Where to go in April

Spring is such a sweet month in Spain. While the winters are hardly anything to complain about, the springtime signals that summer is just around the corner. Springtime festivals pop up all over the country but if you’re looking for a city with equal parts personality and looks, then Seville is just the ticket. April brings with it the city’s biggest festival and celebration, the Feria de Abril, which celebrates the city’s flamenco roots more than anything else.

Start your trip here a bit earlier, in order to catch the Semana Santa processions and watch the city’s tone go from grieving to celebratory! It’s intoxicating as the city’s orange and jasmine trees blossom and the streets are filled with ladies in brightly coloured polka-dot flamenco dresses. Catch the parades around the fairground and take in all the city sights: from the Alcázar to the Catedral and Giralda, from the Parque de María Luisa to the Baños Árabes, where you can enjoy a traditional hammam experience. A pot of mint tea on the terrace of your hotel in Sevilla is just the way to end your day.

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Spring is arguably the best time to visit Southern Spain, with delightfully warm and sunny days, the ideal for city sightseeing.

From first glance, as your plane descends onto the city, Dubai looks like a city from another planet, or at least a city from the future. Skyscrapers here are like nowhere else on Earth, the crystalline coastline is flanked by palms and to the other side is Dubai’s endless desert.

So what’s all the fuss about this Middle Eastern city? There’s enough shopping here to max out each and every credit card in your purse at the world’s biggest shopping mall, the restaurants are among the best in the world with dishes from both East and West and the spas… don’t get us started on the spas! Dubai is a city full of surprises. Where else can you enjoy a palm-studded beach holiday one day and then go skiing the next day? Soak it all in from the top of the Burj Khalifa, when else will you have a city of this calibre at your feet?

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Expect hot, but not scorching, days while you're in Dubai in April, with low humidity. Short, springtime showers are common, but a welcome relief from the heat.

Morocco is the perfect choice if you’re yearning for a sand and sun destination but you think Spain’s been overdone. Travel a little further south and you’ll be met with sultry coastlines, incredible desert landscapes, majestic mountains and ancient cities that can’t help but charm with their souks and marketplaces, snake charmers and teahouses. Springtime in Morocco is just lush, and we mean that literally. The country is at its greenest and what better time to plan a trip into the Atlas Mountains with a Morocco car hire or explore the mighty Sahara?

Looking for those essential Moroccan experiences? Enjoy slow mornings at a café with a mint tea, learn to roll couscous, go on a camel trek and discover one of the country’s UNESCO sites, shop the many souks for trinkets to bring home, get lost in the medina and sweat yourself silly in a traditional hammam. It’s all part of Moroccan life, whichever city you choose to explore first: Marrakesh, Fez, Casablanca, Tangier, Rabat, Agadir... the choice is yours!

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The rainy season ends in March, leaving Morocco a lush, warm, green landscape when you arrive in April. Expect lovely hot days with cool evenings at this time of the year.

Have your heart set on a trip Down Under? There are plenty of reasons to fall in love with Sydney and the glitz of the place will be the first thing to draw you in. Once you start to scratch the surface you’ll soon discover how deliciously addictive Sydney’s buzzing food scene is, how easy it is to spend the entire day at the beach and that there’s a lot more to history than what you read in the books.

Sydney certainly has a reputation for being a concrete jungle but national parks surround the city so you’re never far from a green oasis: Royal National Park, Kanangra-Boyd National Park, Blue Mountains, Dharug, Brisbane Water and others. Within city limits, the Royal Botanic Gardens are a must, along with Taronga Zoo if you want to get your fill of koalas, kangaroos and Aussie creatures big and small.

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There is hardly a bad time to visit Australia’s biggest city and April is just about when the weather turns from hot and balmy summer into autumn in Sydney.

There’s enough to see and do in California to keep you busy for weeks. This West Coast state has it all from foggy redwood forests in the north to the most beautiful sun-kissed beaches in the south. The cities in between are classic stops for any American road trip: San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles and San Diego… whether you take Hwy 1 and 101 down the coast or wind your way through the Gold Country along Hwy 49.

California’s natural landscapes make it mainstay on any tourist’s itinerary on holidays to the US. Yosemite National Park and Death Valley National Park (two very different places) are musts on any Cali trip. Wine lovers will find a trip to Napa Valley the perfect addition to their trip while those that are kids-at-heart should head straight for Disneyland. If the beach is your main prerogative, you’ll have 1,100 miles worth of it to choose from as soon as you hit Santa Barbara heading south with your rental car, although you might want to opt for a wetsuit until the ocean warms up in May.

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Weather in California can be pretty varied, with the hottest temperatures in and around Death Valley. April is generally warm, with more rain expected in the north of the state than in the south.

Gearing up for a pre-summer escape? If you’re after a bargain trip somewhere hot, sunny and glorious in Europe then Crete is the perfect choice. April is still out of season, so villas and holiday rental apartments are as cheap as they come, the same goes with flights. Crete has everything you could hope for in a Mediterranean island retreat: beaches, ancient treasures, vibrant cities, indulgent cuisine and warm-hearted locals.

Crete is as good as it gets with the sun beating down on its beaches, the rugged canyons just waiting to be explored by adventurous travellers and delightful little villages clinging to sea cliffs or tucked into quiet valleys. Use the days you’re not lazing about near the beach (Preveli Beach is a good choice) or your villa’s pool to explore the island’s ancient history. The Minoans lived here some 4,000 years ago and the famous Palace of Knossos is a must for every visitor. Wherever you go, there’s never any rush. Take a cue from the locals and take things slow.

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April marks the beginning of the island's warm season, when you can expect endless sunny days and warmer temperatures as the weeks go by.