The 10 best places to travel in November 2021

Forget your usual Halloween night out and head to Oaxaca to experience Mexico’s Day of the Dead. From October 31 to November 2 Mexicans welcome their loved ones’ spirits back to the world of the living, with a big, beautifully macabre celebration mixing both indigenous and European traditions. Big orange puffs of cempasuchil flowers line the bustling markets, altars are covered with calaveras (decorative skulls), candles and Catholic iconography, and a massive street party kicks off with fireworks, music, dancers and performers on stilts.

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Hong Kong’s always been a looker: with its instantly recognisable skyline of densely packed skyscrapers and lush, green peaks, and its uniquely East-meets-West feel. By November, the drenching heat eases off to a gentle autumn warmth. Tick off Victoria Peak, the Star Ferry and a cable car to the Big Buddha on Lantau Island, then head out to hip hood Sai Ying Pun, on the west of Hong Kong Island. On its clattering streets, historic dried seafood stalls share space with a plethora of hot new cafés, bars and restaurants—including Balinese export Potato Head. 

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Attention’s been on Canada’s sparsely populated, mountainous territory Yukon over the last year or so, thanks to the movie Call of the Wild (about a domesticated dog who’s stolen from California and sold to sleigh dog racers, starring Harrison Ford). November marks the start of the winter season in this freezing wilderness—explore on skis, take a snowmobile or go ice-fishing. The film is set in the 1890s, during the Gold Rush, so check out some Klondike Gold Rush history in Dawson City, too. And then wait for the skies to light up with Aurora Borealis at night.

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While Marrakech got all the attention as Africa’s first Capital of Culture for 2020, history and culture also abound in other Moroccan cities. Take liberal Tangier, for example, with its 1950s beat poet history: Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg drank in The Tangerinn (temporarily closed while the world struggles with COVID-19), while William S Burroughs wrote Naked Lunch in Hotel El Muniria. A short hop over the Med from Spain, Tangier’s art galleries offer a sense of this port city’s exciting collision of Europe and African culture, while its medina is smaller and more manageable than that of Marrakech too. 

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Nothing beats the warm, fuzzy feeling of stepping out of the winter cold and into a warm, cosy pub. And Dublin does an unbeatable line in warm, inviting boozers—from low-lit watering holes that have barely changed since Victorian times to drinking spots known for their live music and rabble-rousing atmosphere. Head to the 250-year-old Long Hall for obscure ales with extra character, The Cobblestone in Smithfield’s for quaintness in spades and live music, or settle in for a session at Toners. It has a short but sweet whisky list and strong literary ties—it’s rumoured to have been the only place WB Yeats would go for a drink.

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Having successfully flipped its image from snoozing backwater to a food and art hotspot with ample natural beauty, Australia’s rugged island state is on a tourism high. To beat the crowds head over in November, before summer truly kicks in. The Change Overnight Hotel, a boutique apartment-style hotel where guests are invited to choose one of eight causes that their stay will contribute to, has been a revelation. Base yourself here to explore the historic city of Launceston, meet the peacocks in picturesque Cataract Gorge, and visit the Southern Wild Distillery in Devonport for gin made using locally foraged botanicals. Then head south for cultural hub Hobart.

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Post-rainy season, November is a great time to head over to Thailand’s jungles and beaches. You can hit all the usual spots, but consider some of Thailand’s lesser-known, yet equally beautiful places instead—like Pranburi. With secluded natural beaches and spread-out boutique accommodation options, the area’s still better known for fishing than tourism. There are mangrove forests to explore and the spectacular Tham Phraya Nakhon cave is just along the coast—inside, the country’s smallest temple is bathed in sunlight from an opening in the rock above.

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With visitor numbers steadily picking up, you might want to get in there and see the Pyramids quick. This year the new Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo remains unopened (summer 2022 is the plan), meaning antiquities such as Tutankhamun’s gold mask and a behemoth, 83-tonne, fist-clenching statue of Ramses II remain just out of grasp. Still, history is tangible here, and it oozes out of every nook and cranny. The Sphinx International Airport on the Giza side of the city, should make it easier to drop in for an immersive ancient history lesson from the country’s beaches too.

Turkey has been staging a comeback of late, and we're more than happy about that. Socialite season’s over and it’s not sunbathing weather any more—but that means Bodrum's crowds will be gone. Explore the whitewashed Aegean city and its fourth century BC Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, and then check out the castle. Be sure to take in Istanbul, too, especially for the emerging Kadıköy district. Its Çiya Sofrası restaurant, serving forgotten Anantolian dishes, also appeared on Chef’s Table. What, you haven't seen Chef's Table? Finish this article off, load up Netflix, and make that right. 

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Where’s the world’s longest zip-line? Most people’s first guess wouldn’t be Oman. But the Arabian sultanate has been seriously ramping up its efforts to bring in tourists to the country, with the promise of easy visas and that epic zipline – which is planned for picturesque mountain village Misfat Al Abriyeen. That has been the plan for a couple of years now, so expect plenty of queues when it eventually opens. But despite its world’s longest zipline bid, Oman is everything nearby Dubai isn’t: generally favouring low-rise Middle Eastern charm and Bedouin traditions over being the biggest or showiest. So expect natural beauty and friendly locals. The almost constant sunshine doesn’t hurt, either.