Next Europe Vacation - Summer 2018

Why not discover some of the rest of France other than Paris or othr big cities? Plenty of delightful small places in central and south-west France, accesible by train and not at all touristy. The earlier in June the better despite the unpredictability of the weather. July and August have more dependable weather, but that's when all the French are on holiday too.

Croatia is a stunning country and offers good value for money. Ten days would be a good length of trip to see Dubrovnik, an island and Split, but 14 days would be even better!

Places are going to be much busier in late July and August and much more expensive when the schools are on their summer long holidays.

We are looking for somewhere that will be less miserable in summer
based on crowds, prices, and weather.

Go to weather websites now for the temperatures in the areas of Europe that interest you particularly southern Europe. This will give you an idea about next summer. Some of them provide historical daily averages which are very helpful.

Summer is when things are typically the MOST expensive. Airlines, hotels, restaurants know that this is when Americans tend to come to Europe en mass. You might want to consider waiting until at least mid September so you won't be bilked and you can enjoy cooler temps.

No matter where you choose, I would try to go at the end of June. July gets really busy and August is when most Europeans take their holidays, so you get both crowds AND closures in some places.

Can you tolerate heat? Greece really fits a lot of your wants (it's cheap, the food is the best in Europe IMO, and the history is of course, everywhere) and I was there in late June and it was bearable with crowds in Athens and not too bad on the island I went to (then again I chose an island that's largely off the radar of most tourists - Myknos and Santorini are going to be mobbed already, I suspect) it was already really hot. It's not ALWAYS that hot in Greece in late June, but there was a heatwave this year and I was fairly miserable, but that's because I've been living in Germany for the past 7 years and my body just doesn't know what to do when it gets over 80 degrees.

So if you can tolerate heat, Greece seems like a great choice for you. The good news is everyone there blasts A/C at all times, too.

Otherwise I can rep for Germany a bit, early June isn't too crowded anywhere but Neuschwanstein, the weather as always is variable but it's unlikely to be too miserable in either direction, and if the weather is nice, Germans really make use of outdoor space in a way that makes summer so lovely.

Greece is very hot in the Summer. We have traveled there in July, but we are from the American south and live in hot weather in the Summer.

Consider flying in to Munich and taking in Prague, Vienna and Budapest and southern Bavaria. If that is too much, eliminate Budapest and do it later.

Another choice is Amsterdam, Brussels, Bruges, Luxembourg, Trier, Germany, Cologne, Germany, the back to Amsterdam.

Ten days is not a lot of time. Shoot for 14. I also second Germany. I think it offers many choices of destinations. You can land in Munich and leave out of Berlin so you won't be backtracking. You can do Munich-Prague-Dresden-Leipzig-Berlin or Munich-Rothenburg-Nuremburg-Berlin. Just a couple of suggestions. France would probably offer many possibilities. Have fun

If you want cooler weather, head for England. My sister lives in the UK and they holiday-ed in Devon at the beach the first week of August - it was chilly and she vowed never to holiday in the summer within the UK again...lol.

The Netherlands may be a little more manageable this time of year.

I'm not a big help as we generally holiday mid-Sept. We did early Sept a few years ago and revisited Italy - still horribly hot - we'd just go back to our room mid-day to cool off, relax, have a siesta and another shower, then head back out in the evening.

My recommendation would be to go in June if possible and go to Budapest and Vienna. Weather should be good and crowds not too bad. August will be pretty hot everywhere except Scandinavia, and UK.

Ireland and Scotland. I was in Ireland in August 2014 for nearly 3 weeks and nothing was crowded except some pubs on the weekends. I don't think it ever gets hot in either place and the only time it's expensive is Edinburgh during the festival.

I spent 10 nights in late June in Burgundy and Alsace in 2015, 8 with a car, then 2 in Strasbourg. I could easily have filled several more days in those areas. Not too crowded, not expensive, and not hot.

Thanks for the advice everyone. Unfortunately, since my husband works for the school district the earliest we could go is June 27th. For that reason I had kind of written off Greece but maybe it won't be too bad. I also like the idea of Germany. How will it be there in August?

Anywhere in Europe is going to be busy in August which is scenic or coastal. Cities will be quieter as school children don't tend to be taken to cities.

Greece IMO has some of the worst food in Europe - often tepid rather than hot and everything comes with soggy, greasy fries. I certainly agree that Santorini and Mykonos should be avoided - there are many islands that would be less overrun with cruise ships that offer a more traditional Greek experience. Greece in August can be unbearably hot unless you opt for some of the islands such as the Ionians, where a breeze blows to take the edge off the temperature.

Another good option would be the western coast of Portugal around Lisbon - the beaches will be quieter than the Algarve in August. Great food and wine and good train / bus links to other places in the region.

Summer is an ideal time to visit Scandinavia. Start getting ideas at https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/denmark.

Laura beat me to it. If you don't mind high prices, Scandinavia and the Nordic countries are great in the summer, as they have very long days, good weather, a festive atmosphere (the locals are enjoying the short good weather season, and this is palpable), and they doesn't get the high crowds of further south.

The country where I was really aware of high prices was Norway. Sweden and Finland weren't exactly cheap, but coming from New York City I didn't have sticker shock, and Rick's book has great money-saving tips for this area.

I haven't been to Riga, but the pictures of the Art Nouveau architecture look amazing, and summer should be a good time to go, weather-wise. Of course, you would probably want to combine it with nearby destinations in the Baltics, Finland, etc.

Germany is great in August, particularly because many Germans are off on vacation at the sea in another country, so traffic (if you're driving) gets noticeably better unless you're trying to leave the country to go somewhere scenic/seaside) and everything else is pretty much the same. The major tourist attractions will be crowded all summer, but with the exception of Neuschwanstein there's never one place that's just too crowded to be unpleasant.

Weather can really vary. We DO get heatwaves here, particularly in July and August, but for us a heatwave is like, highs in the 90s. So it's manageable. When it's too hot for sightseeing, you can just sit in a leafy biergarten with a cold drink and all is well. A few days ago our highs were in the 60s and it was rainy. So it really does vary. If you're from a very dry climate like me you might find it humid here, but if you're from the midwest or south you'd laugh at the idea that it's humid.

One thing I'll say no matter where you go (even England!) is to GET A HOTEL WITH A/C IN THE SUMMER. Unless you're someplace that there's a 99% chance of significant cooling at night like high up in the mountains or something. But in a city or any place known for being warm, please just get the damned A/C. One visit to Paris during a heatwave staying in a hotel without A/C convinced me to never gamble with this feature again. And I'm not a delicate flower - my home doesn't have A/C or fans and I'm fine - but touring a hot city with no relief in your hotel at night is a truly miserable experience.

I have to clap back about Greek food - there are crappy tourist restaurants with mediocre food in every country, but I have had some of the best value for flavor ratio meals in Greece. I'm not a salad person but we ate salads with almost every meal because when prepared right with good produce, nothing beats greek salads (and there's a variety, not just the standard that we all know about!) The delicious "tapas", cheese pie, spinach-stuffed roasted mushrooms, an amazingly flavorful createan sausage, grilled octopus, fresh fried fish and squid...and if there's a reason that people line up in front of O Kostas in Athens for their souvlaki!

Matt, who maintains GreekTravel.com is a real foodie and we took his recommendations to heart when choosing where to eat and were never disappointed.

This is super easy by train, and best done in July/August ...
Amsterdam (3N)
Berlin (4N)
Dresden (1N)
Prague (3N)
Vienna (3N)

Hi,

On different trips I have been in Germany in August, it could rain and be cool or you could be in a heat wave especially in south Germany. Choose something different in north and eastern Germany..cities such as Weimar, Leipzig, Schwerin, Eutin/Holstein, Jena, Meissen, Naumburg an der Saale, Lübeck, etc....all well worth it culturally and historically.

Research special events, holidays, festivals, etc and choose the location with the most interesting. Right now in the Hungary forum there are two posts, one discusses St Stephen's Day, a huge August celebration in Budapest, the other discusses the annual wine festival in the Buda palace in September.. There are a few books published and a couple of web sites that highlight the world's great festivals.

June would be cooler and less crowded in the typical destinations, but August would not be bad in the Albanian Alps or maybe the high country of Montenegro.

Think out of the box. Wikitravel search every conceivable location until something demand you visit.

I'd avoid Europe in August for the weather and the fact the seems like all of Europe is on vacation. I'd leave the 28th of June and head to northern Europe. Scandinavia is great though if you do go in August but as mentioned already quite expensive. We did a Baltic cruise the end of June (husband was a school teacher) and it was great and a more affordable way to visit.

Give Iceland a try. With those quick flights from Seattle, you can be there in just 7 hours on Icelandic Air. Lots of romantic things to do, with stunning scenery, interesting architecture and no lack of daylight at all.

I was in Iceland in July. I was okay with it. But the costs!!!!!! London is cheaper.