Where to travel in February

The end of high summer has set over Australia and New Zealand, and though some areas can be toasty, this is a great month to head down under for city escapes, beach parties and the turtle-hatching flurry in Queensland.

1. Bolivia

Bring your brolly to Bolivia this month. The rainy season is the best time to glimpse the world’s largest salt pans in their guise as a giant mirror. When Salar de Uyuni’s flats flood, they transform from a quilt of bleached white polygonal patterns to a lake-like surface. At the edge of this remote corner is the world’s first salt hotel, Palacio de Sal and Luna Salada Hotel de Sal, which is made almost entirely out of locally harvested salt and peppered with Andean textiles.

December to March is also the low season, with prices and crowds dropping in response to drippy conditions. But these showers mean rivers like the Río Coroico swell into soaking playgrounds for white-water rafting, tubing and kayaking excursions. A sprinkling of fresh rain also attracts abundant birdlife to Bolivia. In the southwestern corner of the Bolivian altiplano is the blood-red Laguna Colorada, where an island of pink flamingos flock to the plankton-packed waters this month.

(The ultimate Andes road trip, from Chile to Bolivia.)

2. Tanzania

Sheltered between two rainy spells, February may mark the low season across the Serengeti’s savannah, but it’s the peak of the Great Migration calving. In a few short weeks, nearly half a million wildebeest are born. This young blood drives predators to patrol the plains in hungry hoards, increasing the chances of spotting hunting cheetah, hyena and lion. Keep close to the action in the southern Serengeti, Ndutu areas and the western Ngorongoro Conservation area, the latter an extinct volcano home to one of the world’s highest densities of animals. 

Once you’ve had enough of the stretching savannah, get vertical on Mount Kilimanjaro. The trekking season runs from January-March and June-October, but the slopes are quieter this month than during the summer season. Though February is drier than other times of year, it can cast a chill in the air and increase the chance of a snow-capped summit. Warm up post-trek on the hot shores of Zanzibar, where the sea is at its clearest for divers and snorkelers to experience pristine aquarium-like conditions.

3. Dartmoor National Park, England

This ancient landscape spans deep river valleys, towering granite tors, rugged moorland, golden heaths and is plied by wild ponies. Dartmoor is also home to the isolated Warren House Inn, which crowns a lonely stretch of moorland and claims the flames of England’s longest burning fire, alight since 1845. The park is particularly moody this month, when an atmospheric mist clings to its frozen skin and the Lord of the Rings-esque Wistman’s Wood is worth the hour-long stomp. It is of the country’s oldest dwarf-oak forests, and denuded of foliage in winter, its twisted trunks are more visible as they drip with mosses and lichens.

February also displays the earliest signs of spring as snowdrops stretch their necks from frosty ground. These milky perennials carpet the gardens at The Garden House, a 16th-century vicarage tucked into Dartmoor’s western edge. Once you’ve marvelled at the collection of over 300 varieties, order an afternoon tea at the cosy cafe.

4. Hungary

Budapest is beguiling in winter: opera performances, ice skating, hearty grub, snow-licked baroque buildings. But perhaps Budapest’s biggest appeal is its bathhouses. These thermal hot springs are capped with steam and provide solace from February’s chill. Take a dip in the golden Széchenyi Baths, the medieval Rudas Baths or the airy art nouveau Gellért Baths.

And though Venice may host Europe’s most famed Carnival celebration, Hungary’s Farsang rivals it with colourful masquerades, lavish themed balls and seasonal treats like ribboned doughnuts filled with cream or apricot jam. Come hungry to the capital on ‘Fat Thursday’, when many Budapest restaurants dish up half-priced discounts on meals.

One of the country’s most unique Farsang events takes place due south in Mohács. The week-long Busójárás is a UNESCO-recognised tradition in which men dress in sheep’s wool, don demonic horned masks and arrive on rowboats from the Danube to creepily chase bystanders. There are mask-making workshops, food stalls and events: watch as a coffin is tossed onto a roaring bonfire, symbolising winter giving way to spring.

(How to spend a day in Budapest.)

5. Thailand

After an intense wet season spanning from October to December, February is the driest month in this Southeast Asian country with warm, sunny days and cool evenings. From diving and snorkelling in Koh Tao to the electric Full Moon Party in Koh Phangan, February is the ideal time to explore the Thai islands in the south, or simply enjoy the beaches of Thailand’s gulf islands.

Alternatively, head north to the Chiang Mai Flower Festival (31 January-2 February in 2025). The festival has been running for over 40 years and celebrates the white chrysanthemums and Damask roses that bloom during this time. Don’t miss the parade when carefully crafted elaborate flower floats with towering floral arrangements of Buddhist deities’ are paraded down the city’s streets.

(6 ways to explore Chiang Mai through its burgeoning craft scene.)