Where to go on holiday in September

Where to go on holiday in September this year?

There is a particular kind of satisfaction in flying out just as everyone else goes back to work, and a growing number of British travellers have worked that out. Opodo's booking data for travel between 26 August and 26 September 2026 points somewhere very specific: Spain, a short flight, and a trip booked months rather than weeks ahead. Below you will find where those bookings are going, how long people are staying and what that means for your own dates.

Why September is the best month for a cheap holiday

The Mediterranean is warmer now than it was in June, which is the part most people get wrong about September. Museum queues shrink once term starts, restaurants stop turning you away and prices come down from their August peak. It is not a flawless month, mind you, because early autumn storms are a genuine prospect across southern Europe and plenty of beach clubs pull the shutters down halfway through. On balance it is still the month most people pick to stretch the summer a little further, and the numbers back them up.

September holiday trends: what UK booking data reveals

Spain is comfortably the most booked country of the month, ahead of Greece on 8% and Italy on 7%. Medium-haul travel takes a further 43% of bookings, with Turkey topping that list at 5%. Everything here comes from bookings made on Opodo for travel between 26 August and 26 September 2026.

21%

Bookings to Spain

45%

Short-haul trips

44%

Book 61 to 90 days ahead

62%

Trips of 3-4 or 7-13 days

The best destinations for your September holidays

Explore the top-booked spots across Spain, Greece, Italy, and beyond.

Spain's top three

More than one in five September trips booked from the UK heads to Spain, and three cities do most of the heavy lifting. Look at the flight times and the sea temperatures together and it is not hard to see why.

Barcelona

September is when Barcelona becomes liveable again. The water off Barceloneta is still around 24 degrees, the Mercè festival takes over the streets at the end of the month, and you can eat outside at nine without queuing behind a coach party. One thing has not changed: book the Sagrada Família online weeks ahead or you will be admiring it from the pavement.

Flights to Barcelona Hotels in Barcelona

Alicante

Few places make a long weekend this easy. Postiguet beach is a five minute walk from the station, a lift runs up through the rock to Santa Bárbara castle, and the tapas bars behind the marina stay busy well past midnight. Hire a car for one day and the Costa Blanca coves open up.

Flights to Alicante Hotels in Alicante

Malaga

The Mediterranean hits its warmest here in September, between 23 and 25 degrees, which is the sort of detail that decides a holiday. Do the Picasso Museum and the Alcazaba in one morning, spend the afternoon on the sand at Malagueta, then work your way through the wine bars around Calle Granada.

Flights to Malaga Hotels in Malaga

Greece and Turkey

Greece takes 8% of September bookings and Turkey leads the medium-haul list at 5%, which together tell you something useful: the eastern Mediterranean barely notices that summer has officially ended.

Athens

All summer the Acropolis shuts during the hottest hours. By September you can climb it at midday and still enjoy it, then take the tram twenty minutes down to the beaches of the Athens Riviera. The meltemi wind still gusts in spells early in the month, so exposed coasts can be choppy.

Flights to Athens Hotels in Athens

Antalya

This is where Turkey's numbers come from, and September is the sweet spot: the Lycian coast resorts empty out while the sea sits at 27 degrees. Give yourself a morning inland too, because the Roman theatre at Aspendos still hosts concerts and the ruins at Perge are half an hour from the city.

Flights to Antalya Hotels in Antalya

Istanbul

The only city here that sits on two continents, and the only one where the commute is a ferry. September means you can do the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar in an afternoon instead of racing the heat at dawn, then cross to Kadıköy for dinner as the light goes gold.

Flights to Istanbul Hotels in Istanbul

Italian city breaks

Italy takes 7% of September bookings from the UK, and the pitch is simple enough: the same art cities as August, around ten degrees cooler, with queues you can actually live with.

Rome

Colosseum queues get shorter in September, though nobody should pretend they vanish, because the centre still fills up at weekends. Buy your Forum tickets before you leave home and go midweek if you can, when Trastevere stops performing for visitors and goes back to being a neighbourhood.

Flights to Rome Hotels in Rome

Milan

Milan switches back on all at once in September: fashion week, the galleries reopening, the Navigli packed by seven. The catch is the calendar, because hotel prices jump back to peak rates during the trade fairs, so check what is on before you commit to your dates.

Flights to Milan Hotels in Milan

Turin

Turin sees a fraction of Rome's visitors and repays a long weekend handsomely, with the Egyptian Museum, arcaded cafés on Piazza San Carlo and the Alps sitting at the end of the streets. September also opens the Piedmont wine season an hour's drive south, if that appeals.

Flights to Turin Hotels in Turin

Short-haul escapes

Short-haul flights account for the largest slice of September bookings from the UK, and these three explain the appeal: two hours in the air, three or four nights on the ground, and weather that finally lets you walk everywhere.

Amsterdam

Rent a bike within an hour of landing and Amsterdam makes far more sense, especially in September when the Jordaan and the canal ring lose August's crush. Book the Rijksmuseum and the Anne Frank House days in advance, because turning up on spec gets you nowhere at all.

Flights to Amsterdam Hotels in Amsterdam

Prague

Cross Charles Bridge at eight in the morning and you get it to yourself, which is reason enough to come in September. Beer garden weather holds into October, and the one at Letná looks out over the whole city. The castle district is the exception, where the crowds never really thin.

Flights to Prague Hotels in Prague

Brussels

The cheapest of the three to reach and the one most people write off too quickly. Get past the Grand Place and you find the Art Nouveau houses of Ixelles, a comic strip museum inside a Horta building, and the best chips in Europe. Rain is as likely in September as any other month.

Flights to Brussels Hotels in Brussels

Culture capitals

If the plan involves galleries and old streets rather than a sun lounger, September is when the queues become bearable and the walking becomes a pleasure rather than a slog.

Madrid

Madrid empties in August and comes roaring back in September, with the Prado and the Reina Sofía opening their seasons and the Retiro busy again by six. Terraces run well into October. Daytime highs can still touch 30 degrees, so plan the galleries for the middle of the day and save the streets for the evening.

Flights to Madrid Hotels in Madrid

Vienna

Vienna rewards the longer trip, which suits the quarter of UK travellers going away for a week or more. Schönbrunn and the Belvedere fill a morning, a coffee house fills an afternoon, and the Staatsoper season opening fills an evening. That is several days, not a weekend.

Flights to Vienna Hotels in Vienna

Lisbon

Lisbon holds above 25 degrees through September and the viewpoints in Alfama and Graça are queue-free by mid-morning, which is when the light is best anyway. Cascais is forty minutes by train from Cais do Sodré if you want a beach day. The hills, be warned, are as steep as ever.

Flights to Lisbon Hotels in Lisbon

September booking habits: when Brits book and how long they go for

Four things the data says about the way we plan a September trip, and who is coming the other way.

When do UK travellers actually book?

Sunday, Wednesday and Friday are the busiest booking days, and the peak hours are 10pm, 9pm and 5pm, which paints a fairly clear picture of the average September holiday being booked from the sofa rather than the desk. Departures themselves are spread evenly across the month, which sets the UK apart from most other European markets.

How long is a typical September trip?

Two very different holidays dominate. A three or four day break accounts for 35% of bookings, while 27% go away for seven to thirteen days, and there is remarkably little in between. That gap is the long weekend on one side and the proper family holiday moved out of the school summer on the other.

Who is coming to the UK in September?

The feeling turns out to be mutual with Spain, which sends 27% of inbound bookings, ahead of Germany on 15%. They are heading for London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Glasgow and Bristol, so if one of those is on your own September list, expect company on the train.

Is Spain everyone's favourite, or just ours?

Very nearly everyone's. Portuguese travellers send 22% of their bookings to Spain, German travellers 21% and French travellers 17%, while Spaniards keep 43% of their own trips at home. Italy is the one exception, with 23% travelling domestically against 20% choosing Spain.

How to find cheap holidays in September

Book two to three months ahead

That is the window most September trips get booked in, which in plain terms means an early September departure is sorted in June. Leave it until late August and you are picking from what nobody else wanted, at whatever price is left on it.

Be flexible with your dates

UK bookings are spread evenly across September, so there is no single cheap week to hunt for. The saving comes from smaller moves: shifting your departure by two or three days, or flying out midweek instead of on Friday evening with everyone else.

Consider a 3 or 4 night break

It is the most popular trip length of the month for good reason. Thursday to Sunday covers any short-haul destination on this page, costs a good deal less than a full week, and barely touches your annual leave.

Book flight and hotel together

At Opodo the flight and hotel package often lands below the price of booking the two separately, and on a short stay you tend to see the difference on the very first night.

Set up a price alert

Put an alert on the two or three destinations you are weighing up and we will tell you when the fares drop. It is the least tedious way to book early without opening the search every morning.

Let Opodo help with the trip

If the break is three or four nights, spending half a day putting it together rather defeats the point. At Opodo the flight, the hotel, the train and the car all come from the same place.

Flights, hotels, trains and cars

Book everything in one go, including the rail legs that often beat a second flight once you are on the continent.

Exclusive Opodo Prime deals

Opodo Prime members get member-only discounts on flights and hotels. Book early on top of that and the two savings stack.

24/7 support

Our customer service team is there round the clock, seven days a week, including the moment something goes wrong when you are already away.

Flexible options

Booking in June for a September trip means plans can shift along the way, which is why plenty of our bookings come with flexible options and free cancellation.

Ready to book your September holidays?

Most September travellers already have their tickets, and the majority sorted them two to three months out. So if you know roughly where you want to go, booking now tends to beat waiting to see what the fares do next. Flight, hotel or both together, with Opodo.

FAQs

Where to go on holiday in September to avoid the crowds?

The islands and the cities around the Mediterranean are the safe bet, because the sea stays warm while occupancy falls away as soon as August ends. Alicante, Malaga, Athens and Antalya all sit among the most booked destinations of the month. If you would rather have a city, Rome, Lisbon and Barcelona go back to their normal rhythm, although weekends stay busy everywhere.

Which countries do UK travellers book most in September?

Spain comes first by a wide margin, followed by Greece and then Italy. Turkey tops the medium-haul list, and within Spain the three most booked destinations are Barcelona, Alicante and Malaga.

Is September cheaper than August for a holiday?

As a rule yes, and especially from the second half of the month, once flights and hotels come off high season rates. The gap is far wider on beach destinations than in the big cities, where trade fairs and conference season push prices back up again.

Can you still swim in the sea in September?

Yes, and the water is warmer than it was in June, which surprises people every year. Along the Spanish coast, in Greece, on the Turkish riviera and across the Canaries, swimming holds up all month. What changes is the daylight, which shortens noticeably, and the beach services, which begin closing as September goes on.

Your September holidays

See what the September trip costs with the flight and the hotel together. It is the quickest way to work out what fits the budget before you settle on a destination.

See holiday packages