Northern hemisphere dwellers don’t need to go far to find sun in summer. European countries are balmy, with destinations on the Mediterranean riviera throwing in blissful beach holidays if you can escape the crowds. Elsewhere, there’s wondrous natural scenery to be enjoyed in Bali, Oregon and Denmark’s South Jutland. It’s also a canny, cost-effective time to tour Rajasthan in India, while wildlife-lovers can swim with whale sharks off Mexico’s idyllic Isla Holbox, trek to waterfalls in Guyana or watch the exciting Great Migration of wildebeest in Kenya.
Main photo: Palinuro on Italy’s Cilento Coast (Getty Images)
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1. Mykonos
Once known for its raves and sunrise parties, Mykonos has firmly gone glam in recent decades: supermodels, superyachts, designer boutiques and cabana-lined beach clubs are now the norm, although that sense of decadence remains. Summer is peak posturing time but, for all the absence of subtlety, there’s something addictive about it all. Beyond a sugar-white, oh-so-Cycladic old town, it’s also easy to find the natural beauty that pulls everyone here — windmills, wondrous beaches and brilliant light.
How to do it This Greek island’s hotel scene has never been hotter. Among the newbies is the arty, all-vegan Koukoumi.
- Best things to do in Mykonos
2. The Albanian Riviera
Although it’s a bit more “discovered” these days, Albania’s long seaside remains attractive — aided by the olive grove hills backdropping those golden bays — and it’s sensationally affordable in European terms. Its two main resort towns are Durres and Saranda but, in peak summer, make for Ksamil and its three offshore islands to escape most day-tripping Tirana families. Very close by is Butrint, an ancient, Unesco-listed city and just one historical marvel you’ll find along this coast; others include Gjirokastra’s giant hilltop castle and Durres’s ruined Roman amphitheatre.
How to do it Overlooking Ksamil’s gin-clear waters, Hotel Utopia has white cabanas on its private beach.
- Best things to do in Albania
3. Cilento Coast, Italy
Italy’s Amalfi Coast is rightly renowned but mamma mia does it get busy in summer. Around 20 miles south, the Cilento is infinitely quieter — even in the height of July — and has better Blue Flag beaches. Instead of Pompeii, there’s Paestum: the sprawling remains of an ancient Greek city with splendidly complete Doric temples. You’ll also find affordable, attractive towns such as gently chichi Castellabate and healthy-living Acciaroli, famous for its many centenarians — plus some of the finest buffalo mozzarella in Italy. Inland are forested bumps, hill towns and hikes along maquis-perfumed ridges.
How to do it Take a private tour offering plenty of free time.
- Best villas in Italy
4. South Jutland, Denmark
Jutland is Denmark’s continental peninsula, and its southern section shares a border — and occasional cultural echoes — with Germany. Although Legoland charms children, this is chiefly an area of wild places and open spaces. Hills rise from rivers as castles crown forests and moors cede to marshlands. Surprisingly scorching in August, the coast meanwhile yields a series of fine sandy beaches, especially on islands such as Fano or Romo.
How to do it One worthy manmade addition to all this natural finery is Ribe, the oldest town in Denmark and famed for half-timbered houses. Stay at its original base, the Hotel Dagmar.
5. Côte d’Azur, France
The most fêted French Riviera locales — Cannes, Nice, Antibes and St Tropez — are as certain to be overcrowded during sun-soaked summers as locals are to be sipping chilled rosé. Even so, their unique brand of glam is near-unmissable, as are all the palm-lined beaches, bars and boutiques. One solution is to visit such places on people-watching, tan-maintaining day trips but otherwise hole up in a still-authentic and less-expensive Côte d’Azur town. Framed by plunging peaks and possessing the prettiest of Mediterranean harbours, tree-lined Beaulieu-sur-Mer is one such charmer.
How to do it Beaulieu’s Le Havre Bleu boutique hotel occupies a blue-shuttered Belle Époque villa.
- Best beaches in France
6. Guyana
As virgin rainforest covers most of Guyana — to where British Airways started flying via St Lucia as of March 2023 — this small South American land abounds with jungle camps whose expeditions look for giant anteaters, caymans and jaguars. Including treks to remote Kaieteur Falls, the world’s longest single-drop waterfall, a growing number of offerings also allow visitors to support indigenous Amerindian communities. But don’t neglect the English-speaking nation’s coast, whose beaches and British-colonial capital Georgetown, where reggae bars have a Caribbean air, relish the dry season in August.
How to do it A wildlife-focused group tour.
7. Cesme Peninsula, Turkey
As the Turquoise Coast — Bodrum, Marmaris et al — got busier and busier, savvy Turkey fans preserved their summer breaks by relocating 100 miles north to the sun-kissed Cesme Peninsula. Even now, a laid-back innocence survives, with aniseed fields or olive groves between hot-spring spas and idyllic beaches (albeit more suited to windsurfing than swimming). As for the towns, none rivals Alacati for romance: its bougainvillea-scented cobblestone streets host antique shops, cafés, folksy restaurants and a growing cluster of boutique shops.
How to do it Near Alacati, the Stay Warehouse has a big pool, a bigger art collection and its own beachside deck.
- Best all-inclusive hotels in Turkey
8. Brac, Croatia
The Dalmatian Coast is no secret these days and summers here are predictably heaving. Far better, then, to ditch Dubrovnik or Hvar in favour of a quieter corner. Brac fits the bill. Best known for Zlatni Rat, its remarkable V-shaped beach, the third-largest island in Croatia also brings great variety: pine forests, vineyards, orchards and ancient cliff monasteries — all accessed by the Via Brattia long-distance path — segue into sleepy fishing villages and quietly stylish resorts such as red-roofed Bol, where co*cktail bars face colourful fishing boats.
How to do it Stylish yet affordable, the Bluesun Hotel Borak is equidistant from Bol and Zlatni Rat.
- Best things to do in Croatia
9. Rajasthan, India
August is a canny time to visit this state in northern India. It’ll be hot — averaging 29C — yet much less so than May or June. You’ll likely have to endure some quick showers, but bargain-priced accommodation and crowd-free sightseeing soften the blow. Far fewer tourists will interrupt your photos of the Pink and Blue Cities, Jaipur and Jodhpur, named for their singularly coloured buildings, nor those of desert forts, finely carved temples and lakeside palaces. Perhaps most pleasingly, you’ll even have tiger-patrolled Ranthambore National Park much more to yourself.
How to do it A highlights tour that also visits the Taj Mahal.
- Best places to visit in India
10. Isla Holbox, Mexico
Curiously, Isla Holbox’s drawback is also its greatest asset. Reaching this slender slice of land involves the faintest of faffs: a 30-minute ferry from the Yucatan Peninsula’s tip after a three-hour drive from Playa del Carmen or Cancun. Hardly the stuff of great explorers, but enough to dissuade most. Consequently, Holbox remains a blissed-out Mexicanholiday destination of hammocks, barefoot beach cafés and unpaved roads. That’s even true in summer, when whale-shark pods gather offshore to gorge on plankton.
How to do it Promoting ethical whale-shark swimming tours, eco-boutique Las Nubes de Holbox has an organic spa and neighbours Yum Balam’s croc-filled nature reserve.
- Best hotels in Mexico
11. Menorca, Spain
For some, summer holidays aren’t summer holidays unless they involve a villa with its own swimming pool. And mellow Menorca, one of Spain’s lower-profile Balearic islands, has plenty of those. Nor is that the only perk: there are more than 100 sandy beaches between two elegant, atmospheric old ports in Mahon and Ciutadella. Shops sell the isle’s hip avarca sandals and A-list gallerist Hauser & Wirth has converted an offshore naval hospital into its most surprising contemporary art space yet.
How to do it Pool villas along Punta Prima’s bay put you close to that gallery plus Mahon’s shops and restaurants.
- Best hotels in Menorca
12. Slovenia
Tiny Slovenia has handsome cities — led by Ljubljana, whose centre is a car-free web of art-nouveau lanes — yet its countryside tempts most. That’s thanks to plentiful pine forests and Lake Bled, where peaks and a castle loom idyllically over the pointy-roofed island chapel. In nearby Triglav National Park, activity-lovers can hike, cycle or river-raft. Slovenia’s gastronomy is equally diverse, swearing by local fodder and pairing well with some of Europe’s best orange wines. At this time of year, a 30-mile coastline also comes into its own.
How to do it Start at Piran’s Barbara, a sophisticated seaside hotel and spa.
13. Oregon, US
Now served by a direct British Airways flight, Portland’s youthful attractions range from high-calibre food and beer scenes to the sustainable August music festival Pickathon. The remainder of surrounding Oregon, one of America’s Pacific Northwest states, is a riot of nature: snowy Cascade Mountains and their aquamarine Crater Lake here; river gorges and forests there. Protected against development or private ownership, its 363-mile coastline contains various fine beaches. Those in the milder southern “banana belt”, such as Lone Ranch, are ideal to conclude a perfect summer break.
How to do it A fly-drive tour roaming the state.
- Best road trips in the US
14. Kenya
Between July and September, the unceasing Great Migration reaches an apogee as its 1.5 million wildebeest and accompanying zebra, eland and gazelle come to cross the Mara River — while hungry lions or leopards prepare an ambush. With everything at stake, this is nature-viewing at its most elemental and dramatic. After bouncing around the Masai Mara National Reserve in 4x4s, recuperate on Kenya’s palm-fringed coast. It’ll be warm and dry along the mainland’s Diani Beach, 11 miles of white sand offering dives, dhow boat tours, swims and spa treatments.
How to do it A classic “bush and beach” break.
Book a tour
- Best Kenya safaris
15. Bali, Indonesia
While most of southeast Asia is deluged by monsoons, Bali stays hot and dry during summer with ten hours of daily sunshine on average. While this does mean that south-coast resorts around Kuta will be busy — including their vast beaches, whose choppy waters better suit surfers than swimmers — there’s still many a languid, leafy hotel to be found hidden between rice paddies in this Indonesian island’s interior. Ubud, famous for its wellness options, is an essential day trip, as are Mount Agung’s 80 ornate temples.
How to do it One such secluded rural retreat is Wapa di Ume, close to Ubud.
- Best hotels in Bali
16. Corsica, France
In tourism terms, this French-overseen island’s greatest asset is its flexibility. A holiday here might purely revolve around white-sand beaches — those of the Agriates Desert in the north, or southerly Palombaggia. It could involve scenic trains, historic towns such as fortified Bonifacio or natural wonders including the rouged Calanques de Piana rock spires. Or it can be exploring the beautiful, cooler, more rugged interior of Corsica, where hiking, cycling, canyoning, zip-lining and a zillion other activities are possible. All of which means there’s room for everyone — especially in late August, when France’s school holidays have ended.
How to do it The island’s accommodation scene is no less rangy, with great self-catering and hotels for all budgets. Few of the latter type are as stylish as beachside Le Pinarello, which opens seasonally from April.
- Best beaches in Corsica
17. Beirut, Lebanon
The Middle East tends to be scorching in summer, but such temperatures are more bearable when one is (a) next to the sea and (b) doing very little. That’ll be the case for beach-club sun worshippers or anyone scoffing mezze in a restaurant along Beirut’s buzzy Corniche. The liberal, cosmopolitan capital of Lebanon also yields a superb National Museum, pulsating open-air nightlife and amazing cultural diversity, while Byblos and its 12th-century citadel are just 20 miles up the coast. Check the Foreign Office travel site for areas to avoid.
How to do it The rooftop terrace and pool at posh Hotel Albergo afford superb city views — and welcome breezes.
Book a stay
18. Bohuslan, Sweden
The west coast of Sweden is renowned for the quality of its seafood — langoustines and oysters in particular — which often finds its way to Michelin-starred restaurants in the capital Stockholm. But it could hardly be more delicious and fresh when you eat it plucked straight from the sea. In Bohuslan, you can couple this seafood odyssey with a road trip that takes in the region’s many islands. Fjallbacka, Marstrand and Grebbestad are among the most picturesque, with those classic rust-coloured wooden huts and sail boats off the coast.
How to do it Fly into Gothenburg and then hire a car for the scenic trip north.
- Best things to do in Sweden
19. Comporta, Portugal
Leave the Algarve to summer’s hordes and try this beach-studded region instead. Ninety minutes’ drive south from Lisbon, family-friendly Comporta is the chicest destination in Portugal. Its namesake village gives onto a nature-reserve coastline; discreet villas proliferate, many observing the classic Comporta style: a fisherman’s hut-type façade and whitewashed, wood-beamed interiors. Also prominent are yoga classes, horse rides through rice paddies or pine forests, and fine dining in shack-style barefoot restaurants. Be sure to visit Carrasqueira, where an old port is stilted over the Sado river estuary.
How to do it Stay in a typical villa. Silica House’s pool and pastel-pale hues are seven minutes’ walk from the sea.
- Best Portugal tours
20. Malawi
Malawi remains an unsung safari destination despite the efforts of African Parks. This non-profit has rejuvenated the country’s wildlife reserves — working to prevent poaching, restore game, improve accommodation and empower locals — including forested Majete and riverside Liwonde, one of the continent’s most photogenic national parks. In summer, with water scarce, it’s easier to see elephants, lions and honking hippos on walking, boat or classic 4×4 safaris. Just north begins Lake Malawi, with the season’s sultry temperatures suiting its sandy beaches, diving, snorkelling and kayaking.
How to do it Combine safaris with lakeside luxury on a private tour.
travelwithjules.co.uk
Additional reporting by Qin Xie
