Where to go in Asia in April: spring and new-year festivals

April at a glance

These six trips are the ones where April's weather or festivals work in your favour. The table compares them, with the mid-range cost of a day.

Every daily cost on this page comes from the country's trip-cost guide: its all-in total divided by its days, per person, for two people sharing a room. That covers rooms, every meal, local transport, sights, a SIM and a 10% buffer; only the international flight is extra. Each guide prices its own route in the month it names, so the figures show the level of a country, not a quote for your dates. Euro amounts use the rate each guide states.

Japan: Tokyo, Kyoto and the blossom front north

April is Japan's classic spring month. The Japan Meteorological Agency's 1991-2020 normals give Tokyo a high of 19.4°C and a low of 9.8°C, and Kyoto a high of 20.1°C. The cherry blossom peaks in Tokyo and Kyoto at the very start of the month in a normal year, then moves north: Hirosaki's Cherry Blossom Festival, at Hirosaki Castle in Aomori, runs from mid-April to 5 May, and the organisers may move the opening with the bloom. Hokkaido is still cold, with 6 cm of snowfall in Sapporo's April normal.

Our Japan in 10 days covers Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Osaka; for the northern blossom, Tohoku in 7 days runs from Tokyo to Aomori by way of Hirosaki.

In Japan, a day costs about EUR 100 per person on a budget, EUR 150 mid-range or EUR 290 in comfort, all-in, from our Japan trip-cost guide. That guide prices exactly this trip in April.

The Takayama Spring Festival is held every year on 14 and 15 April. Golden Week begins on 29 April (Showa Day); the other national holidays are 3, 4 and 5 May. The Japan National Tourism Organization names Golden Week as one of the three holiday periods when domestic travel peaks and some businesses close or shorten hours, so book late-April nights early. The Japan festivals calendar has each year's dates.

South Korea: Seoul, Gyeongju and Busan

April is one of Korea's two best months. The Korea Meteorological Administration's 1991-2020 normals give Seoul a high of 17.9°C, a low of 8.0°C and 72.9 mm of rain, and Busan a high of 18.2°C. Cherry blossom season spans late March and early April, when Jinhae's 360,000 cherry trees are in flower.

Our South Korea in 7 days runs Seoul, Gyeongju and Busan by KTX; the cherry blossom guide gives the bloom dates city by city.

In South Korea, a day costs about EUR 95 per person on a budget, EUR 160 mid-range or EUR 300 in comfort, all-in, from our South Korea trip-cost guide. That guide also prices an April trip.

The Jeonju International Film Festival opens around the turn of April and May. Seoul's Lotus Lantern Festival for Buddha's Birthday usually falls in April or May. See the South Korea festivals calendar for each year's dates.

Northern and central Vietnam

April is the month when the whole of Vietnam is good at once. Vietnam's tourism board names April to June as a time of clear skies and sunshine for Hanoi and Ha Long Bay and calls Sa Pa near-perfect in late April; Ninh Binh loses its winter mist too, and Hue, Hoi An and Nha Trang are dry. Ho Chi Minh City and Phu Quoc are good too, but hot.

Our Vietnam in 10 days runs Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Hue and Hoi An; with a week, Vietnam in 7 days covers Hanoi, Ha Long Bay and Ninh Binh.

In Vietnam, a day costs about EUR 50 per person on a budget, EUR 90 mid-range or EUR 155 in comfort, all-in, from our Vietnam trip-cost guide. That guide prices exactly the northern route in April.

Hung Kings Commemoration Day follows the lunar calendar and usually falls in April, and Reunification Day (30 April) and Workers' Day (1 May) often make a four-day break. See the Vietnam festivals calendar for each year's dates.

Uzbekistan's Silk Road cities

April is the start of the best season in Uzbekistan. The Japan Meteorological Agency's 1991-2020 normals give Samarkand an April mean of 15.3°C, Bukhara 17.2°C and Urgench, near Khiva, 15.3°C, with 20-65 mm of rain. That means warm days for the madrasas of the Registan and the old town of Bukhara, and cool evenings.

Our Uzbekistan in 10 days covers Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva and Shahrisabz by train and plane.

In Uzbekistan, a day costs about EUR 75 per person on a budget, EUR 95 mid-range or EUR 135 in comfort, all-in, from our Uzbekistan trip-cost guide.

April has no Uzbek holiday that changes a booking. The best time to visit Uzbekistan guide gives the weather month by month; Almaty, across the border, is mild too, with a high of 16.5°C, but April is one of its wetter months.

Nepal and Bhutan in spring

April is the height of spring in the Himalayan valleys. Kathmandu's 1991-2020 April mean is 20.5°C, and the Nepal Tourism Board names spring as one of the two trekking seasons, with the rhododendrons in flower on the middle hills; the Terai is already hot. In Bhutan, Paro averages a high of 19.9°C and a low of 7.2°C in April; the National Center for Hydrology and Meteorology warns that the southernmost areas are prone to severe thunderstorms from April to June.

Our Nepal in 10 days adds Nagarkot and Chitwan to Kathmandu and Pokhara; Bhutan in 7 days covers Thimphu, Punakha and Paro.

In Nepal, a day costs about EUR 75 per person on a budget, EUR 105 mid-range or EUR 180 in comfort, all-in, from our Nepal trip-cost guide. In Bhutan, a day costs about EUR 240 per person on a budget or EUR 265 mid-range, all-in, from our Bhutan trip-cost guide. Those figures include the Sustainable Development Fee (SDF): USD 100 per adult per night until 31 August 2027. The government may end the USD 100 rate after 31 August 2027, so a trip that runs past that date is charged the fee in force then.

Bisket Jatra in Bhaktapur runs for more than a week around the Nepali New Year in mid-April; see the Nepal festivals calendar. In Bhutan, festival dates follow the lunar calendar: the Ura Yakchoe in Bumthang and the Rhododendron Festival at Lamperi fall in spring, and the Department of Tourism publishes tentative dates that our Bhutan festivals guide gives.

Songkran in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos

April is the hottest month of the year in mainland Southeast Asia: the Tourism Authority of Thailand dates its hot season from March to May. The reason to go anyway is the new year. Songkran is an official holiday from 13 to 15 April, and trains, buses and roads are busiest in the days either side; for the biggest water fights, stay in Bangkok near Silom or in Chiang Mai's old city.

Khmer New Year and Lao New Year (Pi Mai) fall in mid-April too, usually on 14-16 April, within a day of Songkran. Our Songkran guide covers Thailand, and the Khmer and Lao New Year guide covers Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Luang Prabang and Vientiane, with each year's dates.

In Thailand, a day costs about EUR 65 per person on a budget, EUR 115 mid-range or EUR 220 in comfort, all-in, from our Thailand trip-cost guide. In Cambodia, a day costs about EUR 70 per person on a budget, EUR 105 mid-range or EUR 195 in comfort, all-in, from our Cambodia trip-cost guide.

The beaches are still in season, though hot: when we checked on 2 November 2026, Ban's Diving Resort on Koh Tao kept its high-season rate until 30 April. Chakri Memorial Day, 6 April, is also a Thai holiday. Inland Cambodia is at its hottest, with a 1991-2020 April mean of 30.3°C in Phnom Penh, so see Angkor at dawn.

Also good in April

Three more places suit April, with conditions.

• Hong Kong: the Hong Kong Sevens is usually played in late March or April, and Ching Ming, in early April, is a public holiday in Hong Kong and Macau. See the best time to visit Hong Kong guide.
• Sri Lanka's hill country: the tourism board describes the highlands as cool and relatively dry from January to April. Sinhala and Tamil New Year falls in mid-April, usually on 13-14 April, and Bak Poya at the April full moon; see the Sri Lanka festivals calendar.
• Bali: April is the first month of the April-to-October dry season in Indonesia's tourism ministry's account, though the change is gradual. See Bali in 7 days.

Where not to go in April, and why

In these places April works against an ordinary trip.

• Delhi, Agra and Rajasthan: the India Meteorological Department's 1991-2020 means give Delhi an April high of 36.5°C and Jaipur 37.6°C. Go between October and March; the best time to visit India guide explains why.
• Malaysia's west coast and Singapore: April brings the inter-monsoon thunderstorms; Singapore averages 164.3 mm of rain on 15 days. Sabah's north-east is drier.
• Brunei: Brunei airport's 1991-2020 April normal is 247.0 mm of rain.
• The Maldives: the Maldives Meteorological Service names April as the changeover month before the wet south-west monsoon from mid-May. It works, but it is no longer the dry season.
• Mongolia: Ulaanbaatar's April averages a low of -4.4°C; the best time to visit Mongolia guide explains when the camps open. In Kyrgyzstan, avalanches and landslides often block mountain roads in spring.
• Manila and the Philippine lowlands, if you mind heat: PAGASA calls March to May the uncomfortable hot season.