Where to go in Asia in November: Loi Krathong and Kyoto

November at a glance

These six trips are the ones where November'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.

Chiang Mai and the Andaman coast

November starts Thailand's best season. The Tourism Authority of Thailand dates the cool season from November to February and the Andaman coast's tourism window from November to April, after the south-west monsoon ends in October. On the Andaman side, Nangthong in Khao Lak, for example, charges its high-season rates from 1 November.

Our Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in 7 days covers the north; Andaman coast in 7 days covers Krabi and the islands.

Thailand costs about EUR 115 a day all-in at mid-range (EUR 65 on a budget, 220 in comfort), from our Thailand trip-cost guide.

Loi Krathong falls on the full moon of the twelfth month of the Thai lunar calendar, usually in November, and in Chiang Mai the same full moon brings Yi Peng, the lantern festival. The date moves each year, and Chiang Mai allows sky lanterns only at set times and outside the aviation safety zone around the airport. Our Loi Krathong guide gives the dates and the lantern rules.

Japan: Tokyo and Kyoto in autumn colour

November is cool, dry and clear in central Japan. The Japan Meteorological Agency's 1991-2020 normals give Tokyo a high of 16.7°C, a low of 8.8°C and 96.3 mm of rain, and Kyoto a high of 17.3°C with 73.9 mm. Japan's national tourism organisation puts the autumn colour from mid-November to early December, and Kyoto's temple gardens are among the places to see it. Hokkaido is turning to winter, with 30 cm of snowfall in Sapporo's November normal, and the Sea of Japan coast is wetter: Kanazawa averages 250.8 mm.

Our Japan in 10 days covers Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Osaka; for Kyoto alone, the Kyoto guide covers where to stay.

Japan costs about EUR 150 a day all-in at mid-range (EUR 100 on a budget, 290 in comfort), from our Japan trip-cost guide.

Culture Day (3 November) and Labour Thanksgiving Day (23 November) are national holidays, and the November Grand Sumo Tournament fills two weeks in the middle of the month at Fukuoka Kokusai Center. See the best time to visit Japan guide.

Nepal and Bhutan in late autumn

November is the second of the Himalaya's two clearest months. The Nepal Tourism Board names October and November as the months with the clearest post-monsoon skies; Kathmandu's 1991-2020 November mean is 15.9°C, and high passes are getting cold. Bhutan is at its driest: Paro averages a high of 16.9°C, a low of 3.9°C and 1.5 mm of rain in November. Our best-time guides for Nepal and Bhutan go month by month.

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

Nepal costs about EUR 105 a day all-in at mid-range (EUR 75 on a budget, 180 in comfort), from our Nepal trip-cost guide. Bhutan costs about EUR 265 a day all-in at mid-range (EUR 240 on a budget), from our Bhutan trip-cost guide, which prices a private week with a licensed operator. That includes the Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) of USD 100 per adult per night, the rate set until 31 August 2027; a trip after that date pays the fee in force then.

In Bhutan, the Black-necked Crane Festival at Gangtey Gonpa in Phobjikha is usually held in November, when the cranes have returned to the valley, and other festivals, such as the Haa Tshechu and the Jambay Lhakhang Drup in Bumthang, can fall in the same month. Festival dates follow the lunar calendar and the Department of Tourism publishes them as tentative; our Bhutan festivals guide lists the current ones.

Laos and Cambodia as the dry season begins

In Laos the rains are over by November: the Japan Meteorological Agency's 1991-2020 normals give Vientiane 23.3 mm and Luang Prabang 26.8 mm. Cambodia is at the changeover, with 103.5 mm in Phnom Penh, so expect a few late showers early in the month.

Our Laos in 10 days runs from Luang Prabang to Vientiane; the Siem Reap guide covers Angkor.

Laos costs about EUR 90 a day all-in at mid-range (EUR 50 on a budget, 185 in comfort), from our Laos trip-cost guide. Cambodia costs about EUR 105 a day all-in at mid-range (EUR 70 on a budget, 195 in comfort), from our Cambodia trip-cost guide.

Independence Day, 9 November, is a public holiday in Cambodia, and the Water Festival (Bon Om Touk), usually in November, gives three public holidays; its dates follow the lunar calendar. In Vientiane, the That Luang festival at Pha That Luang is held on the full moon of the twelfth lunar month, around November. Our festival calendars for Cambodia and Laos give the dates.

Rajasthan and Kerala

November is dry across most of India. The India Meteorological Department's 1991-2020 means give Jaipur a high of 29.6°C, a low of 14.4°C and 1.9 mm of rain. Delhi is similar, at 28.4°C, but averages 12.3 days of fog in November, so allow slack on early trains. In the south, Incredible India describes the pleasant season in Kochi as running from October to March, while Tamil Nadu's coast is in its north-east monsoon.

Our Rajasthan route runs from Jaipur to Jodhpur and Udaipur; Kerala's backwaters are the slow way through the south.

India costs about EUR 100 a day all-in at mid-range (EUR 65 on a budget, 215 in comfort), from our India trip-cost guide.

The Pushkar Camel Fair is held each year in October or November, around Kartik Purnima, the full moon of the Hindu month of Kartik; Incredible India publishes the dates. Our best time to visit India guide covers it with the other moving festivals.

Hanoi, Ha Long Bay and Phu Quoc

November is one of the few months that suit both ends of Vietnam. Vietnam's tourism authority says September to November brings sunny skies and around 25 degrees in Hanoi, and that Ha Long Bay gives sunny skies and pleasant temperatures in the same months. In the far south, Phu Quoc's dry season runs from November to April, with calm seas, clear skies and the best beach weather. In between, the central coast is in its storm season.

Our Vietnam in 7 days covers Hanoi, Ha Long Bay and Ninh Binh.

Vietnam costs about EUR 90 a day all-in at mid-range (EUR 50 on a budget, 155 in comfort), from our Vietnam trip-cost guide.

Vietnamese Culture Day, 24 November, is a one-day public holiday. See the best time to visit Vietnam guide.

Also good in November

Three more places suit November, with conditions.

• Hong Kong and Macau: Hong Kong averages only 39.3 mm of rain in November and a high of 24.5°C, and Macau's tourism office calls October and November ideal. The Macau Grand Prix is held on the city's streets each November and fills Macau's hotels that week; our best time to visit Macau guide has the details.
• Southern Taiwan: Kaohsiung averages 25.6 mm of rain in November, while Keelung, on the north-east coast, averages 396.9 mm. See the best time to visit Taiwan guide.
• Seoul, early in the month: Seoul averages a high of 11.9°C and a low of 3.5°C in November, with 51.1 mm of rain. See the best time to visit South Korea guide.

Where not to go in November, and why

In these places November works against an ordinary trip.

• Bali and Java: Indonesia's Ministry of Tourism dates the wet season from November to March.
• Samui, Phangan and Tao: the Tourism Authority of Thailand puts the Gulf islands' rains from October to December. Go to the Andaman coast instead.
• Malaysia's east coast, Singapore and Brunei: the Malaysian Meteorological Department gives the east coast its maximum rainfall from November to January; Singapore averages 252.3 mm on 19 days, and Brunei airport 331.3 mm.
• Vietnam's central coast: Hue, Hoi An and Nha Trang are in the season when storms and floods are most likely, from September to November.
• Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan: Ulaanbaatar's November high is -4.8°C and Astana's -3.0°C, and the UK Foreign Office warns that autumn and winter snow blocks Kyrgyz roads and trails. Uzbekistan's cities are cold too, with a November mean of 7.9°C in Samarkand.
• The Maldives: the end of the south-west monsoon, which the Maldives Meteorological Service dates from mid-May to November. December is the changeover.