Where to travel in March

This month marks the arrival of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and in many destinations, including Spain and Morocco, temperatures are already climbing into the teens or even higher. Further afield, in Kashmir, March is marked by colourful tulips and an array of snow sports, while visitors to Mexico City get to marvel at thousands of floating lights, and Florida ushers in the new season with a lively Latin street party. Elsewhere, there’s still time to hit the slopes in the Canadian Rockies or try your hand at ice fishing. Go before prices rise for Easter in early April and you may even snag a shoulder season bargain in all these destinations.

Morocco

Weather: 20-25C
Why now: Winter sun and religious festivals

The sacred month of Ramadan is an extra-special time to visit Morocco. Expected to run until around 18 March this year, it brings calm, crowd-free days followed by traditional music, late-night restaurant openings and a sociable atmosphere each evening when fasting ends at sunset. Immediately afterwards, the Muslim country celebrates Eid-al-Fitr with three days of gift-giving, cultural performances and feasting on special sweet pastries and pancakes. Temperatures are yet to reach summer’s stifling highs, making March perfect for mooching around the medina in Marrakech and Fez, hiking in the snow-dusted Atlas Mountains and journeying into the Sahara Desert for quad biking, camping and visiting Amazigh villages.

Like a local: Refusing an offer of mint tea is considered bad manners. Always accept and drink with your right hand.

(A practical guide to Morocco, from traveling solo to what to wear.)

Spain

Weather: 15-20C
Why now: Fallas de Valencia and flamenco

Spain welcomes spring with T-shirt weather, especially in the south and east. Valencia celebrates the return of sunnier days with the Unesco-listed Las Fallas (15-19 March), a flamboyant festival of citywide street parties, fireworks and papier-mache sculptures that are burned on bonfires on the final night. Seville has even warmer weather, but not yet the intense heat and crowds of summer, making it ideal for touring the Royal Alcázar of Seville palace and the grand Plaza de España, with its fountain, ceramic tiles and baroque towers. Afterwards, enjoy an al fresco tapas lunch, stroll under blooming orange blossom trees and catch one of the flamenco shows held in the run-up to Semana Santa (Holy Week) at the end of March.

Like a local: Be sure to try horchata, a traditional cold, sweet drink made with ground tiger nuts that’s served with sweet buns called fartons. Try it at Horchateria El Collado, which first opened in 1892.

(Want to learn the language of Spain's flamenco? Come to Granada in Andalucia.)

Victoria, Australia

Weather: 20-25C
Why now: Wine harvest and festivals

Just an hour outside Melbourne, over 80 vineyards in the Yarra Valley are entering its harvest season, where vast rows of fruit will be fermented into deep Cabernet Sauvignons and sippable Chardonnays. Taste the terroir as you watch clusters collected from the fields. Along the route are boutique family-owned boltholes like Tokar Estate and behemoth outposts like Domaine Chandon. 

Meanwhile, the capital has bags of cultural clout this month as huge events set up shop, including the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival and Melbourne International Comedy Festival. The free Moomba Long Weekend, a community event, also returns each March with parades, fireworks and live music. Pair the cosmopolitan with the coastal on the Great Ocean Road. This wild and windswept route hugging the southern shores is quieter this month with a comfortably warm centigrade — ideal conditions for driving past coastal cliffs, stopping by plunging waterfalls and spotting koalas clinging to gum groves.

Like a local: For a taste of Melbourne, ride the tram to Spring Street Grocer where you can assemble a picnic of salads, cheeses, dips and meats; then head to the nearby Treasury Gardens to enjoy your feast.

(How to spend a day in Melbourne.)

Florida, US

Weather: 22-26C
Why now: Miami Open and Latin music festivals

March is the perfect month to enjoy all that Florida has to offer. Sunny days with low humidity are ideal for wandering the pastel-hued Art Deco Historic District, lounging on the beaches of Fort Lauderdale or taking a boat trip to the Everglades, where dry weather makes alligator-spotting easy. Bask in the sunshine by snagging tickets to the Miami Open tennis tournament (15-29 March) or join the revelries at Calle Ocho Music Festival (15 March), a free street party celebrating Latin music that spans 15 blocks of the lively Little Havana district.

Like a local: Miami keeps later hours than most US cities, and clubs often don’t get going until at least midnight. Many have strictly enforced dress codes so check before heading out.

(How to spend a perfect day in Miami.)

Ireland

Weather: 10-12C
Why now: St Patrick's Day

Get behind the wheel on the wind-lashed Wild Atlantic Way. This epic road trip along Ireland’s west coast steers past craggy coastlines and mist-ringed mountains. This month, the Atlantic puffin returns to the route’s crags to nest on the Cliffs of Moher, Horn Head, Great Saltee Island and the Skelligs. Meanwhile, swells are a sure thing near Donegal and Sligo for surfers. Those that prefer drier conditions can take to coastal trails for hillsides flecked with newborn lambs and forests carpeted with bluebells.

It’s not only the landscape greening up this month. St Patrick’s Day paints the country emerald every 17 March. Festivities span five days in Dublin with float-filled parades, contemporary art exhibitions, theatre performances, literature events and fiddle- and flute-filled live music. Iconic buildings are bathed in green at nightfall and revellers blend in, too, for the traditional ‘wearing of the green’. There’s also good craic in medieval Kilkenny, whose five-day TradFest features concerts, a music trail, a themed parade, street food, art workshops and a firework display.

Like a local: Fancy fresh pastries, bread and cakes straight from the oven? Gerry Godley opens the door to his home-turned-microbakery every Saturday. Yo ucan pre-order by messaging directly on Instagram.

(A guide to Dublin, from literary classics to coastal trails.)

Canadian Rockies

Weather: 0-4C
Why now: Ice fishing and mountain art installations

The winter season is winding down yet there’s still thick snow on the ground, so March is just right for skiing in spring sunshine, walking on a still-frozen Lake Louise and spotting elk and moose as they head to lower, snow-free areas to graze. In the mountain resort of Whistler, try ice fishing, catch the final winter sports action at the Kokanee Valley Race Series on 26 March or spot the Northern Lights, which are often intensified by the spring equinox. Don’t miss the interactive art displays, light projections and soundscapes that transform Sulphur Mountain in Banff after dark all month during Nightrise, a multimedia and light show that lasts until 29 March.

Like a local: Download offline maps before you leave the major resorts as data coverage can be patchy. Maps.me includes local hiking trails.

(How to plan an epic road trip through the Canadian Rocky Mountains.)