Many of the best places to travel in April are in the US, making for some cheap and convenient getaways.
The most exciting event happening this April is the total solar eclipse. There’s nowhere better to see it than the US east coast. Across the rest of the country, April is alive with music festivals, nowhere more so than the legendary Coachella.
Further afield, food, comedy, and nationwide water fights dominate the calendar, from Brittany to Bangkok. Here are my favorite places to visit in April in the US and abroad.
Best places to travel in April in the US
Spring festivals, music, art, and the magic of longer, warmer days—not to mention a total solar eclipse. The best places to visit in April in the US are spread coast to coast, top to bottom and there’s something for everyone.
1. New York State
- Learn more: New York travel guide
- Why visit in April? See the total solar eclipse in all its cosmic glory.
The State of New York is going all out to celebrate the total solar eclipse, happening on April 8th. Partnering with NASA, it will host a series of free state-wide events along the 124-mile path of the totality. Expect a festival atmosphere at locations like the Adirondack Sky Center and Observatory and Rochester Museum and Science Center.
There are many epic viewing sites to choose from. In the southwest, make it one to remember amid the lakes, mountains and vineyards of Chautauqua-Allegheny. The clean air and clear skies of Finger Lakes and the mighty Adirondacks also offer front-row seats amid majestic surroundings.
My choice will be Niagara Falls, which will see the eclipse start at 2:04 pm. Full totality will start at 3:18 pm and last for three minutes and 31 seconds of spooky magic. Finishing at 4:31 pm, you’ll have to wait 20 years for the next one. It will make quite the backdrop for this extraordinary celestial event.
2. Islamorada, Florida
- Learn more: Islamorada travel guide
- Why visit in April? Three words: Key Lime Pie.
A midpoint on the string of the Florida Keys, seven square miles and six islands make up the curio of Islamorada. For less-informed travelers, this village is little more than a stop-off en route to the mania of Key West. Stop and look around though and you’ll discover there’s much more to it than the Overseas Highway.
Nature lovers can dip a toe or entire body in at Alligator Reef and snorkel with an unfathomable variety of fish. If you prefer your fish on a line, you’ll find some of the world’s best deep-sea fishing right offshore. On land, Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park is a tropical island forest of extraordinary hardwood hammock trees.
From high-end Caribbean Pierre’s to perhaps the nation’s best Key Lime Pie at Blonde Giraffe, food options are plentiful. As you’re in the Conch Republic, dinner really should be conch chowder or fritters. Few do it better than Lorelei, with gorgeous waterfront views to aid digestion.
3. Dallas, Texas
- Learn more: Dallas travel guide
- Why visit in April? To get your art on.
April is Art Month in Dallas. The city goes mad for all things cultural with a focus on the cultural diversity of its local artists. Hundreds of fairs, events, exhibitions, and performances transform the Downtown Arts District into a canvas of festivals.
Getting things started is the Dallas Art Fair from April 4th to 7th. Held at the Fashion Industry Gallery, it’s a showcase of modern and contemporary exhibitions. The free Dallas Arts District Block Party is a family-friendly carnival with performers, musicians, and street theater. Keep the arts theme going at the Crow Museum of Asian Art and Nasher Sculpture Center, with free entry on Saturday 6th.
Rounding the month off into May is the Dallas International Film Festival, kicking off on April 26th. Spread across the city’s many historic cinemas, it holds awards and screenings from over 60 countries.
4. Nashville, Tennessee
- Learn more: Nashville travel guide
- Why visit in April? Immerse yourself in music at Tin Pan South.
Home of country music, Nashville dances to its own beat year-round. Spend your days at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and pay tribute to the Man in Black at the Johnny Cash Museum. As the sun sets, tour the honky tonks of Robert’s Western World and Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge. Round things off in style at the beating heart of country music, Grand Ole Opry.
Alongside the mainstays, April brings the 32nd Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival. From the 2nd to the 6th, the world’s greatest songwriters flock to Nashville in the biggest gathering of its kind. Fabulous nightly concerts at iconic venues across the city, from the Commodore Grille to The Vinyl Lounge.
In case that’s not enough music for you, make for the historic RCA Studio B. Birthplace of the ‘Nashville Sound’, Elvis Presley recorded more than 150 tracks here.
5. Coachella, California
- Why visit in April? Dance in the desert at Coachella Festival.
Continuing the music theme, the eyes and ears of the world will be on Coachella in April. Over two weekends of the 12th-14th and 19th-21st the Colorado Desert will throb to an eclectic mix of headline acts. In 2023, Bad Bunny, Blink-182, and Blackpink led the foray—2024 is sure to follow suit with the world’s biggest bands and artists.
Very much the place to see and be seen in April, expect huge crowds, high glamor, and even higher prices. For the complete experience, stay at Ace Hotel and Swim Club in Palm Springs, famed for its Coachella pool parties.
Spend your downtime exploring this hipster city’s gorgeous retro-chic architecture and rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous. And when it all gets too much, escape into the wilds of Joshua Tree National Park to find yourself again. See you in the desert!
Best places to travel in April in the rest of the world
Across the rest of the world, April is the best month of the year to visit so many countries, from Australia to Egypt. Warm (but not too hot) weather, crazy celebrations, food festivals, and more make it a magic month to travel.
6. Paimpol, France
- Why visit in April? Gorge on seafood at La Fête de la Coquille Saint-Jacques.
Seafood lovers will flock to France’s picturesque northwest coast in April for a celebration of all things scallop. The communes of Saint-Quay-Portrieux, Erquy and Paimpol around the Bay of Saint-Brieuc are known as the scallop capital of Brittany. And with good reason—offshore lie huge scallop banks served by a flotilla of 238 trawlers.
On the weekend of April 20th and 21st, La Fête de la Coquille Saint-Jacques will take place this year in Paimpol. (Coquille Saint-Jacques being the poetic French name for a scallop.) It kicks off on Saturday morning when the Knights of the Scallop parade through Paimpol’s streets and port. From then on it’s an eatathon of sublime scallop menus washed down with bottomless fine wines—this is France, after all.
Expect the typical festival stalwarts: live music and street entertainment. More interestingly, take a boat to watch the fishermen at work, join a tasting event, and pick up some scallop-shaped jewelry as a memento.
You’ll need to fly into nearby Dinard by Saint-Malo and rent a car to get to Paimpol.
7. Melbourne, Australia
- Learn more: Melbourne travel guide
- Why visit in April? To laugh until it hurts.
April is early fall in Melbourne, when the days are bright but the sun doesn’t swelter. It’s my favorite time to visit. While March is the main events month, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival keeps visitors laughing until April 21st. Held in tens of venues across the city, there’s something for every funny bone from family-friendly to adults only.
There’s no better way to recover from a late night of comedy than to head outdoors. Kickstart your day with a cup of black gold. Melbourne is the coffee capital of Australia and few places roast a better brew than Monk Bodhi Dharma in St Kilda. Sip while you stroll the charming palm-fringed St Kilda Foreshore, reminiscent of Venice Beach with its counter-culture vibe.
For a little more exertion, hop on the metro rail to Lilydale. Rent a bike and cycle the scenic 30-mile loop of the Warburton Rail Trail. Traversing the lovely Yarra River Valley, it passes local villages and bucolic landscapes against a backdrop of the mountainous Yarra Ranges National Park.
8. Bangkok, Thailand
- Learn more: Bangkok travel guide
- Why visit in April? Songkran: the wettest, most fun New Year celebration on earth.
Manic, unfettered, futuristic, ancient, and overwhelming—there are many reasons why Bangkok is one of my favorite metropolises. In April, Thailand’s pulsing capital cranks things up with its unrivaled Songkran New Year celebrations.
Songkran, the water festival, starts on April 13th annually. In 2024 the Thai government has gone wild and instead declared it a month-long festival. In smaller communities, the festival maintains its religious and familial routes. But in Bangkok it’s dominated by three days of drink-fueled, super-soaked mayhem flooding the city streets. It’s a cliche, but the biggest and best water fight is on Khao San Road, the infamous backpacker strip.
Don your bathing costume and flip-flops and arm yourself with your watering-squirting weapon of choice. Be warned: there’s no way to avoid a soaking. On my last visit, I watched a local unload a giant Super-Soaker over a group of unsuspecting police officers. Their response? To dunk him into a huge barrel of ice water.
9. San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
- Learn more: San Miguel de Allende travel guide
- Why visit in April? The perfect light.
As the dry season comes to an end, most visitors make for Mexico’s Riviera Maya and the likes of Tulum. Inland though, there are plenty of equally historic towns and cities to explore. And in April, San Miguel de Allende basks in its UNESCO World Heritage status.
April 2024 starts on Easter Monday with the end of the Semana Santa Easter Processions, Mexico’s most sacred festival. As the celebrations end and the crowds thin, the city’s immaculate colonial architecture shines in beatific light.
Romantic and ancient, there’s an embarrassment of extraordinary sites to explore. The wedding cake towers of Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel; the nearby Santuario de Atotonilco, Mexico’s Sistine Chapel and an icon for independence.
Perfectly intermixed with all this history, you’ll find a cosmopolitan side to San Miguel de Allende, rare in such towns. Catch rooftop sundowners at La Azotea, fine dine at Áperi, and round out your night with the mezcal menu at La Mezcalería.
10. The Nile, Egypt
- Learn more: Cairo travel guide
- Why visit in April? Last chance to cruise the Luxor.
Follow in the wake of Agatha Christie, minus the murder of course, with a cruise down the Nile in April. With spring in full bloom, long sunny days and balmy evenings on deck are guaranteed. There’s no better time to drift its currents and watch local life unfold against some of the world’s most historic backdrops.
Choose your vessel wisely – sailboats and paddle steamers are most common. A traditional felucca wooden sailboat is a serene, sustainable, and ridiculously romantic way to travel. Your route is via Luxor and the Valley of the Kings, and on to Aswan over five magical days. April is the last chance before the season changes and the mercury rises to uncomfortable levels.
Discover more great places to travel
If it’s festivals you love, the best places to travel in March will have you dancing in the streets around the world. For a little spring heat, don’t miss the best warm places to visit in March.
For everything else, there’s KAYAK Explore and travel guides, rich with destinations to inspire your next vacation. To book with great deals, KAYAK is the place for flights, car rental, and accommodation.
