Looking for the best places to visit in Asia in November?? You’ve come to the right place and have the right idea! Asia is such a good part of the world to visit in November with many countries well over their humid monsoon summer and these are a great escape from the cold you might be experiencing before.
At the same time, many other countries in Asia in November are embracing Autumn and fall foliage. And best of all, November is a great time to travel to Asia before the December holiday crowds arrive and prices increase.
From the sunny islands of Thailand, the clear skies of India, to the autumn colours of Japan, here are some top places to go in November in Asia!
1. Rajasthan, India
Rajasthan, one of the most popular states of India to visit is at the top of the list of where to go in Asia in November because I spent the whole month of November in India a few years ago so I can highly recommend this part of the world!
Firstly, Diwali falls towards the start of November lighting up Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur with diyas, fireworks and days of celebration either side of it, while the Pushkar Camel Fair takes over the desert later in the month with thousands of camels, traders and a genuine carnival atmosphere. Early risers get the added bonus of cool mornings for hot air balloon rides over Jaipur, while evenings are mild enough for rooftop dinners in Rajasthan without a jacket.
Weather wise, November is when the state finally sheds the last of the monsoon humidity, leaving clear skies and warm, comfortable days which is what I remember most from spending November in India making it one of the most reliable windows of the entire year for exploring forts, palaces and desert dunes without wilting in the heat.
Related posts: DETAILED Golden Triangle India Itinerary – 1 Week in India
2. South Coast, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s south coast flips its weather almost on a switch in November, as the retreating southwest monsoon hands over to drier, sunnier conditions along Galle, Mirissa, Weligama and the surrounding beach towns. This is genuinely one of the better shoulder season picks among the best places to go in Asia in November, since you get the same good surf and warm, settled days that arrive in force come December, only with noticeably thinner crowds and softer prices before the peak season kicks in properly.
The back half of the month tends to be the safer bet, giving the shift away from the wet season a little longer to fully settle in, though even early November usually brings decent stretches of sun between showers. Pair a few days on the coast with a trip inland to the hill country’s tea estates, or head further out for a chance at spotting elephants and leopards, and you get a trip full of experiences and I talk from experience after visiting Sri Lanka in August which was very wet, that a bit of rain doesn’t ruin the fun anyway!
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Raja Ampat sits at the far eastern edge of Indonesia and runs on its own separate climate calendar entirely, which is exactly why it deserves a place on this list. November falls at the tail end of its dry season, delivering some of the clearest underwater visibility of the year for diving and snorkeling among its limestone islands, while crowds thin out noticeably compared to the busier months just before it. Daytime temperatures sit comfortably in the low 30’s, and the calm seas make boat transfers between islands far more pleasant than during the wetter months.
There is no single week that stands out over another here, since conditions stay fairly consistent right through the month, which actually works in your favour if you are trying to plan around flights rather than a narrow weather window. Anyone researching the best places to visit in Asia in November for diving specifically should put this destination right at the top of the shortlist, ahead of far more heavily marketed islands elsewhere in the region.
4. Northern Bali, Indonesia
If Bali in November is on your radar then it can be, but it’s important to note there’s different weather throughout the island in this month. While southern Bali and Ubud start picking up rain by November, the north coast around Lovina and Amed sits in a rain shadow that keeps it noticeably drier for longer, making it one of the smarter places to go in Asia in November if Bali is on your list but you want to dodge the wet season a little longer. Days still reach into the low 30’s, and the calmer black sand beaches of the north are known for dolphin watching at sunrise and easier diving conditions than the more exposed south.
Early November is the better window here specifically, since the dry spells tend to hold for days at a time in the first half of the month before rain starts settling into more of a daily rhythm as December approaches. If you want Bali without fully committing to wet season roulette, basing yourself in the north rather than the south is the move.
Related Posts: DETAILED Packing List for Bali for Females. What to Pack for Bali!
5. Phuket & Andaman Coast, Thailand
Thailand is one of my top favourite countries and another country I’ve been to many times in November. The thing about Thailand in November is that the Southern Western part of the country is best over the likes of Koh Samui and Koh Tao. For a beach holiday in Asia in November, Phuket and Krabi are the places to go and for islands to visit I’d recommend Koh Lanta and Koh Phi Phi because by the middle of November conditions shift noticeably, with calmer seas, clearer skies and far more consistent sunshinewhich is also when high season quietly begins without prices or crowds jumping the way they do by December.
Loy Krathong, the candlelit lantern festival, is celebrated in November with krathongs floated out into the sea rather than rivers, giving the beaches a completely different kind of festival atmosphere to Chiang Mai’s sky lanterns further north. If you are choosing among the best places to visit in Southeast Asia in November purely on a value versus weather basis, booking a holiday here for the second half of the month a great idea!
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6. North Vietnam
For another one of the best places to go in Southeast Asia in November, Hanoi, Sapa and Ha Long Bay in Northern Vietnam settle into some of their most comfortable weather of the year by November, with the summer humidity long gone and winter’s real chill still a month or two away. Ha Long Bay’s limestone karsts look particularly striking under November’s clearer skies, and Sapa’s mountain air turns crisp, ideal for trekking between hill tribe villages even though the golden rice terraces that draw photographers in September and October have usually already been harvested by this point.
There is no dramatic split between early and late November weather wise, though mornings in Sapa do get noticeably colder as the month goes on, so packing a proper layer becomes more important toward the end. For travellers weighing up where to travel in Asia in November who want mountains and coastline in the same trip, northern Vietnam is hard to beat.
7. Siem Reap, Cambodia
If Angkor Wat is on your bucket list to visit you’ll be happy to know that Siem Reap enters its dry season just as November begins, which means Angkor Wat and the surrounding temple complexes get the best of both worlds, lush, green, post monsoon vegetation paired with clearer skies and steadily dropping humidity. Temperatures generally sit in the mid to high 20’s, comfortable enough for full days cycling or walking between temples without the punishing heat that arrives later in the dry season.
If you want a real adventure and local experience, plan your visit in late November around Bon Om Touk, Cambodia’s 3 Day Water Festival celebrating the end of the wet season which fills Phnom Penh and towns along the Tonle Sap with boat races, fireworks and huge crowds celebrating the reversal of the river’s flow, a genuinely unique spectacle if your itinerary allows for a short detour from Siem Reap. Among the best places to go in Southeast Asia in November, this is one of the few where a specific festival date is worth building the whole trip around and the weather is great!
8. Bagan & Inle Lake, Myanmar
For one of the underrated destinations and still an off the beaten path destination in Asia in November, consider Myanmar! Bagan which is famous for its temples and Baloon rides over the temples, transformation into dry season happens almost overnight in November,. Daytime highs sit in the low 30’s with much cooler, more comfortable nights, and this is generally considered the start of the best stretch of the year for sunrise hot air balloon flights over the thousands of temples scattered across the plain.
Another local festival and a festival to end the wet season in Myanmar is Tazaungdaing which typically falls in November and fills the skies thousands of colourful paper lanterns and oil lamps. If you are drawn to Myanmar as one of the best places to visit in Asia in November specifically for something less crowded than its neighbours, don’t miss out on this hidden gem in Asia in November! My trip to Myanmar was truly memorable!
9. Langkawi, Malaysia
Malaysia is another country in Southeast Asia which has very split weather throughout the year. In my summer guides to Asia, I recommend the Perhentian islands in Malaysia but these are closed in November so for Island life, Langkawi on the other side of the island is the place to go! Langkawi and Malaysia’s west coast head into their peak season just as November begins, warm, humid and increasingly reliable.
Expect hot days close to 30 degrees with the occasional tropical downpour rather than sustained rain, which is a small trade off for having beaches, cable cars and mangrove tours all fully open and running. If you are looking for best places to travel in Asia in November and want a reliable beach destination without too many crowds just yet, Langkawi is ideal
10. Palawan, Philippines
The island of Palawan is home to the popular areas of El Nido and Coron in the Philippines and the island clears the worst of typhoon season by November, leaving warm days, turquoise water and comparatively low rainfall against the rest of the Philippines. Manila and Cebu see decent conditions too this month so you can combine a trip with these, making it one of the more underrated ideas on any list of the best places to visit in Southeast Asia in November.
Weather stays fairly even across the whole month rather than swinging sharply between early and late November, so timing here comes down more to flight availability and island hopping tour schedules than the forecast itself. If typhoon anxiety has kept the Philippines off your radar earlier in the year as it has done with me in the past, November is when that risk drops away enough to make Palawan worth booking properly.
11. Tokyo & Kyoto Japan
For an autumn focused trip to Asia in November, Tokyo spends the first half of November easing out of autumn with daytime temperatures still a comfortable 18°C or so, before turning noticeably cooler toward the end of the month, but it is that same late window, roughly the last ten days, that brings the most vivid colour to parks like Shinjuku Gyoen and Rikugien.
Kyoto follows a similar rhythm but slightly later again, with maples at temples such as Tofukuji and Eikando typically peaking somewhere between the 20th of the month and the start of December, making it genuinely one of the best places to visit in Asia in November for anyone chasing that classic postcard image of a temple wrapped in red leaves, even though it also means dealing with the busiest, priciest stretch of the season in both cities!
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I often say that Taiwan is my favourite Asian country because it has it all and it’s extremely underrated! Taiwan gets a fraction of the crowds Japan does for autumn travel despite offering very similar attractions with temperatures sitting in a comfortable range depending on region and golden ginkgo leaves alongside red maples appearing across the island through early and mid November.
Taiwan is a small island but it’s still quite large and where to go in Taiwan in November is important. The south around Tainan stays driest and warmest through the month, while the east coast near Hualien sees noticeably more rain. Taiwan is one of the better answers if you want East Asia’s autumn without East Asia’s autumn crowds.
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13. South Korea
South Korea is a genuine tale of two halves in November, and getting the timing right matters more here than almost anywhere else on this list. The first week or two still deliver spectacular fall colour across Seoul and the wider country, with highs still hovering around a comfortable 20°C, but colour fades fast after that and temperatures drop sharply toward the month’s end, closer to 12°C by day and considerably colder after dark.
If Autumn foliage is the draw for this November trip, book for the very start of the month. Either way, November still brings a good spread of events and local festivals, from chrysanthemum festivals in Jogyesa and Masan to camellia blooms in Jeju and Seoul’s own Autumn Festa, giving you a reason to visit even once the leaves have turned.
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14. China
If you haven’t considered China for an Autumn trip, think again! With a country so big it really offers something for every trip type. Up north, Beijing turns cold and dry, with daytime temperatures dropping to somewhere between 1°C and 10°C, but the first ten days of the month are genuinely nice, catching the last of the golden ginkgo trees at the Forbidden City and Summer Palace alongside red leaves at Fragrant Hills, plus a noticeably quieter Great Wall than the October crowds bring. Further east, Shanghai, Hangzhou and the mountain scenery of Huangshan move through a more uneven month, starting mild, dipping with a cold front and a run of rainy days around the middle, then settling into crisp, sunny conditions for a final stretch that many consider the best foliage of the whole season.
Head south instead and the country looks completely different by November. Guilin and Yangshuo stay warm through the month, with daytime temperatures often into the twenties and only a handful of rainy days, though it is worth waiting until after the fifteenth if ginkgo colour and cooler, more comfortable evenings matter to your trip. Go further south again to Sanya on Hainan Island and you land in a genuine winter sun escape, with average temperatures around a steady 22°C, no typhoon risk this time of year, and some of the best beach conditions on the whole island. Between the two ends of the country, China covers cold, crisp autumn scenery and warm, easy beach time in a single itinerary, which is a fairly rare combination for anyone searching for where to go in Asia in November.
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15. Hong Kong
Hong Kong becomes ideal to visit in November after months of hot humidity, with humidity dropping to its lowest point of the year and a clear, dry days that make walking the harbourfront or hiking the Dragon’s Back trail genuinely comfortable rather than a sweaty endurance test.. did you know that Hong Kong has amazing hiking trails as well as city fun??
Given how reliably good the weather is here, Hong Kong deserves to be mentioned further up on this list of the best places to visit in Asia in November than it is!
16. Istanbul, Türkiye
Türkiye is one of my top picks in the best countries to visit in November, but for this list, I’m suggesting Istanbul as the ideal November city break because Istanbul in November takes on a genuinely different character to the summer version of the city, with daytime temperatures cooling to a mild 16°C and the Bosphorus often wrapped in a light autumn haze that suits the mosques and old town rooftops rather well. Rain is more frequent here than in most of the destinations on this list, so a proper layer and something waterproof are worth packing, but the trade off is a noticeably quieter, less frantic Istanbul than the one most visitors see in peak season alongside the heat.
I lived in Istanbul in November a few years ago and it was such a great month seeing the autumn colours arrive in the city much later than the rest of Europe and locals enjoying the cooler weather and it gives plenty of opportunity to explore the local cafes in Istanbul and restaurants at an enjoyable pace.
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17. Samarkand and Bukhara, Uzbekistan
Tourism in Uzbekistan is on the rise and after visiting the other Spring, I highly recommend it to people looking for a trip to Central Asia that is surprisingly easy to travel! The popular cities of Samarkand and Bukhara settle into a mild, comfortable rhythm by November, with the turquoise tiled madrasas and busy local bazaars best explored in daytime temperatures that rarely climb much past the mid teens. This is very much the quiet season here, with visitor numbers falling away sharply compared to spring and summer, so the Registan and the old walled quarters of Bukhara feel noticeably more like living cities than tourist sets.
There is little reason to favour one half of the month over the other for weather, though earlier in November tends to hold onto slightly milder afternoons before the chill properly sets in. For exploring the Silk Road in November, these 2 cities are ideal!
18. South Pakistan
Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi make up the strongest case for Pakistan among the best places to visit in South Asia in November, offering comfortable, dry, mid range temperatures that sit well clear of both the summer heat and the winter chill that eventually reaches even the lowlands. Karachi’s coastal position keeps it especially mild, while Lahore’s old city and food streets are genuinely pleasant to explore on foot without the exhaustion that summer visits usually bring.
Unlike the mountainous north, which starts closing off toward the end of the month as snow arrives, the southern cities stay accessible and comfortable right through November and are ideal answer to where to go in Asia in November for culture and food focused travel rather than trekking.
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Finally, island paradise in the Maldives! November brings the drier northeast pattern, bringing rainfall down, sunshine back and calmer seas across most atolls. Daytime temperatures hold around a steady 30°C with warm, swimmable seas, and this transition also happens to overlap with some of the best diving of the year, including final whale shark sightings around South Ari Atoll and strong manta ray activity at Hanifaru Bay in Baa Atoll.
Early November is the smarter time to book, since rates climb noticeably as the month goes on and the December peak approaches, meaning the first half of the month often delivers dry season weather at close to shoulder season prices. Of everywhere on this list, the Maldives might be the single best combined answer for anyone searching purely for the best places to go in Asia in November for good weather and value together, if you compare it to the approaching busy and expensive season!
FAQ about Asia in November
What are the best places to visit in Asia in November?
Rajasthan in India is hard to beat thanks to Diwali and the Pushkar Camel Fair landing in the same month, alongside really pleasant weather. For a beach break I recommend Southwest Thailand like Phuket and Krabi. China offers unique experience all over in November.
Where should I go in Asia in November for warm, reliable beach weather?
Raja Ampat and Northern Bali in Indonesia, Langkawi in Malaysia, Palawan in the Philippines and the Maldives all deliver dependable dry season conditions this month, with the Maldives edging ahead as the best combined value and weather pick on the whole list.
Does it matter which week of November I visit Asia in?
For some destinations, yes. Phuket is noticeably better from the middle of the month onward, South Korea’s autumn colour fades fast after the first week or two, Tokyo, Kyoto and Mount Fuji all peak in the back half of the month, and Guilin and Hainan in China are better after the 15th, so it is worth checking the specific entry in this list before booking flights.
What festivals happen across Asia in November?
Diwali and the Pushkar Camel Fair in India, Loy Krathong in Thailand, Bon Om Touk in Cambodia, Tazaungdaing in Myanmar, Autumn festivals in South Korea.
I hope this post has helped you with the best places to visit in Asia in November!
- For more of my month by month travel posts, see:
- 22 BEST Countries to Visit in NOVEMBER – Good Weather Places To Go
- 33 BEST Places to Visit in Asia in December & January!
- 23 BEST Places to Visit in Asia in OCTOBER – Autumn, Beach, City Destinations
- 22 BEST Countries to Visit in OCTOBER! Autumn Colours & Good Weather