Where to go in Asia in March: blossom, Holi and six spring trips

March at a glance

These six trips are the ones where March's weather and events 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 and Kyoto for the first blossom

March is when Japan turns from winter to spring. The Japan Meteorological Agency's 1991-2020 normals give Tokyo a high of 14.2°C and Kyoto 14.1°C, and the agency's normal full-bloom dates for the cherry trees are 31 March in Tokyo and 4 April in Kyoto, with earlier peaks in most recent years. The last week of March is the time to aim for. Hokkaido still has snow, with 74 cm of snowfall in Sapporo's March normal, and Okinawa is warm at around 19°C.

Our cherry blossom guide gives the dates city by city and suggests five nights in Tokyo from about 25 March, then Kyoto from about 30 March; Japan in 10 days covers Hakone, Hiroshima and Osaka too.

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 a blossom-season trip in April, a fair guide to late March.

Vernal Equinox Day, a national holiday on the day of the equinox (20 or 21 March), can make a long weekend, and the Grand Sumo March Tournament fills two weeks of the month in Osaka. Ski resorts move to spring prices in late March: when we checked on 2 November 2026, Happo-one listed an adult day pass at JPY 9,800 in its peak season and JPY 6,400 in spring. Our Japan festivals calendar has each year's dates.

India: Holi and the last cool weeks in Rajasthan

March is warm in the north-west and getting hot: the India Meteorological Department's 1991-2020 means give Jaipur a low of 17.4°C and a high of 32.0°C, with 4.4 mm of rain, and Delhi only 3.5 foggy days. Go early in the month for long outdoor days, or late for Holi. Kerala is still in its pleasant October-to-March season.

Holi is the reason to come. It falls on the full moon of the month of Phalguna, usually in March: bonfires (Holika Dahan) on the eve, colours the next day. Mathura and Vrindavan celebrate for about two weeks (Rangotsav), and Jaipur has a tourism-department event for visitors on the colour day. Our Holi guide gives each year's dates and where to be on each day, and the Golden Triangle itinerary covers Delhi, Agra and Jaipur.

In India, a day costs about EUR 65 per person on a budget, EUR 100 mid-range or EUR 215 in comfort, all-in, from our India trip-cost guide.

Good Friday falls in March or April, and Eid al-Fitr, which moves about 11 days earlier each year, falls in March in some years. The India festivals calendar has every date.

Central and southern Vietnam

March is when the whole length of Vietnam's coast south of the Hai Van Pass comes good. Hue, Hoi An and Nha Trang have left their late rains behind, and Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong Delta, Phu Quoc and Da Lat are dry, though the south is getting hot. Da Lat's old station series gives March a mean low of 12.6°C and a high of 25.0°C. Hanoi and Ha Long Bay can still be grey, and Sa Pa is cold.

Our Vietnam in 14 days runs Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An and the Mekong Delta; central Vietnam in 5 days covers Hue, the Hai Van Pass and Hoi An.

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 a northern route in April.

March rarely has a Vietnamese public holiday. The best time to visit Vietnam guide gives the regions month by month.

Sri Lanka: the south coast and the hill country

March is the last full month of Sri Lanka's best season. The south and west coast is in its calmer November-to-April season, the highlands are cool and relatively dry from January to April according to the tourism board, and Horton Plains is at its clearest from January to March. The east coast's December-to-March rains are ending.

Our Sri Lanka 10-day itinerary runs Colombo, Kandy, Ella and Galle.

In Sri Lanka, a day costs about EUR 70 per person on a budget, EUR 100 mid-range or EUR 215 in comfort, all-in, from our Sri Lanka trip-cost guide.

Every full moon is a public holiday, the Poya day; in March it is Medin Poya. On Poya days the sale of alcohol, meat and fish is prohibited and some shops and businesses close. Good Friday falls in March or April. See the Sri Lanka festivals calendar for each year's dates.

Nepal and Bhutan in spring

The Nepal Tourism Board recommends spring and autumn, and March opens the spring season, the season of the rhododendrons. Kathmandu's 1991-2020 March mean is 17.2°C at the airport, and the board notes that temperatures drop about 6°C for every 1,000 m you climb, so high trails keep their snow. In Bhutan, the National Center for Hydrology and Meteorology counts March to May as spring: Paro averages a high of 17.2°C and a low of 4.0°C in March.

Our Nepal in 7 days covers the Kathmandu Valley and Pokhara, and Bhutan in 7 days runs 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.

Paro Tshechu, five days of mask dances at Rinpung Dzong, follows the Bhutanese lunar calendar and usually falls in March or April; the Department of Tourism publishes tentative dates, and our Bhutan festivals guide gives them. In Nepal, Maha Shivaratri, in February or March, fills Pashupatinath, and Holi is a public holiday a day earlier in the hill and mountain districts, including Kathmandu, than in the Terai. See the Nepal festivals calendar.

Beach weeks: the Maldives or Thailand's islands

For a beach in March, two choices stand out. The Maldives are still in the January-to-March dry season of the north-east monsoon, and the Maldives Meteorological Service names March to mid-May as the warmest time of year. Thailand's Andaman coast (Krabi, Phi Phi, Koh Lanta) is in its November-to-April season and the Gulf islands are in theirs, which runs from December to June.

Our Maldives in 7 days mixes a local island and a resort; Andaman coast in 7 nights covers Krabi, Phi Phi and Koh Lanta.

In the Maldives, a day costs about EUR 140 per person on a budget, EUR 215 mid-range or EUR 360 in comfort, all-in, from our Maldives trip-cost guide. 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.

Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr move about 11 days earlier each year; in years when they fall in March, local islands in the Maldives eat late, and our Maldives festivals guide gives the expected dates. Thailand has no March holiday, but its hot season, which the Tourism Authority dates from March to May, starts in Bangkok and the north, so keep the city days short.

Also good in March

Four more places suit March, with conditions.

• Uzbekistan: Samarkand's March mean is 10.1°C and Bukhara's 10.3°C in the JMA's 1991-2020 normals, so the Silk Road cities are cool but pleasant; Navruz is a public holiday on 21 March. See Uzbekistan in 7 days.
• Hong Kong: a high of 21.9°C and 75.3 mm of rain in the Observatory's March normals; Art Basel Hong Kong is usually held in late March, and Easter, which falls in March or April, gives four public holidays. See the Hong Kong festivals calendar.
• Palawan and Manila: Coron averages 15.4 mm of rain in March and Manila 21.8 mm, though PAGASA calls March to May the uncomfortable hot season. Holy Week, in March or April, is the busiest travel week; see the Philippines festivals calendar.
• Southern Taiwan: Kaohsiung's March normal is 32.3 mm of rain against Keelung's 274.4 mm; the Taiwan Lantern Festival usually runs into early March. See the Taiwan Lantern Festival guide and the Taiwan in 10 days route.

Where not to go in March, and why

In these places March works against an ordinary trip, or one date needs planning around.

• Bali on Nyepi: the Day of Silence follows the Balinese calendar and falls in March or April; for 24 hours Bali's airport shuts and everyone stays indoors. Bali and Java are also at the end of their November-to-March wet season. See our Nyepi guide and the best time to visit Indonesia guide.
• Bangkok, Chiang Mai and the Thai plains if you mind heat: the Tourism Authority of Thailand calls March to May the hot season. Cambodia is heating up too, with a March mean of 29.7°C in Phnom Penh.
• Western Sarawak and north-east Sabah: still within the December-to-March wet spell of the north-east monsoon.
• Singapore is mixed: 151.7 mm of rain on 12 days in March, with inter-monsoon storms possible late in the month.
• Mongolia and northern Kazakhstan: Ulaanbaatar averages a low of -13.6°C in March and Astana -15.6°C. In Kyrgyzstan, the UK Foreign Office warns that avalanches and landslides often block mountain roads, particularly in spring.
• Hanoi, Ha Long Bay and Sa Pa if you want clear skies: the north is still in its misty winter pattern.