The shortest month of the year is also one of the best for vacations. Frozen adventures, cozy romances and huge celebrations are all on the cards. Choose carefully and you’ll find the best places to travel in February may even offer all three.
Across the world, February is carnival season. Ancient traditions and lunar transitions transform towns, cities, and entire countries into colorful and chaotic hotspots. Mountain resorts across North America and Europe are blanketed in snow and skiers. And for the romantics, bars and restaurants dim their lights in preparation for Valentine’s Day. Here’s my rundown of the ten best February vacations.
The 10 best February destinations
Best places to travel for Valentine’s Day
While it’s undeniably commercialized, February 14th is still an opportunity for romance that many can’t resist. Across the world, cities, resorts, and hotels offer special deals and packages to lure in itchy-footed lovers. Here are the best February vacations for romance.
1. Maldives
- Learn more: Malé travel guide
- Why visit in February? Long hot days, blue skies, and no worries.
If you’re going to do something extravagant for Valentine’s Day, do something really extravagant. There are plenty of glorious islands around the world, but none manage to maintain their magic quite like the Maldives. February is a dream—impossibly blue skies and luminous seas, long and dry days, light rains, and low humidity.
To be honest, you could pick any of the hundred-plus 5-star resorts and have the trip of a lifetime. The secret is to pick the thing you love most and choose the resort that does it best.
For a luxurious, laid back Valentine’s party, I can’t fault the W Maldives, with its huge wet bar pool and whatever/whenever mantra. If you don’t mind a third wheel, go snorkeling with resident reef turtle and island (turtle) celebrity, Bob. For loftier Valentine’s plans, try Gili Lankanfushi’s new ‘Honey-Lope’ micro wedding package and tie the knot in paradise.
2. Terni, Italy
- Why visit in February? It’s the home of Saint Valentine (and a lovely city).
What more appropriate way to celebrate February 14th than visiting the birthplace of Saint Valentine? Patron saint of lovers, name giver to the world’s most romantic day, friend to florists. Terni in Italy’s gorgeous Umbria region is your destination and a wonderful getaway at any time of year.
Your first stop should be the Basilica to tip your hat to the ashes of Bishop Valentino. Then it’s time for a walk, Pilgrims (and hikers) can now walk the Cammino di San Valentino. A 118 mile walking path, it connects some of the Conca di Terni’s most beautiful and evocative places. Take it in stages and enjoy wild forests, medieval villages, monasteries, local cultures, and amazing cuisine en route.
Back in the city, don’t miss some of the month-long celebrations. Highlights include the Saint Valentine’s Feast, but only if you’re engaged and getting married in 2024. For something more inclusive, the historic Valentine Fair along the Viale Trieste is always a treat. You’ll need to fly into Rome, a two-hour drive away.
3. Paris, France
Where other than the City of Love for a slice of Valentine-themed romance? Paris is a treat in February—tourists are thinner on the ground, everything is open and prices are lower.
Don’t worry about the colder weather either. This is the best time of year to enjoy Paris’s loveliest experiences, almost all of which are indoors including candle-lit eateries, rollicking bars, museums, and haunting catacombs.
Wander the bistros and bars of lovely Le Marais or follow the buzz in South Pigalle, Paris’s current hot spot. Stroll north into the 18th arrondissement where you’ll find the Moulin Rouge, Sacré Coeur, and restaurant Bouillon Pigalle. The restaurant du jour, it runs non-stop from midday to midnight serving indulgent French classics.
Best places to travel in February in the US
With Black History Month and Mardi Gras, Valentine’s and President’s Days, the US is alive with great vacation spots in February. From the capital city to a mountain retreat, culture infuses every aspect of these historic places.
4. Washington, D.C.
The nation’s capital is one of the best places to celebrate Black History Month. African American culture is intrinsic to Washington’s identity and it is home to some of the most important locations to explore black history.
Nowhere is that truer than at the Smithsonian National Museum of African History & Culture. An architectural icon, its four floors walk visitors through African American life in engaging and eye-opening detail. Follow it with a trip to honor the life of Rosa Parks at the Mansion on O, where a dedicated tour explores her relationship with the city.
Sure to be a focus point for much of Black History Month is Black Lives Matter Plaza on 16th Street just north of Lafayette Square. A beacon for protest, expect speeches and celebration atop the extraordinary yellow mural emblazoned beneath your feet. Finish your visit with a wander through the historic Shaw neighborhood for culture, entertainment, and some epic restaurants.
5. Steamboat Springs, Colorado
With winter on the way out, take a last chance to revel in the snow at Steamboat Springs. Near the Wyoming border on the slopes of the Rocky Mountains, ‘Ski Town USA’ is famed for its champagne powder and big attitude.
Across six towing peaks, you’ll find 165 trails and 3,000 acres of skiable terrain. A huge recent investment has added new gondola services and a beginner’s area, making it a rival of any US ski resort.
Skiing is only one of many jewels in this charming town’s crown. February 8th to 12th sees the 110th Steamboat Springs Winter Carnival kick off. Celebrating its unique mix of snow sports and Western heritage, there are parades and parties, crazy races, and giant stunts. It’s enormous fun.
6. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
In a state with a reputation for colorful politics, Baton Rouge is a fitting place to spend President’s Day long weekend. Louisiana’s capital mixes nature, culture, and history effortlessly and is much more than a launch point into New Orleans.
The city’s historical star is undoubtedly the Old State Capitol, an outrageous Gothic Revival-style white castle. Rich in scandal and disaster, it’s apparently haunted by a senator who died there during a fiery debate. Don’t miss the lovely French Creole Magnolia Mound Plantation either, one of Baton Rouge’s oldest buildings.
On Sunday morning, go hungry to Mason’s Grill for its legendary weekend brunch and America’s best Bloody Mary(s). Work off the cajun food with a spot of afternoon crocodile spotting on a tour into the Bayou. And don’t forget, February is also Mardi Gras, so Frenchman Street and the Spanish Quarter will always be buzzing.
Best places to travel in February for festivals
Cast your eyes to the horizon and you’ll find some wonderful festivals transforming cities and countries in February. Across the Caribbean and Europe, it’s carnival season. In Asia, the New Year signals new opportunities and an excuse for a party.
7. Trinidad and Tobago
- Why visit in February? Enjoy the best carnival in the Caribbean.
They say that if Trinidad isn’t celebrating carnival, it’s preparing for it. Fly into Port of Spain from February 7th and see it for yourself. The primary festival runs for the two days before Ash Wednesday, on the 12th and 13th in 2024. But the week before is already abuzz with celebrations.
Colorful costumes and outlandish parades are the norm. Dig deeper and you’ll find stick-fighting and limbo, calypso and Soca competitions, steel-brand parades, and historic reenactments. This year coincides with Black History Month, making events like the rerunning of the Canboulay Riots even more poignant in understanding the indigenous islander experience.
Tradition has it that carnival is followed by recovery. Hop over to Tobago and base yourself in lovely Scarborough where you can rent a car to explore the island’s natural wonders. The Main Ridge Forest Reserve and Pirate’s Bay are highlights in the north, but my pick is the magical Store Bay and almost obscenely picturesque Pigeon Point Beach.
8. Singapore
Welcome the first days of summer early with a trip to Singapore to celebrate the Lunar (Chinese) New Year. Marking the transition from winter to summer on February 10th, this year’s celebration ushers in the Year of the Wood Dragon.
There are few more impressive places to join the party than Singapore. A national holiday, shops and businesses close and the island nation erupts in a celebration of fantasy and firecrackers. For the fantasy, watch for the Lion Dance performed by elaborately dressed dancers searching for luck in the New Year. For the firecrackers, head to the huge shows on Beach Road of Bugis and in Chinatown, naturally.
Singapore is renowned for its futuristic architecture. The extravagant tradition and ancient decorations of New Year somehow somehow only enhance it. Expect the city to be throbbing with visitors, prices to be higher, and early bookings essential (but worth it.)
9. Jaipur, India
- Learn more: Jaipur travel guide
- Why visit in February? Widen your horizons at the Jaipur Literature Festival.
India’s northern jewel is one of its most vibrant and exciting cities, both historic and modern. February is a great time to visit; the peak of Jaipur’s winter, its weather is dry and mild. It’s also when the Jaipur Literature Festival takes place in 2024 under the theme “Stories Unite Us.”
From February 1st to 5th, this book lover’s nirvana unfurls its pages across the city. The world’s largest free literary event, it attracts voracious readers and famed authors, deep thinkers, and inspiring speakers. Events and exhibitions take place in palaces and forts. Bands and singers take to the music stage. Collective narratives and shared languages bring cultures and people together.
Make sure to look up from the pages every now and again, because Jaipur is beautiful. Colorful and exquisite, its architecture inspires, from the Isarlat Minaret to the city fort. None is more impressive than its most famous building, the pink-painted, incredibly intricate Hawa Mahal, “Palace of Breeze.”
10. Venice, Italy
Venice, the Floating City, is a place of crushing beauty and a long history, of magic and mystery. Never is that truer than during the ten days of masked debauchery and decadence that mark the Carnival of Venice.
Wrapping the city in a veil of theater and music, the carnival dates back to the 12th century. On February 3rd, the city will erupt from the stillness of a Canaletto painting into a seething mass of masked partygoers. Don your finest garb and make for the Water Parade. Watch elaborately costumed Venetians float down the Grand Canal in extravagant gondolas. Hussle for a spot, grab some awesome street food and take in a spectacle like no other.
If you miss the grand opening, there’s a vast program of music, theater, circus and art to immerse yourself in. Venice at its most mysterious, busiest, and best.
Discover more great places to travel
For more winter vacation inspiration, take a look at the best places to travel in January. Got an eye on spring? Then the best places to travel in March have some magic vacation destinations.
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