Travel calendar No. 03
March
Transition: Asia still dry, Europe almost ready.
March has two faces. In Asia the most agreeable phase of the year is ending; in Europe it is only beginning. Both can be used, if the weeks are placed well.
Anyone travelling to Japan should know the difference between the first and last week of March: between them lies the start of the blossom — a different price, a different pace, a different city.
Why this month
Why this month is special
The last dry weeks in South-East Asia coincide with the moment European houses reopen. For flexible travellers, March is the finest month for a late winter journey without peak-season rates.
In Japan the blossom is less a date than a movement from south to north. If you want to see it, plan the route along that movement rather than along a list of cities.
What is particular about March?
It is a month of transition. Morocco and southern Europe become walkable, Japan approaches cherry blossom, and in southern Africa the green season ends. In Europe the coastal houses only open towards the end of the month while cities remain quiet. If Japan is the plan, it should already be booked — the blossom weeks went months ago.
Noted by Pure Voyage
Pure Voyage Atlas
Where this leads
The Atlas connects what belongs together: the region, the collections, the right season and the houses that sit within the same story.
The Region
Related Houses
Within These Collections
Where to go now
Recommended destinations
Destinations that carry the transition well — dry air in the south, first warmth in the north.
Tokyo, Kyoto and the Alps
Japan
A country where care is not a luxury but a premise.
- Best time to visit:
- Late March to May, October and November
- Suggested length:
- Twelve to sixteen nights
Bangkok, the Andaman Sea and the north
Thailand
A city on a river, a sea full of limestone.
- Best time to visit:
- November to early April
- Suggested length:
- Ten to fourteen nights
Indian Ocean
Mauritius
An island with history, cooking and a reef all the way round.
- Best time to visit:
- May, June and September to November
- Suggested length:
- Seven nights
Where we stay
Addresses that suit it
Town houses and coastal houses that combine within one journey.
Aman — Otemachi, Tokio
Aman Tokyo
A Japanese house lifted to the 33rd floor: washi, stone, cedar and a lobby thirty metres high.
- Suits:
- First-time and returning Japan travellers who want calm above the city
- Suggested length:
- Four nights, ideally combined with Kyoto
Mandarin Oriental — Chao-Phraya-Fluss, Bangkok
Mandarin Oriental Bangkok
The Authors' Wing, the river at dusk and a standard of service rehearsed for over a century.
- Suits:
- Asia travellers who treat Bangkok as an opening, not a stopover
- Suggested length:
- Three nights, usually before beach or north
Einzelhäuser — Langkawi, Malaysia
The Datai Langkawi
A ten-million-year-old rainforest at the door, a quiet Andaman beach in front of it.
- Suits:
- Nature-minded families and couples combining beach and forest
- Suggested length:
- Five nights
On the move
Journeys this month
The classic way to link two Asian countries without another flight.
Through the month
Seasonal highlights
01
Blossom, south to north
A moving target. The route should be allowed to follow it, not the reverse.
02
The last dry weeks in Thailand
Before the heat: clear evenings on the Andaman Sea, houses not yet full.
03
Europe reopens
The first country houses take guests again — in the quietest weeks of their year.
Related collections
From the Collection
Read on
From the Journal
An Invitation
Once a month: hotels, new openings and travel ideas
One hotel that convinced us, with our advice on suite and season. The openings that actually matter. And a destination at its best right now. No offers, no advertising.