Where is hot in November? Best options for winter sun from Rome to Rio - and if travel restrictions will remain

The Foreign Office’s guidance for international travel advises against travelling to "red list countries” to prevent new Covid-19 variants from entering the UK, while a traffic light system determines which travel restrictions will affect you when travelling to other nations.

The system divides countries into green, amber, amber plus, and red lists, with different rules applied to each.

While that is arguably a confusing system, it does at least give would-be holidaymakers some hope that warmer weather and days spent relaxing by the sea are once again within reach, especially as temperatures start to fall in the UK.

Here are some winter sun destinations you might be dreaming about following 18 months of on-again, off-again lockdowns - with average temperatures according to the Met Office – and some answers to that all important question: “When will travel restrictions be lifted?”

Cancun

The average October temperature for Cancun is around 32.9, as “the warm Caribbean Sea and the north-east trade winds serve to create a typical tropical coastal climate across the eastern coast of Mexico,” explains the Met Office.

The month of October marks the decline of the wet season, but for those who dislike humidity, it’s still relatively high, at around 80 per cent.

Marrakech

Marrakech has an average October temperature of 28.3C, and there’s plenty to explore in this city rich in history and culture.

There’s typically eight hours of sunshine a day in the month of October.

Lanzarote

The average October temperature in Lanzarote is 26.8C, with an average of 7 hours daily, and a minimum temperature of 19C during the night.

Rain during October is usually at its most moderate, with an average of 11 mm. The wind speed also drops during October to around 11.1 mph.

Sea temperatures are close to their warmest at 27C.

Rome

The average October temperature is 22.4C. Rome has a wealth of ancient history, including the Roman Forum, the Vatican and the Colosseum - not to mention the city’s array of delicious Mediterranean cuisine on offer.

Rome has an average of 8 hours of sunshine each day, but rainfall does increase during the month of October.

Algarve

Algarve has an average October temperature of 23.2C in the day, and lows of 14C during the night.

The Mediterranean climate does gradually decrease during October as the season heads towards autumn, but sunshine hours remain at an average of just over seven hours daily.

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro has an average October temperature of 26C. Although temperatures are relatively consistent throughout the year, they peak at an average of 26C in October.

Rainfall is also relatively minimal during this month, averaging at 88 mm.

Gran Canaria

With an average October temperature of 26.4 °C, Gran Canaria is the most populous of the Canary Islands.

It has 147 miles of coastline and 60 miles of golden beaches, making it a popular place to relax and get some winter sun.

October in Gran Canaria is warm, sunny and dry. The sea tends to be at its warmest at this time of year, with an average temperature of 22 ºC.

Rain is rare, averaging 19 mm over the course of the month.

Kos

The Greek island has an average October temperature of 26C, with around eight hours of daily sunshine and average wind speeds of 4.1 mph.

Average rainfall does increase to 55 mm, but it’s still a largely dry month.

However, October marks the end of the warm season with cloud cover steadily increasing toward the end of the month. The beginning of October has the greatest chance of sunshine.

Cyprus

Cyprus has an average temperature of 26.7C in the month of October, with 10 hours of sunshine each day.

The sea temperature is still warm during October, averaging at 24C.

Will travel restrictions still be in place?

The uncertain nature of the course of the Covid-19 pandemic means it’s hard to say definitively whether travel restrictions will or won’t be in place in the coming months.

However, assuming things continue heading in the right direction (cases continue to fall, there are no alarming new variants to worry about and the vaccination programme continues apace) we may just start to see restrictions become a little more lenient.

The latest news with regards to travel to and from the UK (as of Monday 2 August), means fully-vaccinated travellers from the US and European Union no longer have to self-isolate when arriving in the UK from an amber list country.

The new rule applies to England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland and has been welcomed by the travel industry, though airline bosses are calling for more countries to be moved to the UK’s green list.

A lateral flow or PCR test will still need to be taken by travellers both before departure and on the second day after they have arrived.

Tougher rules remain in place for travellers from France, with isolation rules in place regardless of whether they are fully-vaccinated or not.

When is the next travel restrictions review?

The rule changes will give hope to those looking to travel post-summer, but the rules have not yet been reciprocated abroad, with restrictions on travellers from the UK still in place across much of Europe, and in the US.

In July, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the UK needed to be “careful” and to make sure travel restrictions are lifted “at the right time.”

"I know it has been frustrating,” he added. “I know it has been an inconvenience, there’s been lots of things in this pandemic that have been inconvenient.

“But the truth is the whole tide – whether it is domestic restrictions, international – is going in the right direction of opening but we do need to just be careful.”

The travel reviews are scheduled to take place every three weeks, meaning the next update should take place on Wednesday 4 August, and may see more travel options open up.

Any changes are likely to come into force from Monday 9 August.

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