With the hotter summer months in Europe nearing their end, travelers are now turning their eyes to fall travel planning, and if booking trends are anything to go by, we can infer the Mediterranean will continue on track to be the continent’s busiest spot in the coming season.
Set to begin in late September, the fall will bring with it milder weather, cooler sweatshirt nights, and more rain across the pond, but some destinations will almost certainly enjoy more hours of sunshine and even soaring summer-like temperatures.
If you’re looking for a culture-infused sunny getaway, these are the top 3 beach destinations in the Mediterranean for the Fall:
Cyprus
A lesser-known Mediterranean island – at least from an average American’s standpoint – Cyprus is a sovereign state in the Eastern portion of the basin with strong geopolitical ties to Europe, yet one that is geographically located in Western Asia.
A stone’s throw away from the mainland of Asian Turkiye, it encompasses the best of both Western and Eastern Worlds, with Greek and Turkish being the official language of the state, and a rich, mixed heritage spanning several millennia.
As Cyprus is the Southeasternmost nation in the European Union, it offers visitors year-round warmer weather, particularly along the coast. Its white-sand beaches remain swim-friendly and warm enough for sunbathing well into the off-season.
Vacationing in Cyprus in September, you should still expect an average maximum temperature of 84.2 degrees Fahrenheit on the West Coast, 87.8 on the Southeastern coast, as high as 93.2 in Nicosia, the inland capital, and 75.2 on the mountainous hinterland.
Turkiye
Cyprus’ direct neighbor to the North, Turkiye has an extensive Mediterranean coastline running for an impressive 997.30 miles, dotted with gorgeous golden-sand beaches and bustling port cities, contoured with bright-blue waters and blessed with balmy subtropical weather.
Some of Turkiye’s hottest destinations for the low season include Bodrum, a small city on the Aegean section of the country, best known for its upscale resorts and lively nightlife; Antalya, the Queen of the Eastern Mediterranean, and an exciting regional capital where ancient Roman and modern developments mix to form a unique cityscape, and Marmaris.
Similarly to Bodrum and Antalya, Marmaris has attained international fame for its long hot summers and surprisingly sunny autumns. It boasts a high concentration of luxury all-inclusive stays, bounded by the aptly-titled ‘Turquoise Coast’ of Turkiye, as well as leisure venues.
Though Turkiye is much larger a country than the aforementioned island-state of Cyprus, with much more diverse geographical features, temperatures along the Mediterranean coastline, whether it’s up on the Aegean provinces, or the Southeastern Mediterranean, average 73.4-84.2.
In the trendy Antalya, the seas are relatively warm for swimming as late as October, with most sunny days easily hitting 77 degrees long after the weather in Southern Europe has cooled.
Malaga, Spain
The largest and most populous city on Spain’s Andalusian coast, Spain is a popular off-season island getaway due to its high proportion of sunny days, with an average 300 sunny days per year, far more than other Southern European destination.
You may be wondering why: as it sits directly opposite of the coast of North Africa, at the narrowest point between both continents, Malaga is often hit by heatwaves originating from across the sea, and it’s usually warmer due to being closer to the tropics.
This means the temperatures are usually higher, and other than the wettest month of December, seasons are not as marked, and the weather remains virtually unchanged, with average highs of 80.6 registered in the fall.
Whether you’re based in the bustling city, a vibrant beachfront getaway home to over half a million residents, or any of the Andalusia’s smaller coastal resort towns, such as Marbella, rest assured you’ll rarely feel the need to throw on a jacket in the daytime.
