Inspiration for March holidays

Temperature-wise, it may feel like spring all year round on Fuerteventura, earning it the sobriquet ‘the island of eternal spring’, but the best time to visit is springtime proper. Between February and April, flowers flourish across the starkly beautiful rolling desert landscapes that are the colour of burnt amber. The island, the very first of the Canary Islands to be formed some 20 million years ago, has a more African feel than the rest of the archipelago, and therein lies much of its charm.

Visit Marrakesh in any month and you’ll be awed by the kaleidoscope of colours. To see the Atlas Mountains at their most colourful, though, you should travel in March. Framed by blue skies, the snow on the peaks seems all the whiter, and is mirrored by fruit blossom in the green valleys below, where temperatures are pleasant for walking and waterfalls such as the Cascades d’Ouzoud near Demnate are spectacularly full. The best way to explore is with your own Berber guide: he meets you each morning, and walks at your pace, pausing when you choose to admire the views.

With its benign Mediterranean climate, spring arrives early in Mallorca. Travel at the start of March and you’ll hopefully catch the end of the almond blossom – there are so many almond groves in central Mallorca that whole swathes of countryside seem covered in pink and white candy floss. This, and plentiful sunshine, make for relaxed days of cycling along quiet lanes, exploring the island’s lesser-known side, where a patchwork of ancient farms, apricot and cherry orchards, and slowly turning windmills lies between the sand dunes of the south and the rocky coves of the north-east.

The snow lingers in central Norway until at least mid-April, so conditions throughout March are very reliable. Sjusjøen and Fefor are both paradises for cross-country skiers, with literally hundreds of kilometres of trails for all levels, including beginners. On paper, Spidsbergseter – a superb choice for first-timers and improvers – has a smaller network, but because of its layout, with criss-crossing trails, you can make up many different routes. Geilo, too, boasts an excellent cross-country domain, though it is also a good choice for downhill skiing if that is your passion.