Where to go in August
35 of our 95 destinations are at their best in August, across Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, South America, Oceania and Middle East. The best places to visit in August include Denali, Salalah, Churchill, Gobi Desert, Ksamil and Ladakh.
Beach trips in August 6
Bali
Indonesia · Asia$$Volcanic island with Hindu temples, terraced rice fields around Ubud, and surf breaks on the Bukit peninsula. Dry season runs April to October.
Best: April to SeptemberBora Bora
French Polynesia · Oceania$$$$A turquoise lagoon ringed by a barrier reef under Mount Otemanu. Snorkel with rays and blacktip reef sharks.
Best: May to OctoberFiji
Fiji · Oceania$$$333 islands. The Mamanuca and Yasawa groups have calm lagoons; Taveuni is known as the soft coral capital of the world.
Best: May to OctoberKsamil
Albania · Europe$A village on the Albanian Riviera facing Corfu, with clear water and small islands you can swim to. The ancient city of Butrint is nearby.
Best: June to SeptemberMoorea
French Polynesia · Oceania$$$$A heart-shaped island in French Polynesia, a short ferry ride from Tahiti. Jagged green peaks rise above a lagoon with overwater bungalows and whale watching in season.
Best: May to OctoberZanzibar
Tanzania · Africa$$Swahili coral-stone town, spice plantations and powder-white beaches on the Indian Ocean. Easy to add after a safari.
Best: June to October, or December to February
City trips in August 3
London
United Kingdom · Europe$$$$The British Museum, the Tate Modern and the National Gallery are free. Add a West End show and a Sunday at Borough or Columbia Road market.
Best: May to SeptemberMedellín
Colombia · South America$Colombia's second city, with spring-like weather all year. Cable cars link hillside neighbourhoods, and Comuna 13 is known for its street art and outdoor escalators.
Best: June to August, or December to FebruarySingapore
Singapore · Asia$$$A garden city-state with some of the best cheap food anywhere. Hawker centres, Marina Bay and the supertrees are all a short MRT ride apart.
Best: February to April, or July and August
Culture trips in August 2
Québec City
Canada · North America$$The only walled city north of Mexico, with French cobbled streets below Château Frontenac. February brings the Winter Carnival.
Best: February, or June to OctoberUluru
Australia · Oceania$$$A 348 m sandstone monolith sacred to the Anangu people. Watch it change colour at sunrise and sunset; climbing has been banned since 2019.
Best: May to September
Nature trips in August 12
Churchill
Canada · North America$$$$A small town on Hudson Bay in Manitoba, known as the polar bear capital of the world. Beluga whales fill the river mouth in July and August.
Best: July and August, or October and NovemberDenali
United States · North America$$$$A 6-million-acre park in Alaska around North America's highest peak, at 6,190 m. Grizzlies, moose and caribou roam along its single road. From summer 2027, buses can again go beyond the Pretty Rocks landslide, over a new bridge.
Best: June to AugustDolomites
Italy · Europe$$$Jagged pale peaks in South Tyrol with hut-to-hut hiking in summer and the Sella Ronda ski circuit in winter.
Best: January and February, or June to SeptemberGreat Barrier Reef
Australia · Oceania$$$The world's largest coral reef system, over 2,300 km long. Base yourself in Cairns or Port Douglas; stinger season runs Nov–May.
Best: June to NovemberIguazú Falls
Argentina / Brazil · South America$$275 waterfalls along a 2.7 km horseshoe. The Argentine side gets you close; the Brazilian side gives the panorama.
Best: March to May, or August to OctoberLençóis Maranhenses
Brazil · South America$$A national park of white sand dunes in northeast Brazil. Rain from January to June fills the hollows between them with blue and green lagoons, which are fullest from June to September.
Best: June to SeptemberLofoten Islands
Norway · Europe$$$$An Arctic archipelago in Norway, where jagged peaks rise straight from the sea and red fishing cabins line the harbours. It has the midnight sun in summer and northern lights in winter.
Best: February and March, or June to AugustNorwegian Fjords
Norway · Europe$$$$Sheer walls around Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord, both UNESCO-listed. The Flåm Railway descends 863 m in 20 km.
Best: May to AugustOkavango Delta
Botswana · Africa$$$$An inland delta that floods in the dry season, drawing elephants, lions and wild dogs. Explore by dug-out mokoro canoe.
Best: June to OctoberSalalah
Oman · Middle East$$Southern Oman's frankincense country. The khareef monsoon turns the hills green from June to September, while most of Arabia bakes.
Best: July to SeptemberScottish Highlands
United Kingdom · Europe$$$Glens, lochs and single-malt distilleries. Drive the North Coast 500 or take the train from Fort William over the Glenfinnan Viaduct.
Best: May to SeptemberSerengeti
Tanzania · Africa$$$$Home of the Great Migration: about 1.5 million wildebeest cross the plains in a yearly loop. Calving is Jan–Feb, river crossings Jul–Oct.
Best: January and February, or June to October
Adventure trips in August 12
Banff
Canada · North America$$$Lake Louise and Moraine Lake in the Canadian Rockies. The Icefields Parkway to Jasper is one of the world's great drives.
Best: January and February, or June to SeptemberGobi Desert
Mongolia · Asia$$Southern Mongolia's vast desert of singing dunes, flaming cliffs and dinosaur fossil sites. Stays are in nomad-style ger camps.
Best: June to SeptemberLadakh
India · Asia$$A high-altitude desert in the Indian Himalaya, with Buddhist monasteries above Leh and the blue Pangong Lake at about 4,300 m. The mountain roads into Ladakh are snowbound for much of the winter.
Best: June to SeptemberMachu Picchu
Peru · South America$$The 15th-century Inca citadel on a ridge above the Urubamba. Hike the four-day Inca Trail (permits sell out) or train from Cusco.
Best: April to OctoberQueenstown
New Zealand · Oceania$$$Birthplace of commercial bungee jumping, with ski fields in winter and Milford Sound a day trip away.
Best: June to August, or December to MarchReykjavík
Iceland · Europe$$$$Base for the Golden Circle, glacier hikes and whale watching. Summer brings midnight sun; September to March brings aurora season.
Best: February and March, or June to OctoberSalar de Uyuni
Bolivia · South America$The world's largest salt flat, 10,000 km² of white crust high in the Bolivian Andes. In the wet season it becomes a giant mirror; in the dry season, 4x4s cross it.
Best: January to March, or May to OctoberSossusvlei
Namibia · Africa$$$A clay pan in Namibia's Namib Desert, surrounded by red dunes more than 300 m high. In nearby Deadvlei, camel-thorn trees that died 600 to 700 years ago still stand.
Best: May to OctoberSwiss Alps
Switzerland · Europe$$$$Interlaken, Grindelwald and Zermatt put the Eiger, Jungfrau and Matterhorn within train reach. Ski in winter, hike in summer.
Best: January to March, or June to SeptemberVava'u
Tonga · Oceania$$$A group of islands in northern Tonga, with sheltered sailing waters. From July to October, you can swim with humpback whales that come to breed.
Best: July to OctoberVictoria Falls
Zambia / Zimbabwe · Africa$$$A 1.7 km-wide curtain of water called Mosi-oa-Tunya, the smoke that thunders. Peak flow is Mar–May; low water brings Zambezi white-water rafting.
Best: March to June, or August and SeptemberVolcanoes National Park
Rwanda · Africa$$$$A park on the slopes of the Virunga volcanoes in northwest Rwanda. Permits allow a small number of visitors each day to spend an hour with mountain gorillas.
Best: June to September, or December to February