Where to Go in April 2027: 21 Best Places to Travel

Two questions decide an April trip: why this month, and why this place. Spring answers the first, with cherry blossom in Kyoto and Seoul, tulips in Amsterdam and Istanbul, and the new-year water festivals of Thailand and Laos. Around the Mediterranean and in the deserts, April brings warm, dry days before the summer heat, and the Alps and Whistler keep their last weeks of snow.

For April 2027, go early in the month for blossom: Kyoto's cherry trees reach full bloom on April 4 on average. Songkran fills Chiang Mai from April 13 to 15, Seville's Fair holiday falls on April 14, and King's Day turns Amsterdam orange on April 27. Washington's cherry blossom festival runs until April 11, New Orleans holds the French Quarter Festival from April 8 and Jazz Fest from April 22, and the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival usually runs all month. Petra, Sedona, Moab, Marrakech, Valletta and Chania are warm and mostly dry, and Ambergris Caye has the warmest sea. Ski Chamonix before April 11, when Brévent, Flégère and Balme close. Mid-April is the busiest week, with Songkran, Seville's Fair holiday and, on the Lao tourism board's calendar, Pi Mai Lao.

• Blossom: Kyoto's average full bloom is April 4, and Keukenhof is open from March 18 to May 9.
• Festivals: the French Quarter Festival (April 8 to 11), Songkran (April 13 to 15), Seville's Fair holiday (April 14) and King's Day (April 27).
• Easter: Western Easter 2027 falls on March 28, so April has no Western Easter holidays. Orthodox Good Friday is April 30.

April 2027 at a glance

Highs are April averages for 2013 to 2022. Daily budgets are Budget Your Trip's mid-range costs per person. The season compares April with an average month in official tourism statistics. See where to go in March for the month before and May for the month after.

Cherry blossom and tulips

Kyoto and Seoul bloom in the first week of April and Istanbul's and Keukenhof's tulips in mid-April, so pick the week before the place.

Kyoto, Japan

Best for cherry blossom picnics and the Miyako Odori

• Weather: highs 19.8 °C (68 °F), lows 9.4 °C (49 °F); 155 mm (6.1 in) of rain over about ten wet days
• Dates: Miyako Odori, usually every afternoon in April; 2027 dates not yet published
• Season: peak, 1.14 times an average month in Kyoto Prefecture
• Daily budget: about $110 a person, mid-range
• Plan it: 7-day Japan itinerary, best time to visit Japan

Kyoto's cherry trees reach full bloom on April 4 on average. Early April brings picnics under the trees in Maruyama Park, the city's main blossom-viewing spot. In Japan's old imperial capital, the Philosopher's Path follows a cherry-lined canal between two temples, Ginkaku-ji and Nanzen-ji.

Plan on the first week of the month. Maruyama Park is crowded in blossom week. The Miyako Odori, the spring dance of Gion Kobu's geiko and maiko, usually plays every afternoon through April. Book a seat once the dates are out. Rain falls on about ten days in April, so carry an umbrella.

Start at Kiyomizu-dera, then walk down to Gion for an evening along the Shirakawa canal. Give another morning to Arashiyama, where the Togetsukyō bridge is known for its blossom views. For a picnic of your own, pick up sabazushi, the pressed mackerel sushi. Near Nanzen-ji, try yudofu, tofu simmered at the table.

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Hanami under the cherry trees in Maruyama Park, Kyoto (April 2014)

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Seoul, South Korea

Best for cherry avenues, river parks and palace grounds

• Weather: highs 18.6 °C (65 °F), lows 7.3 °C (45 °F); 63 mm (2.5 in) of rain
• Dates: Yeouido Spring Flower Festival, April 3 to 7 in 2026; 2027 dates not yet published
• Season: shoulder, foreign arrivals 1.08 times an average month for South Korea as a whole
• Daily budget: about $133 a person, mid-range
• Plan it: 7-day South Korea itinerary

On Yunjung-ro, the cherry avenue on Seoul's Yeouido island, the trees first flower on April 6 on average. In 2026 the Yeouido Spring Flower Festival filled the avenue for five days in early April. Beyond the island, Seoul is a big, fast capital of palaces, river parks and food streets.

The bloom date moves, and in 2026 Seoul's official tree flowered ten days early. Aim for the first half of April.

Walk the cherry path around Seokchon Lake, which holds a blossom festival of its own. Spend a morning at Gyeongbokgung Palace, the first royal palace of the Joseon dynasty. Then rent a bike or spread a picnic in the Hangang parks along the Han River. Order seolleongtang, the milky ox-bone soup Seoul is known for. Street stalls sell tteokbokki, rice cakes in a red chili sauce.

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Cherry blossom at the Yeouido festival, Seoul (April 2019)

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Amsterdam, Netherlands

Best for tulip gardens, King's Day and the canals

• Weather: highs 14.3 °C (58 °F), lows 4.9 °C (41 °F); 51 mm (2.0 in) of rain
• Dates: Keukenhof, March 18 to May 9, 2027, daily 8 am to 7 pm; King's Day, April 27
• Season: peak, 1.17 times an average month in Noord-Holland, in 2025, when Easter fell in April
• Daily budget: about $237 a person, mid-range
• Plan it: 5-day Amsterdam itinerary, Netherlands guide

Time an Amsterdam trip for mid-April, when the tulips at Keukenhof reach their peak. King's Day turns the city orange on April 27. Stay to the end of the month for both, since Keukenhof stays open to May 9.

Keukenhof, southwest of the city, calls itself "the most beautiful spring garden in the world" and opens only in spring. The garden drew 1.4 million visitors in 2025, so arrive when the gates open. King's Day is the largest outdoor event in the Netherlands, with street stalls, flea markets and boats on the canals.

Cycle out through the bulb fields one day. Back in town, see Rembrandt's The Night Watch at the Rijksmuseum and take a boat along the canals. Browse the markets of the Jordaan, such as the Noordermarkt. In a bar, order bitterballen (fried balls of beef ragout) with mustard. Ossenworst, a smoked beef sausage, is Amsterdam's own.

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Tulip beds at Keukenhof, Lisse (April 2011)

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Istanbul, Turkey

Best for tulip parks and Bosphorus ferries

• Weather: highs 17.9 °C (64 °F), lows 8.0 °C (46 °F); 49 mm (1.9 in) of rain; sea 10.2 °C (50 °F)
• Dates: Istanbul Tulip Festival, April 1 to 30 in 2026; 2027 dates not yet published
• Season: shoulder, foreign arrivals 1.00 times an average month in Istanbul
• Daily budget: about $151 a person, mid-range

Istanbul's tulip festival fills the city's parks every April, with Emirgan Park on the Bosphorus at its center. Istanbul spans two continents, and its ferries cross between them all day.

The tulips are brightest in the second and third weeks of the month. Crowds fill the tulip parks at the peak, so go on a weekday morning. For tulips at a lower daily cost than Amsterdam, Istanbul's parks bloom in the same weeks, at about $151 a day against $237.

Begin with Hagia Sophia in the old city. Then ride a Bosphorus ferry to the Asian shore and walk the streets of Moda in Kadıköy. At Eminönü by the ferry piers, eat balık ekmek, grilled fish in bread. Buy a simit, the sesame bread ring, for the crossing.

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Tulip beds in Emirgan Park during the Istanbul Tulip Festival (April 2024)

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Madeira, Portugal

Best for levada walks and the Flower Festival's opening days

• Weather: in Funchal, highs 19.7 °C (67 °F), lows 13.8 °C (57 °F); 56 mm (2.2 in) of rain; sea 17.6 °C (64 °F)
• Dates: Flower Festival, April 29 to May 30, 2027
• Season: shoulder, 1.02 times an average month in Madeira
• Plan it: Portugal guide

Madeira's Flower Festival opens on April 29, when spring is in bloom across the island. Arrive for its opening days, or come in May for the whole festival. Madeira is a subtropical island of cliffs and forest, crossed by levadas, old irrigation channels with walking paths beside them.

Most of the festival's events are free, and only seats for the Grand Flower Parade are ticketed. Book the island's classified walking routes online before you go, since each charges a fee.

Walk at least one levada through the forest. Start early for the PR1 Vereda do Areeiro, which runs from Pico do Areeiro toward the island's highest peaks. On a warm afternoon, swim in the natural lava pools at Porto Moniz. Espetada is beef grilled on bay-laurel skewers. Eat it with bolo do caco, a flatbread spread with garlic butter. Take home Madeira wine from A Loja do Vinho, beside Blandy's Wine Lodge on Avenida Arriaga.

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Flower-covered horse sculpture at the Flower Festival, Funchal (April 2008)

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Spring festivals and new-year water fights

Songkran, Pi Mai Lao and Seville's Fair holiday fall within three days of each other in mid-April, so choose one, and New Orleans has its festivals either side.

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Best for Songkran water fights around a moated old city

• Weather: highs 36.2 °C (97 °F), lows 22.3 °C (72 °F); 33 mm (1.3 in) of rain
• Dates: Songkran, April 13 to 15, 2027
• Season: shoulder, 0.96 times an average month in guests staying in accommodation, Chiang Mai Province
• Daily budget: about $59 a person, mid-range, the lowest here
• Plan it: 4-day Chiang Mai itinerary, Thailand guide

Thailand's Songkran holidays run from April 13 to 15. In Chiang Mai the Thai New Year becomes a water fight around the moat of the old city. The old capital of Lan Na keeps stretches of its brick walls and its temples inside that moat.

The splashing is a ritual cleansing, and the holiday keeps its temple side, with food taken to the monks on the second day. Come for the three days of Songkran and not much longer, since Chiang Mai is the hottest of the 21 places in April and its smoky season runs through the month. Keep temple visits for the early morning. Road deaths double over the holiday, so leave scooter rental for another week.

Buy a water gun and join the fight at the moat. Before the water fight starts, climb to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep above the city, and see Wat Phra Singh inside the old walls. On a Sunday evening, browse the Sunday Walking Street market on Rachadamnoen Road. Have khao soi, the curry noodle soup of the north, for lunch. Sai ua, Chiang Mai's sausage, is spiced with lemongrass and galangal.

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Water splashing in a Chiang Mai street during Songkran, 14 April 2017

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Luang Prabang, Laos

Best for Lao New Year rites in a UNESCO temple town

• Weather: highs 34.5 °C (94 °F), lows 21.2 °C (70 °F); 82 mm (3.2 in) of rain
• Dates: Pi Mai Lao, April 14 to 16 on the tourism board's calendar; 2027 holiday not yet confirmed
• Plan it: 7-day Laos itinerary

Where Chiang Mai fights with water, Luang Prabang washes its Buddha images with sacred water at Pi Mai Lao, April 14 to 16 on the tourism board's calendar. Luang Prabang, a UNESCO site of ochre colonial houses and more than 30 Buddhist temples, sits on a peninsula on the Mekong.

Songkran and Pi Mai Lao fall in the same week, so pick Chiang Mai for the water fights or Luang Prabang for the rites. In Luang Prabang the celebrations, with parades and street markets, can run for more than a week. Locals usually ask before they splash you. From March, Luang Prabang grows smoky and hot.

Get up before dawn once to watch the morning alms-giving, when lines of monks in saffron robes walk the streets. Visit Wat Xieng Thong at the tip of the peninsula, and climb Mount Phou Si in the old town for the view. Take a boat about two hours up the Mekong to the Pak Ou Caves. Luang Prabang's own dish is or lam, a stew. For a snack, buy kaipen, sheets of dried river weed from the Mekong.

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The Miss Lao New Year parade on Luang Prabang's main street, 15 April 2008

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Seville, Spain

Best for the April Fair, its casetas and the Alcázar

• Weather: highs 23.9 °C (75 °F), lows 11.8 °C (53 °F); 55 mm (2.2 in) of rain
• Dates: Seville's Feria holiday, April 14, 2027; the Fair's full week is not yet published
• Season: peak, 1.11 times an average month in the city's hotels
• Daily budget: about $170 a person, mid-range
• Plan it: southern Spain itinerary, Spain guide

Go to Seville in mid-April for the April Fair, a week of dancing, horses and fried fish around the city's Feria holiday on April 14. Seville is the warmest of the European picks this month, with Moorish palaces, orange trees and tapas bars.

Keep your dates loose around the holiday until the Fair's full week is published. The Fair opens on the night of the alumbrao, when the fairground lights go on, and ends with fireworks by the Guadalquivir. Most of the 1,052 casetas (marquee tents) are private, so book a table at the public caseta the tourist board runs.

Spend an evening in the public caseta, then see Pedro I's Mudéjar palace in the Real Alcázar. Cross the river to the potters' quarter of Triana. End a day on the rooftop walkway of the Metropol Parasol, known in town as Las Setas. On the Fair's opening night, dinner is pescaíto frito, small fried fish. Drink manzanilla, the pale sherry that is the wine of the Fair.

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Horse carriages and flamenca dresses by the Feria de Abril gateway, Seville, 15 April 2018

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New Orleans, United States

Best for free French Quarter music, Jazz Fest and crawfish

• Weather: highs 26.9 °C (80 °F), lows 15.2 °C (59 °F); 130 mm (5.1 in) of rain
• Dates: French Quarter Festival, April 8 to 11, 2027; Jazz Fest, April 22 to 25 and April 29 to May 2
• Daily budget: about $270 a person, mid-range
• Plan it: 4-day New Orleans itinerary, New Orleans packing list

In the second week of April, the free French Quarter Festival fills the old quarter of New Orleans with more than 20 stages of local music. Jazz Fest follows on the last two long weekends of the month. The city of brass bands and balconied streets is also deep in crawfish season.

Besides the music, the French Quarter Festival serves food from more than 60 Louisiana restaurants. Book a room early for the festival weekends, since many Jazz Fest regulars book theirs the fall before. If you are booking late, pick the free French Quarter Festival. April is warm but wet, so pack a rain jacket.

Hear live music at night in the clubs of Frenchmen Street. Go to The National WWII Museum, and walk among the 19th-century mansions of the Garden District. Join a crawfish boil. Eat gumbo at least once. Have beignets, the powdered-sugar doughnuts, with your morning coffee.

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Crowd at a French Quarter Festival stage, April 2022

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Dry, warm days before the summer heat

Petra and Valletta are the driest places here in April, and Sedona, Moab, Marrakech and Chania are mild and mostly dry. For warm water, only Ambergris Caye fits.

Sedona, United States

Best for red-rock hikes in mild spring weather

• Weather: highs 24.6 °C (76 °F), lows 7.4 °C (45 °F); 13 mm (0.5 in) of rain
• Season: peak, 1.28 times an average month in the city's bed-tax revenue

Sedona's April highs of 24.6 °C (76 °F) make it hiking weather in the red rocks. Sedona sits among pink sandstone formations found only around the town, and hundreds of hiking and mountain-biking trails cross them.

Trailhead parking fills early in peak season, so leave the car at a park-and-ride lot and take the free Sedona Shuttle to the trails.

Climb the short, steep Cathedral Rock trail, one of Sedona's famous vortex sites. Visit the Chapel of the Holy Cross, built into the red rock, and ride the Broken Arrow trail by jeep with Pink Jeep Tours. The chimichanga, a deep-fried burrito, is said to have been invented in Arizona. Try frybread too, a round of dough fried until it puffs.

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Bell Rock in Sedona, April

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Moab, United States

Best for arches, wildflowers and canyon rims in spring

• Weather: highs 22.4 °C (72 °F), lows 5.1 °C (41 °F); 18 mm (0.7 in) of rain
• Season: peak, 1.29 times an average month in visits to Arches National Park
• Plan it: 7-day Utah Mighty 5 road trip

Spring wildflowers bloom among the sandstone arches north of Moab in April, and the days stay mild. Arches National Park lies 6 km from town and holds more than 2,000 natural arches, the highest density of them in the world.

Summer days can pass 38 °C (100 °F), so spring is one of the park's two busiest seasons. Entrance queues can pass an hour, so enter before 8 am or after 3 pm, as the park advises. Choose Moab for the arches and Sedona for easier trailheads, since Sedona's free shuttle skips the parking. Moab has the widest day-night swing of the 21, so pack for cold mornings.

Hike to Delicate Arch, then drive out to the rim trails and overlooks of Dead Horse Point State Park. Mountain bikers come for the 10.5-mile Slickrock Trail. Order your fries with fry sauce, the pink dip Utah popularized. Utah scones, unlike the British kind, are fried rather than baked.

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Balanced Rock, Arches National Park, April

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Chania, Greece

Best for Good Friday processions and a Venetian harbor

• Weather: highs 21.2 °C (70 °F), lows 13.6 °C (56 °F); 33 mm (1.3 in) of rain; sea 15.3 °C (60 °F)
• Dates: Orthodox Good Friday, April 30, 2027; Easter Sunday, May 2
• Season: low, 0.59 times an average month in overnight stays on Crete
• Plan it: 10-day Greek islands itinerary, Greece guide

On Orthodox Good Friday, April 30, candlelit processions carry the Epitaphios on its decorated bier through the streets of Chania. Easter Sunday follows on May 2. Chania, on Crete, Greece's largest island, keeps a Venetian old town around its harbor.

Come for the last days of April, when Crete's dry season has begun and the Balos boats run more often. Good Friday, the May 1 holiday and Easter Monday make April 30 to May 3 a long Greek holiday weekend, so book a room early. The Samaria Gorge stays closed until May 1.

Walk the breakwater to the Chania Lighthouse at sunset, and see the ruins of Aptera above Souda Bay. Boats to the Balos lagoon off Gramvousa build up through April, so save that day trip for late in the month. Kalitsounia, small pies of mizithra cheese, are a Chania specialty. Order dakos, a Cretan barley rusk topped with tomato, as a starter.

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Chania's old Venetian harbor, May 2013

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Valletta, Malta

Best for harbor fireworks and a Baroque capital

• Weather: highs 20.4 °C (69 °F), lows 13.2 °C (56 °F); 8 mm (0.3 in) of rain over about one wet day; sea 15.9 °C (61 °F)
• Dates: Malta International Fireworks Festival, 2026 finale April 30; 2027 dates not yet published
• Season: shoulder, 1.05 times an average month in tourists for Malta as a whole

The Malta International Fireworks Festival is held in April, and its 2026 finale lit the Grand Harbour below Valletta on April 30. Valletta itself is the European Union's smallest capital, a Baroque city listed by UNESCO.

Check the festival's nights before you book. Find a viewing spot on the harbor early in the evening. Treat Valletta as a walking trip, since April is nearly dry but the sea is still cool for swimming.

See Caravaggio's The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist in St John's Co-Cathedral. Cross the Grand Harbour to the Three Cities, and give a day to Gozo and its Ġgantija temples. Snack on pastizzi, flaky pastries filled with ricotta or peas. For dinner, order stuffat tal-fenek, the rabbit stew.

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Fireworks festival finale over the Grand Harbour, 30 April 2017

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Petra, Jordan

Best for walking a rock-cut city in dry spring weather

• Weather: highs 23.1 °C (74 °F), lows 10.1 °C (50 °F); 6 mm (0.2 in) of rain on fewer than one wet day
• Season: peak, about 1.5 times an average month in visitors to Petra
• Daily budget: about $153 a person, mid-range

Pick April for Petra, in Jordan's last cool weeks, when the rock-cut city gets the least rain of the 21 places here. The Rose City is a UNESCO site and one of the New 7 Wonders, entered through the narrow Siq that opens onto the Treasury.

April is also peak season at Petra, and the Siq gets crowded. Walk it early, while it is still in shade and quiet.

Climb the nearly 800 steps to the Monastery, about 40 minutes up, and walk the Colonnaded Street to the Great Temple. On a Sunday to Thursday evening, come back for Petra by Night, when candles light the way to the Treasury from 8:30 to 10:30 pm. Spend a night in the desert at Wadi Rum. Try zarb, meat the Bedouin cook underground. Mansaf, lamb over rice, is Jordan's national dish.

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Al-Khazneh, the Treasury, April 2013

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Marrakech, Morocco

Best for medina souks and gardens on warm spring days

• Weather: highs 25.9 °C (79 °F), lows 13.5 °C (56 °F); 27 mm (1.1 in) of rain
• Season: shoulder, about 1.03 times an average month in arrivals for Morocco as a whole
• Daily budget: about $100 a person, mid-range
• Plan it: 10-day Morocco itinerary

Ramadan 2027 is expected to end in March, so Marrakech's medina runs at full pace in April. Of the places here with a daily budget, Marrakech is the cheapest warm trip after Chiang Mai, at about $100 a day. The old city, a UNESCO site inside red walls, holds Jemaa el-Fnaa, the Koutoubia Mosque and souks of potters, coppersmiths and leatherworkers.

April starts the city's busy season, when the medina's restaurants and cafés fill up. Room prices rise, so book ahead.

Spend an evening on Jemaa el-Fnaa, then a morning in the Majorelle Garden and the Berber Museum in its villa. Drive about 30 km to the Ourika Valley for the cascades at Setti-Fatma, ideally on a Monday, when the valley holds its market. Ride out to the date palms of the Palmeraie. Tanjia, lamb slow-cooked in a clay jar, is the dish Marrakech claims as its own. In Mechoui Alley, the méchoui is whole roast lamb.

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Jemaa el-Fnaa at sunset, April 2016

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Ambergris Caye, Belize

Best for dry-season reef snorkeling and diving

• Weather: highs 30.8 °C (87 °F), lows 24.4 °C (76 °F); 43 mm (1.7 in) of rain; sea 27.7 °C (82 °F)
• Daily budget: about $164 a person, mid-range
• Plan it: 14-day Mexico, Guatemala and Belize itinerary

Snorkel Hol Chan Marine Reserve, just off Ambergris Caye, while April's dry season holds and the sea runs the warmest of the 21. Belize's largest island faces the Belize Barrier Reef, the second-largest reef in the world and a UNESCO site.

In 2027 the island's busiest week falls in March with Holy Week, so April comes after the rush. Nights stay warm. In spring, sargassum seaweed can reach the reef side of the island. The west side, Secret Beach included, stays clear.

Dive or fly over the Great Blue Hole. Head north to Bacalar Chico, a UNESCO-listed park and marine reserve, and sail to Caye Caulker for a day. Start the morning with fry jacks, fried dough eaten at breakfast. Conch fritters stay on the menu while the conch season is open.

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The San Pedro sign on the beach, Ambergris Caye, April

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The last of the spring snow

Whistler and Chamonix keep their lifts running into April, with fewer skiers than in the winter peak.

Whistler, Canada

Best for spring skiing with valley walks below

• Weather: highs 8.4 °C (47 °F), lows −1.3 °C (30 °F); 176 mm (6.9 in) of rain and snow over about sixteen wet days
• Dates: Whistler Blackcomb lifts open into April; 2027 closing day not yet published
• Season: low, 0.60 times an average month in Whistler's room revenue
• Plan it: day trips from Vancouver

Go to Whistler in early April for spring skiing, after the January-to-March peak has passed. Whistler and Blackcomb are the largest ski area in North America, and they hosted the alpine events of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Go in the first half of the month, since some on-mountain restaurants shut in mid-April. Whistler village has the wettest April of the 21, so pack a waterproof shell.

Ski the mornings, and spend a wet afternoon in the Audain Art Museum. From mid-April, once the Nordic ski season ends, the trails of Lost Lake Park open for walking. Ride a zipline over Fitzsimmons Creek with Ziptrek. For something sweet, buy a Nanaimo bar, British Columbia's layered no-bake bar.

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Skiers under a sun halo at the end of the 2015-16 Whistler season, April

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Chamonix, France

Best for late-season glacier skiing under Mont Blanc

• Weather: highs 7.2 °C (45 °F), lows −1.4 °C (29 °F); 119 mm (4.7 in) of rain and snow
• Dates: Brévent, Flégère and Balme to April 11, 2027; Grands Montets to May 2; Aiguille du Midi from March 29
• Season: low, 0.72 times an average month in hotel nights for Haute-Savoie
• Plan it: France guide

Chamonix's Brévent, Flégère and Balme ski areas close on April 11, but the Grands Montets runs into May. Chamonix, below Western Europe's highest mountain, hosted the first Winter Olympics in 1924.

Come before April 11 to ride every area. For the second half of April, the Grands Montets runs to May 2. The slopes are calmest over lunch, from noon to 2 pm. The lower runs turn heavy by midday, so ski higher up around midday.

Take the Montenvers train to the Mer de Glace, and ride the cable car up the Aiguille du Midi. With a guide, ski the Vallée Blanche, about 20 km of off-piste glacier. Tartiflette bakes potatoes under reblochon, the washed-rind cheese of Haute-Savoie. Diots au vin blanc are Savoy sausages simmered in white wine.

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Spring snow at Planpraz on the Brévent side, looking toward Charlanoz, April

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Where to go in April in the US

Go to Washington, D.C. in early April for the last days of the cherry blossom festival, or to New Orleans for its two music festivals. The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival usually runs all month around La Conner, and snowmelt fills the waterfalls of Yosemite. For dry red-rock hiking, go to Sedona or Moab, and for the school-holiday week, see the spring break destinations.

Washington, D.C., United States

Best for the festival's last days and free museums

• Weather: highs 20.4 °C (69 °F), lows 7.4 °C (45 °F); 95 mm (3.7 in) of rain over about nine wet days
• Dates: National Cherry Blossom Festival, March 20 to April 11, 2027; Night in Bloom procession, April 2
• Season: peak, hotel occupancy 1.18 times the year's average
• Daily budget: about $226 a person, mid-range
• Plan it: 3-day Washington itinerary, day trips from Washington, D.C.

Washington's cherry blossom festival closes on April 11 in its centennial year, and the Night in Bloom procession lights the city on April 2. Peak bloom on the Tidal Basin usually comes between the last week of March and the first week of April, so early April gives you the festival's last days, often after the trees' peak. The capital's monuments line the National Mall, and the Smithsonian museums along it are free.

Peak bloom is almost impossible to forecast more than 10 days ahead, so plan a few days that do not depend on the trees. Book the room early, since April is peak season.

The Hope Diamond is at the National Museum of Natural History, free and open 364 days a year. In Georgetown, walk the old Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and see the Old Stone House, the oldest standing building in the city. End the day at the Lincoln Memorial at dusk. The local dish is the half-smoke, a smoked sausage, often half pork and half beef, served under chili.

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Cherry blossoms across the Tidal Basin from the Jefferson Memorial (31 March 2026)

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La Conner, United States

Best for tulip fields in bloom

• Weather: highs 14.1 °C (57 °F), lows 5.9 °C (43 °F); 107 mm (4.2 in) of rain over about 13 wet days; sea 8.8 °C (48 °F)
• Dates: Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, usually all of April; 2027 dates not yet published
• Plan it: day trips from Seattle

La Conner is a small waterfront town on the Swinomish Channel in the Skagit Valley, where tens of millions of tulips bloom in April. The valley's tulip festival usually lasts the whole month.

The fields bloom to their own calendar, so the festival points visitors coming from far away to mid-April as the safest bet. For flowers after Washington's festival ends, choose mid-April here. It rains on about 13 days in April, so pack waterproof shoes for the rows.

Buy a ticket for one of the festival's four display gardens, such as Tulip Town, each sold separately. Then drive the farm roads between the open fields. Back in La Conner, walk the shops along the Swinomish Channel.

Cheryl Richmond (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Tulip fields in early April, Skagit Valley

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Yosemite National Park, United States

Best for roaring spring waterfalls

• Weather: in Yosemite Valley, highs 14.7 °C (58 °F), lows −0.1 °C (32 °F); 85 mm (3.3 in) of rain over about six wet days
• Dates: Yosemite Falls runoff, April through June
• Season: low, 0.83 times an average month in park visits
• Plan it: weekend getaways from San Francisco

Snowmelt fills Yosemite's waterfalls in April, and Yosemite Falls, the park's highest at 739 m, runs at a roar from April through June. Yosemite Valley is a granite-walled valley on the Merced River, overlooked by El Capitan and Half Dome.

April is the park's low season, and the valley is quieter than it will be all summer. The high country is still under snow, so plan your days on the valley floor. A warm, sunny day can turn stormy, and nights drop near freezing.

Stand at the foot of Yosemite Falls in its spray. Climb the Mist Trail from Happy Isles to Vernal Fall in a rain jacket, since its spring spray often drenches hikers. Stop at Tunnel View for the view down the valley to El Capitan, Half Dome and Bridalveil Fall.

Mayfair Rose (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Rainbows over Lower Yosemite Fall in April, Yosemite

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Where should you go in April with kids?

Ambergris Caye has the warmest sea of the 21, with Hol Chan's snorkeling just offshore. In a spring city, take kids to Keukenhof's tulip fields or Amsterdam's King's Day flea markets.

Plan your April trip

Every MonkeyEatingMango trip plan shows the measured weather for its month. The packing list generator, free for now, uses the same records to pick the gear for a destination's month.

Pick a place and a week, and the planner writes the days, with a time and a cost on every stop: plan an April trip.

Last updated November 2026.

Common questions

Where is warm in April?

Over 2013 to 2022, Chiang Mai averaged April highs of 36.2 °C (97 °F), Luang Prabang 34.5 °C (94 °F) and Ambergris Caye in Belize 30.8 °C (87 °F). Ambergris Caye also has the warmest sea of the 21, at 27.7 °C (82 °F).

Where is warm in Europe in April?

Over 2013 to 2022, Seville averaged April highs of 23.9 °C (75 °F), the warmest of the European picks, ahead of Chania on Crete at 21.2 °C (70 °F) and Valletta at 20.4 °C (69 °F). Valletta is also nearly dry, with 8 mm (0.3 in) of rain.

Where is dry in April?

Over 2013 to 2022, Petra averaged 6 mm (0.2 in) of rain in April, on fewer than one wet day, the driest of the 21 places here. Valletta is next, at 8 mm (0.3 in).

When is Songkran 2027?

Thailand's Songkran holidays run from April 13 to 15, 2027. In Chiang Mai, the water fights fill the moated old town.

When is King's Day 2027 in Amsterdam?

King's Day is April 27, 2027. Keukenhof's tulip gardens are open from March 18 to May 9, 2027.

Is April a good time to visit Japan?

Early April is Kyoto's cherry blossom season, with an average full-bloom date of April 4 in the Japan Meteorological Agency's 1991 to 2020 normals. Highs average 19.8 °C (68 °F), and rain falls on about ten days of the month, so pack an umbrella.

Where should I go in the US in April?

Go to Washington, D.C. in the first days of April for the cherry blossom festival, which ends April 11, 2027, or to New Orleans for the free French Quarter Festival from April 8 to 11 and Jazz Fest from April 22. For flowers later in the month, the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival usually runs all of April, and Yosemite Falls roars from April through June. Sedona and Moab suit dry red-rock hiking, though April is peak season at both.

Is Easter in April in 2027?

No. Western Easter 2027 falls on March 28, so April has no Western Easter holidays. Orthodox Easter is May 2, 2027, with Orthodox Good Friday on April 30.

What are the cheapest places to travel in April?

Of the places here with a reliable figure, Chiang Mai ($59) and Marrakech ($100) have the lowest mid-range daily costs per person, in Budget Your Trip's traveler-reported averages (updated August to September 2026).

Is April a good time to visit Amsterdam?

April is tulip month around Amsterdam. Keukenhof is open from March 18 to May 9, 2027, and King's Day fills the city on April 27. Highs average 14.3 °C (58 °F). April is peak season, so book rooms early.

Is April a good time to visit Chiang Mai?

Chiang Mai holds Songkran's water fights from April 13 to 15, 2027. Highs average 36.2 °C (97 °F), the hottest of the 21 places here, and air pollution peaks from December to April.

What is the weather in Seville in April?

Over 2013 to 2022, Seville averaged April highs of 23.9 °C (75 °F) and lows of 11.8 °C (53 °F), with 55 mm (2.2 in) of rain over about six wet days. The city's April Fair holiday falls on April 14, 2027.

Is April a good time to visit Petra?

Petra is the driest of the 21 places here in April, with 6 mm (0.2 in) of rain, and highs average a mild 23.1 °C (74 °F). April is also peak season, with more than 74,000 visitors in April 2025, so walk the Siq early.

Is April a good time to visit Greece?

Chania, on Crete, is in its quiet season in April, with overnight stays on Crete at 0.59 times an average month. Highs average 21.2 °C (70 °F), and the sea, at 15.3 °C (60 °F), is too cool for most swimmers. Orthodox Good Friday processions fall on April 30, 2027, and the Samaria Gorge opens on May 1.

What is the weather in Marrakech in April?

Over 2013 to 2022, Marrakech averaged April highs of 25.9 °C (79 °F) and lows of 13.5 °C (56 °F), with 27 mm (1.1 in) of rain. Ramadan 2027 is expected to end in March, so April in the medina is clear of it.