fairly tame for this Middle Eastern nation.
October is considered the “low season” in Egypt, ie between the main seasons, making it an attractive choice if you want to avoid crowds.
If you play your cards right, Egypt can even be a great solo travel destination. Imagine enjoying the pyramids and taking a proper photo without worrying about huge herds of people trying to do the same.
Aside from the pyramids, there is much more to see in Egypt. If diving is your thing, head to the Red Sea coastal city of Hurghada, where October is considered one of the best months for diving due to the climate.
9 Salem, Massachusetts
October is a spooky time of year, and if you’re in the mood for that spooky month, Salem, Massachusetts is the perfect place to fuel up. Salem is best known for its witch trials in the 16th century.
With such a dark past, there’s a lot of history and eeriness to be found in Salem. Visit a real witch’s house, take a haunted walking tour of the town, or even take a candlelight ghost tour.
Salem also has a few breweries and many allegedly haunted places like Rockafella’s.
8th Transylvania, Romania
Speaking of spooky time, where better to be haunted than Transylvania? The home of vampires, no visit to Transylvania is complete without a stop at Dracula’s Castle, better known as Bran Castle.
October is a common time for Strigoi to roam or roaming spirits. According to legend, they rise from the graves at night to drink blood, and the villagers use garlic as a defense.
Witches still exist in Romania today, with a large witch community. Witches have been known to be feared by politicians, destroy marriages, cast evil spells, and even cure diseases.
If October excites you because of its natural fear factor, a trip to Transylvania could have your name all over it.
7 Germany
The Oktoberfest is a Bavarian folk festival that takes place every year in Munich. It’s mostly beer and giant pretzels based, but there are always plenty of fun activities to take part in while you’re there.
Although it actually starts in September, it often extends into the first week of October, making October a great time to travel to Germany to take part in the celebrations.
The festival began on October 12, 1810, when Bavaria’s Crown Prince Ludwig married Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen.
The wedding was filled with several days of eating and drinking and grew into an annual celebration.
6 Patagonia
Patagonia is almost at the bottom of the earth, and because it’s so far south, its winter is the northern hemisphere’s summer, and vice versa.
If Patagonia’s pristine, snow-capped mountains have always been on your radar, October is a great time to travel to the joint Chilean-Argentine region.
The temperatures are moderate and make for ideal hiking weather. It’s just before peak season, so you can enjoy scenic, surreal views of Patagonia without the crowds.
They say October is the perfect travel time for savvy travelers!
5 New Orleans, Louisiana
Returning to the spooky season theme, New Orleans has a turbulent past with plenty of history to show.
New Orleans is known for being the most haunted city in the United States due to the souls that never died there Yes, really died.
It is said to be haunted by pirates, yellow fever victims, and deceased slaves, to name a few. Treat yourself to the spooky season with a haunted walking tour, a voodoo tour, or even a nighttime cemetery tour.
You can really up the ghost stakes by staying in a ghost hotel. Even without the hauntings, there’s still plenty to see in New Orleans.
Additional perks for visiting in October? The average temperature is 81 degrees F with only 5 rainy days.
4 Cyprus
Are you looking for beach weather in a European atmosphere? Look no further than Cyprus.
With average temperatures of 80 degrees F, October is a great time to visit this underrated destination.
The island is small and can be thoroughly explored in a few days, especially with a rental car.
Cyprus also has a unique United Nations “buffer zone” separating the politically divided “Greek Cyprus” and “Turkish Cyprus”. To be clear, Cyprus is indeed a sovereign nation in its own right.
If you are short on time and want to travel in Europe, Cyprus is a great option for an October getaway.
3 Trinidad and Tobago
October is still technically hurricane season for the Caribbean, but the tiny nation of Trinidad and Tobago is the rare exception.
While not totally exempt from hurricanes, it is technically outside of the hurricane belt and rarely sees them.
This underrated Caribbean destination is often overlooked by its more popular neighbors like the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, Jamaica, and nearby Barbados, but Trinidad and Tobago has some of the region’s best cuisine (especially if you’re into the heat) and some unspoilt, unspoilt Waterfalls and beaches are waiting to be explored.
A visit here won’t break the bank either; An average vacation to Trinidad and Tobago is only $30/day (excluding flights).
2 Sicily
Although the entire island won’t have ideal beach weather, for an uncrowded Italian experience with temperate weather, October is Sicily’s best bet.
The bustling cities of Palermo and Catania are still functioning at full capacity even though peak tourist season is over, meaning you can still enjoy the markets, restaurants, funky Sicilian street art and just about everything else Sicily has to offer without the crowds.
For some seaside time, head south to Siracusa, a culturally rich southern Sicilian city that offers white, pristine beaches and waters so clear you’ll scratch your head just thinking Is that Italy or the Maldives?
1 Fiji
If the weather swings have let you down and you’re not quite ready to let go of summer, a flight to the middle of the South Pacific to the remote island nation of Fiji certainly doesn’t sound like a bad plan.
Fiji is surprisingly affordable considering it offers a luxurious slice of paradise.
It sure isn’t cheapest Place in the world, but compared to other islands with similar landscapes (think Bora Bora, the Maldives), Fiji isn’t totally unbeatable.
October is a great time to visit. It’s still the best diving season and the temperature can potentially soar to 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Weather conditions are typically dry, meaning you won’t get soaked unless you take advantage of the crystal clear blue waters that surround Fiji, which, spoiler alert, you definitely should.
