Best countries to visit in September in 2023

Even if your back-to-school days are a distant memory, you can still feel like a bit of a truant going on vacation in September. That’s the fun of it. Everyone else might be back at work in September – but you don’t have to be. Across Europe, the summer crowds roll up their towels when autumn starts, leaving you with your pick of the beaches.

In the Middle East, desert adventures are back on the table now that temperatures are cooler. September is also a great time for wildlife. It’s the last month of the dry season in Borneo, making it a fantastic month for jungle wildlife watching. In Africa, the Great Migration continues in Kenya and Tanzania, and in Namibia, you can watch wildlife gathering around waterholes in Etosha National Park.

Read our guide to find out more about the best places to go on vacation in September.

As the trees in the Northern Hemisphere take to autumn with all branches blazing, there’s no better way to see the changing landscape than through the window of a train – and there’s something very appealing about being on the move as the world pivots into autumn. Be car free in Scotland and you can travel from Edinburgh into the Highlands on the West Highland Line. Visit the Isle of Skye and then travel back through time, thanks to the evocative Jacobite steam train.

September marks the start of the season for seeing the Northern Lights, which tend to be visible in the low latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere from late August to April. The later in September you go, the less light there is, and the more chance you have to spot them. Iceland’s whale and Northern Lights watching seasons have one month of overlap – September, when, during the equinox on the 22 September, there’s said to be a higher chance of spotting the aurora borealis, and there’s still enough daylight for whale watching trips too.