Avoiding Europe in the summer and where to go instead.
Updated August 2024.
We love Europe. But I always tell people they should go somewhere else in the summer. There’s just too many tourists, prices rise dramatically, locals are suddenly not as friendly, food quality drops. Parts of Europe also get unbearably hot in summer.
But where to go in summer if not Europe? As one reader said; the southern hemisphere is either cold or rainy, it’s monsoon season across Asia, the Caribbean is too hot, and North America is almost as busy as Europe in summer.
The goal of this post is to highlight some exceptions to the above. With some research and a lot of asking around, I’ve come up with a few alternatives for the usual June to August vacations.
Criteria:
1) places that, comparatively, don’t get too many tourists
2) good weather (sunny but not unbearably hot)
3) affordability for the majority of travellers
4) exotic places that you maybe just haven’t thought of visiting this time of year.
There are untravelled places in Europe (as we saw when in North Macedonia) but for the purposes of this post I am highlighting places outside the continent.
This is an open post, meaning if you have any good suggestions/feedback I’ll consider adding or amending some of the information below.
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Africa
Namibia, Botswana and most of South Africa (excluding the Cape) are good places to visit between June and August. It is dry, and cool, temperatures rarely going over 20C (evenings and mornings can be quite cool). Skies are blue. This is a great time to go on safari and even malaria zones like Kruger National Park are almost risk-free during this period. In Kenya and Tanzania, it is the ideal time to see the wildebeest migration (although some of the parks like Masai Mara and Amboseli can get crowded). July – August is also a great time to visit Victoria Falls in Zambia/Zimbabwe as water levels are still high (usually) and the weather clear.
More on the weather in South Africa by region and month.
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South America
Parts of northern Argentina and Chile (and southern Bolivia) are similarly cool and dry between June and August (if you look at a map, this area is at the same latitudes as the similarly dry temps in Africa at this time of year). In Argentina, places like Mendoza, Salta and Cafayate are very comfortable. In Chile, the Atacama desert is one of the driest places on earth and you’ll get cooler (even cold) temperatures this time of year. It is also a great time to visit Iguazu Falls as well as Rio de Janeiro in Southern Brazil (August is its driest month and average highs are around 24C).
Getting closer to the equator, there are other parts of South America that, because of their altitude, have comfortable (and stable) temperatures during much of the year. In Ecuador there is Quito and Cuenca. Similarly, inland parts of Colombia (Medellin, Bogota, and the beautiful Zona Cafetera) have comfortable temperatures and low precipitation from June to August. Avoid coastal Ecuador and Colombia if you don’t like rain and humidity. Inland Peru is ideal this time of year and places to visit include Lima, Arequipa, Cuzco, and the Valle Sagrado. It’s also when people come to hike Machu Picchu (unfortunately it is peak season for this and can get quite crowded).
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Asia
Much of Asia can be unbearably hot while also getting tons of rain (monsoon season). There are exceptions though. It is the perfect time to visit the southern islands of Indonesia including Bali (but there’s also Java, Lombok, Flores and Sulawesi). It is the driest time of year in this region and you’ll get average daily maximums in the 27C range. Central and East Coast Sri Lanka also has warm and sunny temperatures in July and August. Ladakh in Northern India is another exception: look forward to brilliant sunshine, stunning clear blue skies and Himalayan Mountains dotted with Buddhist temples. Another good place in Asia is Central Vietnam (Hoi An, Danang, Hue, Dalat and the Central Highlands) where it is dry with temps in the high 20’s (July is better than August). July and August are also good times to visit Malaysian Borneo (dry, with maximum daily temps around 29C).
Helpful link: This site lets you browse through the different countries in Asia and gives you information on weather and the best times to visit.
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Central Mexico
Most people think that Mexico must be really hot in mid-summer. You might be surprised to find Central Mexico a refreshing reprieve from the heat. I’ve visited this region each of the last 3 years and the altitude presents cool, mostly clear days with temperatures rarely exceeding 25C (with overnight lows around 12C). It is rainy season but rains come and go quickly and many days don’t get any rain at all. Places I’ve visited over the last 3 years: Mexico City, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Queretaro, Patzcuaro, Puebla and Oaxaca. I love Central Mexico and I especially love visiting it in summer. It is also an inexpensive destination.
Do you have any other places you’d add to this list?
Related: Tourism…and when the locals hate you
Related: 12 Surprising Places to See (that you may never have heard of)
Related: Does the Romance of Travel still exist?
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Very good suggestions! But for the last couple of years our summer base has been…of all places…Montréal! (We are full-time nomads from the United States.) There is good availability of summer housing since so many of the city’s quarter-million students go home for the summer, and the festivals and activities are non-stop. The weather is sultry in July but otherwise nice in comparison to where we are from (Washington DC), and the locals are so kind and lovely! We spend a lot of time at the Montréal Botanical Garden, one of the best in the world.
I’m enjoying your posts — hope to see you out in the world sometime!
AH! Montreal was our home for 25+ years. I find it gets hot and humid in the summer and I would often visit my mother in Central Mexico during that time and find it refreshing in comparison.
But I’m happy to hear that our former home is your summer getaway, it’s an exciting place in the summer. Congratulations! Very nice receiving this comment.
You overlook Scandinavia and the Baltics as usual 🙂 Not over-crowded, long nights, brilliant green nature (not burnt like southern Europe), lots of water and close to perfect summer weather. There is hardly a better city to visit than Stockholm in August. Agree about the rest of Europe which is better in spring and the autumn.
In fact it seems to be a new trend – ”coolcation” – where people from Southern Europe travel north on vacation in the summer.
That’s because the title of this post is “Avoiding Europe in the summer…and other places to go instead” 🙂 The point was places other than Europe.
Funny enough RJA, I was researching a trip to Stockholm and Visby yesterday (per your recommendations). Ryanair has direct flights from Malaga to Stockholm for 118 Euros return which is excellent. Don’t worry, we’ll get there! (not sure though if this year or next…I think next year).
Wow, looking forward to read your review! If you give a heads up on the blog before you go to Stockholm, I can post some recommendations for you in the comments. Defo go in the summer, but not during Midsummer celebration when everything shuts down in Sweden and people leave for the countryside. I’d say late July or early August is perfect. One week would be sufficient but not less imo.
If you’re interested in Viking history, Birka/Björkö and Gamla Uppsala is nearby. Also Sweden’s oldest city, a lovely small town called Strängnäs.
When going to Visby I would recommend exploring the rest of Gotland by car. Some of the nature is pretty cool, especially the special rock formations called ”raukar”. 3-4 days should be enough for Visby/Gotland.
Thank you RJA! I have your email, I will write you personally when the time comes. We were talking about maybe September but the way things are looking it might be next summer. We really need to get away from southern Spain in July and August and we’d like to do a big road trip. Sweden is expensive, so we probably won’t be spending more than 10 days. But we’re definitely interested, Stockholm has been on my list for a while and after looking up Visby (based on your recommendation) I’d like to see that to. And maybe by then I’ll have a driver’s license because my Canadian one has expired….
Last year was Baltics and a daytrip to Helsinki. So we’ll slowly make our way through the Northern European countries 🙂
Great! In fact Sweden isn’t very expensive these days, the Krona is extremely undervalued. The reputation is not true anymore. Denmark, however, is very expensive. I’ve met many tourists (people from countries with the Euro) in Sweden who are surprised about how cheap it is.
PS. We did the Baltics last year.
Fantastic blog, what a treat. Great narratives leading to great stories w/ priceless perspectives. No influencer pretend-glam, just real-world experiences for those who have not had them (but now thinking they should). THANKS
Very kind, thank you 🙂
There are many things to explore in countries of Central Asia, especially Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan will be a great tour. Here you can learn the history of the Silk Road and visit glorous mausoleums, mosques and other countructions of medieal ages in Uzbekistan and enjoy breathtaking views in high Tien Shan Mountains in Kyrgyzstan. Come to visit us!
Hi dear travelers,
If you want to learn new culture and have interesting experiences, then you should visit Central Asia. You will be astonished by burning gas crater Doors to Hell in Turkmenistan, visit glorious midieval architecture in Uzbekistan, sleep in yurts and meet nomads in Kyrgyzstan, drive along the Pamir Highway in Tajikistan and enjoy national parks of Kazakhstan. Central Asia is a totally new world.
Frank, great theme on this post – I’ve thought about it a lot myself since I usually base myself in Bratislava during the summer months.
Maybe the question you should be asking is not where you should go in Europe during the summer months, but how you travel. From May until end of Oct. I’m bike touring around central and eastern Europe, mostly along riverside forests and farm fields, pretty villages and usually a beer garden every 5kms. Gastehauses in the rural areas usually go for around 25€ including an awesome breakfast. Most of the villages are off the tourist route and I avoid the big cities (or the boring bits) by jumping on a train with my bike and go round or just simply ride right through it. Sometimes I’ll base myself for a week in a small city or town just on the outskirts of a popular destination and just ride in (or go by train) on day trips – far cheaper and avoid the tourist hordes. Anyways, checkout the eurovelo website. You might be interested in the Iron Curtain route, eurovelo 13.
I heard you’ve recently rediscovered long distance biking……lots of great summertime options in Europe.
GoBruins!
The post was actually about avoiding Europe all together but if you are going to Bratislava (or Belgrade or Skopje) you’ll definitely be bypassing a lot of tourists.
But what I really do find interesting is the way you travel which sounds like a lot of fun. I was thinking of doing a long distance bike ride in Croatia but it really is not bicycle friendly. All the islands connected by ferry, but most are catamarans and they don’t allow bikes (although there’s plenty of room in the back). I checked out the Eurovelo website but honestly a bit confused – they cite Eurovelo 8 going down the Adriatic coast. Well, that’s basically the route I did riding from Split to Makarska and there it’s very bike unfriendly. So what is the criteria for these routes? I would think they would require at least a shoulder for the cyclist…
Otherwise sounds great, and I know the Western European countries have some excellent cycle routes.