Carmen
Travel editor at Reisedrop · 2026-09-01
There’s one moment in September you don’t forget: it’s 7:30 in the evening, you’re still floating in the sea, the water is 26 degrees, the beach is almost yours alone — and you find yourself seriously wondering why on earth you ever came here in July. We’ll say it plainly: September is the best travel month of the year. And the good news? It’s not over yet.
The sea is warmer now than it was in June
Sounds odd, but it’s just physics: the Mediterranean holds on to summer heat like one giant bathtub. Off Mallorca, Sardinia or Crete, the water is now 25 to 27 degrees — in June it was sometimes five degrees cooler. The air? A pleasant 26 to 30 degrees, without that heavy midday heat when from noon to four you’re doing nothing but hopping from one patch of shade to the next. In September, you can actually do things again. Hike the coastal trail. Explore little towns. Have lunch in the sun without melting.
Suddenly, the numbers make sense
Once school starts again, prices tip — and noticeably so. That hotel that cheekily wanted 280 Franken a night in early August now goes for 160, sometimes less. Same story with flights: midweek, you can sometimes fly from Zurich to Palma or Nice for under 100 Franken. Our price data shows it year after year: between the last week of August and the third week of September, Mediterranean prices fall by a good third on average. Book now and it’s simply the better deal — for the exact same beaches.
So where to? Three honest favourites
Sardinia, because Costa Rei in September looks like the Caribbean and feels like a secret. The Greek islands — Naxos and Paros above all — because the tavernas finally have time for a chat again, and the wine by the harbour just tastes better when there isn’t a stag party yelling at the next table. And the Turkish Riviera for anyone who still wants real heat: it stays around 30 degrees there well into October, and the hotel value for money is something you have to see to believe. And yes: Nice and the Amalfi Coast too, hopelessly overcrowded in high summer, become what they actually are again in September — beautiful.
For once, spontaneity pays off
September is the one month when last minute really works. Hotels still have capacity, planes do too, and nobody is competing with you for the last family room. Even a long weekend is enough: out on Thursday, back on Monday, four nights by the sea. It feels like two weeks of holiday and costs a fraction of that. And yes — weather risk exists, a thunderstorm can roll through. It usually takes one afternoon, and afterwards the air smells better than ever.