Europe in August?

For us it isn’t so much when Europeans take vacation or more expensive hotels, it’s the insufferable heat. It makes me lethargic and cranky. Unless you are headed up north, then the weather in the summer can be lovely.

It depends where you want to go. Most of Europe does take a holiday in August, but that means if you want to go eg Stockholm then most people who live there will be in countryside. You’ll get the best weather and cheaper accommodation.

Southern Europe will be very, very hot.

Anywhere that is a traditional holiday destination for Europeans will be at peak busyness, eg beaches, islands etc.

Just using my preferred central European city (I suspect the same will be true with a lot of Europe - research) I did some looking and this is what I discovered:

On average (https://weatherspark.com/m/84771/8/Average-Weather-in-August-in-Budapest-Hungary#Figures-Temperature):

• The hottest weather peaks on or about 25 July, then runs flat until about 5 August.
• The hottest month of the year is July as in August temperatures begin to fall rapidly (is why September is cool)
• For me being from South Texas, unbearably hot is any temperature over 100F. Okay, let’s say 95F.
• 95F doesn’t even show up and in this city and 90F is at the high end of the 10% probability band for a few days early in the month.
• By the end of August I might want to have a light sweater.

Yes, lots of tourists, European and non-European in August

• Long weekend breaks are very popular, so be prepared for the weekends to be a bit more crowded.
• In 2022, Europeans spent the majority of their tourism trips in the country where they live. Italy and Spain were the top foreign destinations for EU residents in 2022. Less than 6% of tourism trips had a destination outside the EU in 2022, with the United Kingdom, Türkiye and Switzerland being the top 3 destinations. This details where they go: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Tourism_statistics_-_top_destinations

A second half of July holiday could be much cooler and possibly less crowded.

And of course you didn't say where. Prague in August is going to be much more problematic than Sofia. Go east to avoid the tourists, avoid EU countries and even fewer tourists or go north if you want cooler.

I lived in Augsburg, Germany for four years and have travelled many times to Europe.

August in Germany was always a bit hot, but great, after the long dreary cold or chilly months.
Yes, it is hot in the Med region in the Summer, but comparable to the weather in South Georgia, where I live.

If you want to visit Scandinavia, Scotland or Iceland, August is great.

Many Europeans, especially the French take vacations in August, a good reason to avoid the South of France.

Best time to visit Southern Europe is May and September.

We are not for visiting Europe in the Winter months.

Helen above has it right. If you go to the sorts of places where European people go on vacation then it will be crowded. If you go to the places where European people live, then not so bad. August in Paris or Vienna for instance to me has never seemed appreciably less busy than July or September.

Helen's tip to think about staying farther north is also well-considered. I would shoot for at least north of the Alps, including higher alpine areas, or for Atlantic Coast.

I like Europe in July and August, usually aim to be there during those months. True, you most likely will run into crowds, depending on where, basically am not interested in the crowds.

The heat factor can be stifling and oppressive, depends; admittedly, more than a few times I was defeated by the heat.

As to be being more expensive, not necessarily so. I have found the reverse to be true in places in Germany. Heat or crowds in July I'll be back in Vienna and Germany again this July , regardless.

Bottom line, expect to deal with both factors in August.

Something else to consider is that in many European countries the children go back to school in mid August so the last week of August is quite often a bit cheaper and a bit quieter if you want to go to places like the Greek Islands or Croatia.

Helen again hits a strong point. I have a regularly checked my travel against when the local children are back in school. And as she says it's often a week or more before the end of August. Totally worth checking out - the difference can be night and day when all the rugrats are back in state custody :)

As others mentioned it depends on where in Europe you are considering. High temperatures would be my main concern.

I did 2 weeks on Orkney and Shetland last August. It was fabulous. We only hit crowds one day and that was when we visited Skara Brae on the same day that cruise ships were in port. The temperatures were fantastic for me as I am not heat tolerant and highs in the 60's F felt wonderful.

I've also done Paris in August and there was a heat wave with temps up to 97F. As mentioned I'm not heat tolerant and I just had to get back to the hotel AC by 3 in the afternoon. It was pretty miserable but it was not my first or last trip to Paris so worked out OK.

the difference can be night and day when all the rugrats are back in
state custody

I don't know about other countries, but in Denmark the schools often make a soft start by having a lot of excursions, so expect lots of schools outings in places like Tivoli and Zoo.

What about August in the alps or Dolomites? Has anyone run into a lot of crowds in the mountains?

I agree come north! Norway, Sweden & Finland will be great in August. In answer to another question, the mountains will be more crowded in August during school holidays, that's where many Europeans who don't go to the beach go to escape the crowds. We've been to the Dolomites in October, still plenty of people but only in the larger towns. If you were to go to smaller villages, away from the famous areas, it will be quieter.

We avoid the summer months since that’s the main time people travel. Airfares and hotels tend to be more expensive. Heat could be an issue, but if it’s a place I want to visit I won’t let the heat stop me.

Lack of air conditioning in some hotels/VRBOs could be a problem. I recall many nights over the years sweating in bed and not sleeping well at all, and that definitely impacted us while touring during the day, feeling sluggish and kinda grumpy. Also, the heat can be really draining while walking a lot. To each their own, but at my age I need a cool room to sleep well, and sleep impacts everything else.

I agree with Mike - it's hard enough to sleep with the time change; roasting in a noisy room without black out curtains while time-transitioning sucks.

For this reason my family tries early in the trip to book hotels that are likely to control the environment best. This often means chain hotels for the first couple few days; after that we start to prioritize charm.

How much more difficult is traveling around there in August?

The word "there" is the challenge with answering this question well :D since, like the US, Europe runs VERY wide from West to East and North to South. @MrE is suggesting exploring new/different places to avoid the most popular places - sort of like avoiding the Grand Canyon in July/August is wise as it's VERY popular in the summer and less crazy during the school week in Sept or Oct.

The temps are the temps. Plan around them and around your tolerances for temps. Waiting in line at Disney World or Cedar Point at the height of summer is no fun, and neither is being in a line at Versailles or the Colosseum in the summer. But August is also a good time to visit a lot of Europe and simply becomes one of thinking about crowd management and weather management. Know your OWN tolerances for things and plan around those limits. I've been to Europe lots of time in summer (July & August) and been generally just as happy as our normal "shoulder" travel. Also, July and August are often, for colder and/or mountain areas, when stuff fully opens up and is the best time to go for many activities.

We've been to places in June when SNOW is still at higher altitudes (US and Europe), and things don't get truly open for hiking or cycling until the summer warmth moves in to finally melt snow and dry up muddy trails.

IOW where you want to go matters as much or more as when you want to go - in Europe, the US, and the world in general.

How oppressive you think the heat is depends on where you live; however, even those of us who find the temperatures in Rome in August to be normal or even slightly cooler than our homes, would have a problem with lack of AC. Our first trip to Europe was in Aug of 1985 and we had a wonderful time but we were on a TWA tour that made logistics easier and included hotels whose Air Conditioning met US standards.

Not all European countries take vacations in August so I have to correct Helen's comment explicitly referencing Stockholm. Swedes vacation in July, not August. They head out somewhere around midsummer. I believe, but am not sure, that it's the same for the Danes. August in Scandinavia is usually fairly nice.

The horrors of August travel are over stated by those who have the luxury to travel at other times of the year.

Also, in much of Europe the warmest two weeks fall between 20 July and 10 August. The end of August can be quite different.