Where to Go in August 2027: 21 Best Places to Travel

An August trip turns on two questions, why this month and why this place. August's answer to the first is festivals and dry seasons. Edinburgh holds the 80th Fringe, London its Notting Hill Carnival and Aomori its Nebuta floats. The Masai Mara, Bali, Fiji and Sri Lanka's east coast are in their dry season. Almost everywhere is in peak season, and southern Europe is hot. The cool north, from Reykjavik to Maine, is where to escape the heat.

For August 2027, build the trip around a date or a season. Aomori's Nebuta runs from August 2 to 7, the Locarno Film Festival from August 4 to 14 and the Edinburgh Fringe from August 6 to 30. Notting Hill Carnival closes the month on August 29 and 30. To escape the heat, go north to Reykjavik or Tórshavn, the coolest of the 21. For a week of sure sun by the sea, pick Zakynthos, the driest of the European picks. For a safari, the Masai Mara has the Great Migration. In the US, Seattle and Bar Harbor stay mild, San Diego is the dry beach city and Glacier's high road is open. Nearly every place here is in peak season, so book rooms first.

• Festivals: Aomori's Nebuta (August 2 to 7), the Locarno Film Festival (August 4 to 14), the Edinburgh Fringe (August 6 to 30) and Notting Hill Carnival (August 29 and 30).
• Coolest: Reykjavik, highs of 13.7 °C (57 °F).
• Caribbean: Curaçao, outside the main hurricane belt.

August 2027 at a glance

Highs are August averages for 2013 to 2022. Daily budgets are Budget Your Trip's mid-range costs per person. The season compares August with an average month in official tourism statistics. See where to go in July for the month before and September for the month after.

Cool escapes from the August heat

The four cool escapes have August highs from Reykjavik's 13.7 °C (57 °F) to Bar Harbor's 25.4 °C (78 °F), well below the Mediterranean picks.

Reykjavik, Iceland

Best for Culture Night and cool summer days

• Weather: highs 13.7 °C (57 °F), lows 8.8 °C (48 °F); 98 mm (3.9 in) of rain over about 12 wet days
• Dates: Culture Night and the Reykjavik Marathon, August 21, 2027
• Season: peak, 1.31 times an average month in the capital region's hotels, the year's busiest month
• Daily budget: about $311 a person, mid-range
• Plan it: 10-day Reykjavik itinerary, Golden Circle itinerary, Iceland packing list

On August 21, Culture Night turns central Reykjavik into one long street festival of concerts that ends with a main-stage show and fireworks. Iceland's capital is small and walkable, a harbor town of colorful houses below the tower of Hallgrímskirkja.

Pick Reykjavik over Tórshavn if you want a date on the calendar, since Culture Night and the marathon share August 21. The capital region's hotels have their busiest month in August, so book a room first.

Start at Harpa, the glass concert hall on the harbor, and walk the waterfront to the Sun Voyager sculpture. Then soak in the hot pots at Laugardalslaug, the city's largest pool. The Bæjarins Beztu stand has sold pylsur, the Icelandic hot dog, since 1937. Try skyr too, the thick cultured dairy dish.

Linguaddict (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Hallgrímskirkja seen from Skólavörðustígur, Reykjavík, August 2019

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Tórshavn, Faroe Islands

Best for a cool summer and long daylight

• Weather: highs 13.8 °C (57 °F), lows 10.8 °C (51 °F); 68 mm (2.7 in) of rain over about 11 wet days; sea 10.0 °C (50 °F)
• Season: peak, 1.64 times an average month in the hotels around Tórshavn; July is busier
• Plan it: 7-day Faroe Islands itinerary, Faroe Islands guide

In August the long days in the Faroe Islands are still good for spotting nesting puffins on Mykines, one of the islands' most popular summer trips. Tórshavn, the capital, wraps around a harbor split by Tinganes. On that peninsula of turf-roofed houses the Norse set up their parliament in AD 850.

Pick Tórshavn over Reykjavik for an August with no big festival in town. Its hotels are busiest in July, with August close behind. Book the Mykines boat well ahead. The weather turns fast and the sea is the coldest of the 21. Pack layers, never start a hike in fog and keep a spare day for the walks.

Take the 20-minute ferry to Nólsoy for a day of walking. Go out to Kirkjubøur, the Faroes' main historic site, for its cathedral ruin from around 1300. Save the National Gallery, at the north end of the town park, for a foggy day. The local meat is skerpikjøt, mutton wind-dried for five to nine months; ræst kjøt is the semi-dried kind.

Pasztilla aka Attila Terbócs (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Painted wooden houses in Tórshavn

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Vancouver, Canada

Best for dry, mild summer days by the sea

• Weather: highs 24.8 °C (77 °F), lows 15.6 °C (60 °F); 56 mm (2.2 in) of rain over about six wet days; sea 19.2 °C (67 °F)
• Season: peak, 1.67 times an average month in visitors entering Canada through British Columbia
• Plan it: day trips from Vancouver, weekend getaways from Vancouver

Vancouver's August is dry and mild, with about six wet days and long evenings on the Seawall. The city sits between the Pacific and the Coast Mountains. Stanley Park, one of the largest urban parks in North America, lies at the edge of downtown.

The Celebration of Light fireworks has been canceled indefinitely, so come for the dry weather. Hotel rooms cost about $362 in peak season, against $194 off-season.

Walk or cycle the Seawall around the park, then graze the public market on Granville Island. Climb the steep Grouse Grind trail for the view from Grouse Mountain. Keep the First Nations collections of the Museum of Anthropology at UBC for a gray day. Order a Japadog, the Japanese-style hot dog born in Vancouver. Vancouver chef Hidekazu Tojo claimed to have invented the California roll.

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Stanley Park Seawall path, Vancouver

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Bar Harbor, USA

Best for Acadia's coast in mild summer

• Weather: highs 25.4 °C (78 °F), lows 14.4 °C (58 °F); 76 mm (3.0 in) of rain over about six wet days; sea 14.1 °C (57 °F)
• Season: peak, 2.48 times an average month in visits to Acadia National Park, its busiest month
• Plan it: 3-day Acadia itinerary

Bar Harbor has mild August days for hiking and cycling in Acadia National Park, with highs of 25.4 °C (78 °F). Behind the town rises Cadillac Mountain, the highest point within 25 miles of the US East Coast. The park's granite coast, ponds and carriage roads lie all around.

August is Acadia's busiest month, and the sea is cold for swimming. To drive the summit road in 2026 you needed a vehicle reservation, so book it with your room. Go up early to beat the crowds on the summit.

Bike Acadia's car-free carriage roads, 45 miles of them, and take a whale-watching boat out of Bar Harbor. Drive to Bass Harbor Head Light in the island's southwest corner. Eat a cold Maine lobster roll and finish with wild blueberry pie, the state dessert. At the Jordan Pond House, order the popovers it has served since 1893.

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Bar Harbor shoreline and the Porcupine Islands from the Shore Path

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August festivals with 2027 dates

Four festivals set the dates for these trips, from Aomori's Nebuta in the first week to Notting Hill Carnival at the month's end.

Edinburgh, UK

Best for the Fringe and the Tattoo

• Weather: highs 19.1 °C (66 °F), lows 10.9 °C (52 °F); 78 mm (3.1 in) of rain over about 11 wet days
• Dates: Edinburgh Festival Fringe, August 6 to 30, 2027; Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, August 6 to 28
• Season: peak, 1.22 times an average month in hotel occupancy for Scotland, 2024, the year's highest
• Plan it: 3-day Edinburgh itinerary, 7-day Scotland itinerary, Scotland guide

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe holds its 80th edition from August 6, and the Military Tattoo plays on the castle esplanade over the same weeks. In the Fringe's own words, "For three weeks in August, the city of Edinburgh welcomes an explosion of creative energy from around the globe." Edinburgh is a stone city on hills, and its medieval Old Town runs down the Royal Mile from the castle rock.

The Fringe sold more than 2.6 million tickets in 2025, so book your room first. A peak-season room costs about $416. To see both, come by August 28, the Tattoo's last night.

Begin at Edinburgh Castle, then climb Arthur's Seat (250.5 m) to get above the festival crowds. On a wet day, go to the free National Museum of Scotland or tour Mary King's Close, a 17th-century street buried under the Royal Mile. Cranachan, made from cream, oats and raspberries, was traditionally a dish for after the August raspberry harvest. Haggis is Scotland's national dish.

Magnus Hagdorn from UK (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Street performer on the Royal Mile during the Fringe, August 2021

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London, UK

Best for Notting Hill Carnival on the bank holiday

• Weather: highs 23.9 °C (75 °F), lows 13.7 °C (57 °F); 72 mm (2.8 in) of rain over about eight wet days
• Dates: Notting Hill Carnival, August 29 and 30, 2027, after the Panorama steel band competition on August 28; summer bank holiday, August 30
• Season: peak, by a proxy: 1.20 times an average month in passengers at London's airports, the year's busiest month
• Daily budget: about $286 a person, mid-range
• Plan it: 3-day London itinerary, 5-day London itinerary, day trips from London

Notting Hill Carnival fills the streets of west London on the last weekend of August, with steel pans, soca and sound systems. Around two million people come each year to Europe's largest street festival.

The ticketed Panorama competition comes first, on the Saturday. Sunday is the family day, with the children's parade. The adults' parade takes the bank holiday Monday. The Fringe's last weekend falls on the same days, so the end of the month means choosing between London and Edinburgh. Expect school-holiday queues at the big sights.

Visit the free Tate Modern in the old Bankside Power Station and the gardens at Kew, founded in 1759. Book ahead for the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London. For an East End lunch, have pie and mash, a Cockney classic. Jellied eels, chopped eels set in a spiced stock, come from the same East End tradition.

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Dancer at Notting Hill Carnival, August 2014

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Aomori, Japan

Best for Nebuta floats in the cooler north

• Weather: highs 27.9 °C (82 °F), lows 20.2 °C (68 °F); 233 mm (9.2 in) of rain over about 14 wet days
• Dates: Nebuta Matsuri, August 2 to 7 every year
• Season: peak, 1.38 times an average month in guest nights for Aomori Prefecture, the year's busiest month
• Plan it: Japan guide, 7-day Japan itinerary

From August 2 to 6, giant lit floats of warriors parade through Aomori at night for the Nebuta Matsuri, with haneto dancers chanting around them. On the last day the floats parade by day, then go out on the sea under fireworks. Aomori is a port city at the top of Honshu, in a north that is cooler than Tokyo or Kyoto in August.

Anyone in a haneto costume can join the dancers, and costumes can be rented along the route. Rooms fill early for festival week. Go north for festival week and accept the rain: Aomori gets the most of the 21 places here.

The Aomori Museum of Art, with works by Yoshitomo Nara, stands next door to the Jōmon settlement at Sannai-Maruyama. Ride the Hakkōda Ropeway up to the mountain trails. Try kaiyaki miso, cooked in a scallop shell. Aomori's oden comes with a ginger-miso sauce.

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Illuminated float at the Aomori Nebuta Festival, August 2006

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Locarno, Switzerland

Best for open-air film nights by Lake Maggiore

• Weather: highs 24.9 °C (77 °F), lows 15.3 °C (60 °F); 167 mm (6.6 in) of rain over about 11 wet days
• Dates: Locarno Film Festival, August 4 to 14, 2027
• Season: peak, 1.50 times an average month in Locarno's hotels; July is busier
• Plan it: Switzerland guide, 10-day Switzerland itinerary

In the first half of August, Locarno's film festival shows films in the open air on the Piazza Grande, which seats 8,000. Locarno is Italian-speaking Switzerland on Lake Maggiore, an old town of narrow lanes that lead to that square.

August storms are heavy here, so pack for rain. Heat is the other risk: the festival put part of a 5% fall in its 2026 square audience down to the high temperatures.

Order polenta or a Ticino risotto for dinner at a grotto, one of Ticino's rustic restaurants. Take the funicular up to Madonna del Sasso, the hilltop sanctuary, and the cable car and chairlift to Cardada and Cimetta for cooler air. A boat goes out to the Brissago Islands and their botanical garden.

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Piazza Grande set up for open-air screenings, Locarno Film Festival 2026

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Mediterranean and Caribbean beaches

The sea is warm at all five, from 24.5 °C (76 °F) off Split to 27.9 °C (82 °F) off Curaçao. The European coasts are in peak season.

Split, Croatia

Best for hot, dry beach days and island ferries

• Weather: highs 32.2 °C (90 °F), lows 23.2 °C (74 °F); 34 mm (1.4 in) of rain; sea 24.5 °C (76 °F)
• Season: peak, 2.62 times an average month in the city's tourist nights, the year's busiest month
• Daily budget: about $223 a person, mid-range
• Plan it: 10-day Croatia itinerary, Croatia guide

In August, Split is a swimming town, with ferries leaving its port for Brač, Hvar, Šolta, Vis and Korčula. The old town is a lived-in Roman palace: Diocletian's Palace makes up about half of it, a UNESCO site since 1979.

Split has nearly 20 times January's tourist nights in August, so expect crowds in the palace lanes and on the beaches. Swim early and keep the palace for the evening, when live music often fills the Peristyle. Pick Split for the island ferries; for a cheaper sea and old walls, Kotor costs $149 a day to Split's $223.

Climb the bell tower of the Cathedral of St Domnius, built from a Roman mausoleum, and walk the pine trails of Marjan hill. At dinner, order pašticada, Dalmatian braised beef with gnocchi. Soparnik, the chard pie of nearby Poljica, makes a good lunch. At Bačvice beach, join a game of picigin, the ball game played in its shallows since 1908.

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Palm-lined Riva promenade, Split

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Kotor, Montenegro

Best for Boka Night boats and Venetian walls

• Weather: highs 30.4 °C (87 °F), lows 19.8 °C (68 °F); 73 mm (2.9 in) of rain; sea 25.6 °C (78 °F)
• Dates: Boka Night, a Saturday in August; 2027 date not yet announced
• Season: peak, 2.83 times an average month in overnight stays for Montenegro, the year's busiest month
• Daily budget: about $149 a person, mid-range, the lowest of the reliable figures outside the US
• Plan it: 14-day Balkans itinerary, Croatia, Slovenia and Montenegro itinerary

On a Saturday in August, Boka Night fills the Bay of Kotor with a parade of lit and decorated boats, followed by fireworks and concerts. Kotor is a walled medieval port at the head of that fjord-like bay, its old town a UNESCO site.

The tourism board says the parade falls on the third Saturday, but in 2025 it fell on the fourth. Check the 2027 date before you book. Cruise ships arrive daily in summer and can crowd the small old town. Kotor is the budget pick for the sea and the walls, but peak-season rooms still average about $216.

In town, see the Cathedral of Saint Tryphon, consecrated in 1166. Catch a boat to Our Lady of the Rocks, the man-made islet off Perast. Order Njeguški pršut, the dry-cured ham of the village above Kotor, and black risotto made with cuttlefish ink. Climb the city walls to St John's fortress at first light or near sunset.

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Sunset over the Bay of Kotor from St John's fortress above the old town (August)

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Zakynthos, Greece

Best for turtle beaches and the patron-saint feast

• Weather: highs 32.0 °C (90 °F), lows 22.2 °C (72 °F); 9 mm (0.4 in) of rain; sea 26.7 °C (80 °F)
• Dates: Feast of Saint Dionysios, August 24
• Season: peak, 2.88 times an average month in overnight stays for the Ionian Islands
• Plan it: Greece guide

The loggerhead turtles of Zakynthos nest until August, the last month of their season. The females come ashore at night to lay their eggs on the Laganas Bay beaches. The feast of the island's patron, Saint Dionysios, brings processions through the town on August 24. Zakynthos is a green Ionian island of sandy coves and sea cliffs, home to Navagio, one of Greece's most photographed beaches.

With less rain than any other European pick, Zakynthos is the one to choose for a week of sure sun. Laganas suits nightlife, so for quiet nights stay elsewhere on the island. Whether boats may land at Navagio is not settled, so check before you book a trip there.

Spend the midday heat in the Solomos Museum, on the national poet. Take a small boat into the Blue Caves at Cape Skinari. Try pasteli, the Ionian sesame and honey bar. Buy a bag of Zante currants, named after the island. Walk the cobbled lane up to Bochali and its Venetian castle at dusk.

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Navagio (Shipwreck) Beach from the cliffs, Zakynthos (August 2025)

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Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Best for Copa del Rey regatta week by the sea

• Weather: highs 31.9 °C (89 °F), lows 20.6 °C (69 °F); 16 mm (0.6 in) of rain; sea 26.8 °C (80 °F)
• Dates: Copa del Rey MAPFRE regatta, July 31 to August 7, 2027
• Season: peak, 1.75 times an average month in the city's hotels, the year's busiest month
• Plan it: Spain guide

Palma's August opens with the 45th Copa del Rey MAPFRE regatta, as racing yachts fill the Bay of Palma. The capital of the Balearic Islands sits on Mallorca's south coast, its Gothic cathedral standing over the sea.

Palma has the warmest sea of the European picks, so choose it over Zakynthos for a city with its beaches. August was its busiest hotel month in 2025, so book early: peak-season rooms average about $504, against $270 off-season.

Be at Palma Cathedral when it opens, for the light through its rose window, nearly 14 m across. Walk up to Bellver Castle, a round 14th-century castle 3 km west of the center. Ride the vintage Sóller train through 13 tunnels of the Tramuntana. Have an ensaïmada, Mallorca's spiral pastry, for breakfast. Later in the day, try sobrassada, the paprika-cured sausage.

Daniel Marzian (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Palma Cathedral (La Seu) lit up at night above the Parc de la Mar lake

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Willemstad, Curaçao

Best for a Caribbean escape outside the hurricane belt

• Weather: highs 32.2 °C (90 °F), lows 26.1 °C (79 °F); 45 mm (1.8 in) of rain; sea 27.9 °C (82 °F)

August falls in the middle of the Atlantic hurricane season, but Curaçao lies outside the main hurricane belt. No hurricane has made landfall there since the US National Hurricane Center began tracking them. Willemstad, the capital, has a colorful harbor front listed by UNESCO. Punda and Otrobanda sit on either side of St. Anna Bay.

Choose Curaçao for a Caribbean beach in August, since storms are rare and its sea is the warmest of the five beach picks. The nights are the warmest of the 21 too.

The Mikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue, completed in 1732, is the oldest surviving synagogue in the Americas. Walk over the Queen Emma Bridge, the swinging pontoon bridge, at dusk. Take a boat to Klein Curaçao to dive on its coral. Order keshi yena, a whole cheese stuffed with spiced meat, or a Krioyo stew called stobá. Pastechi, the fried pastry, is for breakfast. Take home a bottle of Curaçao liqueur from Landhuis Chobolobo, where it has been made since 1896.

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The colored Handelskade waterfront of Punda across St Anna Bay, Willemstad

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Dry season and southern winter

The dry season holds in the Masai Mara, Bali, Fiji and on Sri Lanka's east coast. The Galápagos get cool currents and mist.

Masai Mara, Kenya

Best for the Great Migration's river crossings

• Weather: in Nairobi, highs 24.3 °C (76 °F), lows 13.6 °C (56 °F); 28 mm (1.1 in) of rain over about three wet days
• Season: peak, 1.18 times an average month in international arrivals for Kenya, the year's busiest month

The Great Migration is on the Masai Mara in August. More than a million wildebeest, zebra and other animals move north from the Serengeti around July for fresh grazing. The Mara is open grassland in Big Five country.

The herds return south around October. The river crossings follow the rain and have no fixed date, so leave spare days in the plan. Lodges charge peak prices in Kenya's busiest month. Early game drives in open vehicles are cold, so pack warm layers.

Go on a Big Five game drive across the short dry-season grass, and book a hot-air balloon over the plains at dawn well ahead. Between drives, visit a Maasai village. Eat nyama choma, the grilled meat that is Kenya's national dish, with ugali and sukuma wiki (braised greens) back in Nairobi.

Danijel Mihajlovic (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Wildebeest jumping into the Mara River during the Great Migration, Masai Mara (September)

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Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

Best for cool-current wildlife and snorkeling

• Weather: in Puerto Ayora, highs 25.4 °C (78 °F), lows 17.5 °C (64 °F); 5 mm (0.2 in) of rain; sea 21.8 °C (71 °F)
• Season: peak, roughly: 1.16 times an average month in arrivals, August 2026 against 2025
• Daily budget: about $160 a person, mid-range, before cruises and the park entry fee
• Plan it: 10-day Ecuador itinerary for the mainland

August is garúa season in the Galápagos, when the cool Humboldt Current brings a steady southerly wind and drizzle. The cooler water draws marine life close for snorkelers. Puerto Ayora, on Santa Cruz, is the islands' main town and home of the Charles Darwin Research Station.

Puerto Ayora gets the least rain of the 21 places here, but the highlands are often misty and the sea is cool, so come for the wildlife in the water rather than the sun. Ecuadorian visitors peak in August. Book boats and rooms early.

The Charles Darwin Research Station on Academy Bay is the first stop. Walk out to Tortuga Bay for the marine iguanas, and go up to the El Chato reserve to see giant tortoises in the wild. In town, have a bowl of Ecuadorian ceviche or encebollado, Ecuador's onion-dressed fish stew.

Diego Delso (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Tortuga Bay beach near Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz (July)

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Bali, Indonesia

Best for dry-season beaches and Independence Day flags

• Weather: in Denpasar, highs 30.5 °C (87 °F), lows 22.9 °C (73 °F); 56 mm (2.2 in) of rain over about ten wet days; sea 26.7 °C (80 °F)
• Dates: Independence Day, August 17
• Season: peak, 1.18 times an average month in foreign arrivals, behind only July
• Plan it: Bali guide, 7-day Bali itinerary

Through August, red and white flags line Bali's streets and alleys for Indonesia's Independence Day on August 17. The island is in the middle of its dry season, which runs from April to October. Bali is a volcanic island of temples, rice terraces and surf, and the dry weather makes August a beach month.

Fiji has about four wet days to Bali's ten. Pick Bali for its temples, surf and Independence Day flags. June to August are Bali's busiest months, so book rooms and drivers ahead. The days are hot, so plan the temples and the climbs for early or late in the day.

At Uluwatu Temple on its cliff, the Kecak dance starts at 6 pm. Climb Mount Batur before dawn for the sunrise, and take a surf lesson on Kuta Beach. Babi guling, roast suckling pig, is the island's feast dish. Look for sate lilit, minced meat wound on lemongrass, as a snack.

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Tanah Lot sea temple at high tide, Bali (August 2022)

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Nadi, Fiji

Best for a cool dry season and island day trips

• Weather: highs 28.4 °C (83 °F), lows 20.1 °C (68 °F); 74 mm (2.9 in) of rain over about four wet days; sea 26.2 °C (79 °F)
• Season: peak, 1.21 times an average month in visitor arrivals for Fiji, the year's busiest month
• Daily budget: about $201 a person, mid-range

August falls in Fiji's cooler, drier season. Nadi, on Viti Levu, is the gateway town for boats to the Mamanuca and Yasawa islands.

With about four wet days in the month, you can plan most days around the water. Fiji had 99,737 visitor arrivals in August 2025, its busiest month. Peak-season rooms in Nadi run about $215.

Nadi's Sri Siva Subramaniya Temple is the largest Hindu temple in the Southern Hemisphere. Take a day trip to Navala, a highland village of over 200 thatched bures, and a boat to the Mamanuca Islands to snorkel. Try kokoda, raw fish in citrus and coconut milk. If you get the chance, join a lovo, the feast cooked in an earth oven.

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Sri Siva Subramaniya Hindu temple, Nadi (August 2016)

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Trincomalee, Sri Lanka

Best for the east coast's dry season and quiet beaches

• Weather: highs 33.5 °C (92 °F), lows 25.5 °C (78 °F); 51 mm (2.0 in) of rain; sea 28.9 °C (84 °F)
• Season: shoulder, 1.01 times an average month in tourist arrivals for Sri Lanka as a whole
• Plan it: 10-day Sri Lanka itinerary for the south and hill country

In August, Sri Lanka's southwest coast catches the monsoon while the northeast around Trincomalee has blue skies, warm water and quiet beaches such as Nilaveli and Uppuveli. Trincomalee sits on one of the world's finest natural harbors, with a Hindu temple on the cliff above it.

Pick the east coast this month. The national figure says shoulder season, but it counts the southwest's winter peak. Expect heat, with the warmest highs and sea of the 21, and a lightly developed coast.

Go early in the day to Koneswaram Temple on the Swami Rock promontory, and swim at Marble Beach, 16 km from town. Snorkel over the coral of Pigeon Island National Park, 1 km off Nilaveli. Inland, the reservoirs of Minneriya and Kaudulla draw herds of wild elephants in July and August. For breakfast, have puttu, steamed rice flour and coconut. String hoppers come with sodhi, the coconut milk curry.

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Shiva statue at Koneswaram Temple on Swami Rock, Trincomalee

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Where to go in August in the US

For a mild August in the US, go to Seattle for dry summer days on Puget Sound, or to Bar Harbor for Acadia's coast. San Diego is the warm beach city, and Glacier National Park has its whole road open and its warmest days. Book early for Acadia and Glacier: August is Acadia's busiest month and Glacier's second-busiest.

Seattle, USA

Best for dry summer days and Seafair on the lake

• Weather: highs 25.2 °C (77 °F), lows 14.2 °C (58 °F); 25 mm (1.0 in) of rain over about four wet days; sea 15.3 °C (60 °F)
• Dates: Seafair Weekend, traditionally the first weekend of August; 2027 dates not yet published
• Daily budget: about $242 a person, mid-range
• Plan it: day trips from Seattle, weekend getaways from Seattle

Seattle's Seafair Weekend fills Lake Washington with hydroplane races and an air show, traditionally on the first weekend of August. The races run on Lake Washington, along the city's east side, with Mount Rainier on the skyline on a clear day.

Choose Seattle over Vancouver for dry days: it gets under half Vancouver's August rain, and at about $242 a day it costs less than San Diego. Check the Seafair dates before you book the first weekend.

Start at Pike Place Market, open since 1907 above the waterfront. Rent a kayak on Lake Union, past the houseboats. Then take the ferry to Bainbridge Island. The local street food is the Seattle dog, a hot dog with cream cheese and caramelized onions.

Joe Mabel (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The Blue Angels over boats on Lake Washington at Seafair, August 2009, Seattle

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San Diego, USA

Best for a warm, dry beach week in a city

• Weather: highs 27.3 °C (81 °F), lows 19.2 °C (67 °F); 5 mm (0.2 in) of rain; sea 22.0 °C (72 °F)
• Daily budget: about $251 a person, mid-range
• Plan it: day trips from San Diego, weekend getaways from San Diego

San Diego gets almost no rain in August, and its beaches have the warmest sea of the US picks. Downtown sits on San Diego Bay, with Coronado's beach across the water.

Pick it for a warm, settled beach week rather than a hot one: the sea stays well below the Mediterranean's, and at about $251 a day it costs more than any other US pick with a budget figure.

Fish tacos, the Baja dish of fried or grilled fish in a tortilla, are the lunch to order. Snorkel or watch the sea lions haul out at La Jolla Cove, a marine reserve. Give a day to Balboa Park, whose museums, gardens and San Diego Zoo share one park, and end it on the beach at Coronado.

Rhododendrites (CC BY-SA 4.0)

California sea lions on the rocks, La Jolla, San Diego

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Glacier National Park, USA

Best for the whole high road open in the warmest month

• Weather: highs 27.4 °C (81 °F), lows 8.9 °C (48 °F); 30 mm (1.2 in) of rain over about three wet days
• Season: peak, 2.75 times an average month in park visits
• Daily budget: about $148 a person, mid-range
• Plan it: best time to visit Glacier, 5-day Glacier itinerary

All 50 miles of Glacier's Going-to-the-Sun Road are open in August, the park's warmest month, crossing the Continental Divide at Logan Pass. A summer day here can take in the whole road and a ridge walk above it.

At about $148 a day it is the cheapest US pick here, but August is peak season and the Logan Pass lot fills early, so start at dawn. Smoke from summer wildfires can hide the peaks, and Glacier has not announced its 2027 access rules, so check the park's vehicle reservations page before you book.

Drive the Going-to-the-Sun Road end to end, about two hours without stops. From Logan Pass, walk the Highline Trail along the Garden Wall, and end the day on Lake McDonald, the park's largest lake.

Royalbroil (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The Going-to-the-Sun Road at Siyeh Bend, Glacier

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Where should you go in August with kids?

London suits a city trip with kids, for its free museums and Carnival's family day on August 29. For a beach week, pick Zakynthos for the driest days or Mallorca for the warmest sea of the European picks and a city. In Split, kids can play picigin in the shallows at Bačvice beach.

Plan your August trip

Every MonkeyEatingMango trip plan shows the measured weather for its month. The packing list generator, free for now, uses the same records to pick the gear for a destination's month.

Pick a place and a week, and the planner writes the days, with a time and a cost on every stop: plan an August trip.

Last updated November 2026.

Common questions

Where is not too hot in August?

Over 2013 to 2022, Reykjavik averaged August highs of 13.7 °C (57 °F) and Tórshavn 13.8 °C (57 °F). Edinburgh stays near 19.1 °C (66 °F), and London, Vancouver and Bar Harbor in Maine sit between 23.9 °C (75 °F) and 25.4 °C (78 °F).

Where is warm in Europe in August?

Over 2013 to 2022, Split averaged August highs of 32.2 °C (90 °F), Zakynthos 32.0 °C (90 °F), Palma de Mallorca 31.9 °C (89 °F) and Kotor 30.4 °C (87 °F). Palma and Zakynthos have the warmest seas of the European picks, at 26.8 °C (80 °F) and 26.7 °C (80 °F).

When is the Edinburgh Fringe 2027?

The 80th Edinburgh Festival Fringe runs from August 6 to 30, 2027, and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo from August 6 to 28.

When is Notting Hill Carnival 2027?

Notting Hill Carnival runs on August 29 and 30, 2027, the summer bank holiday weekend, with the Panorama steel band competition on August 28.

Where can you go on safari in August?

In August, go on safari in the Masai Mara in Kenya, where the Great Migration of wildebeest and zebra crosses in from the Serengeti from about July. August is Kenya's busiest month: international arrivals in August 2025 were 1.18 times the average month.

Is August a good time to visit Iceland?

August in Reykjavik brings highs of 13.7 °C (57 °F), about 12 wet days and Culture Night with the Reykjavik Marathon on August 21, 2027. August was also the capital region's busiest hotel month of 2025, so book early.

Where should I go in the US in August?

For mild weather, go to Seattle, with highs of 25.2 °C (77 °F) and rain on about four days, or Bar Harbor in Maine for Acadia National Park. San Diego is the warm, dry beach city, with a 22.0 °C (72 °F) sea, and Glacier National Park has its whole Going-to-the-Sun Road open. August is Acadia's busiest month and Glacier's second-busiest, so book early.

Is August a good time to go to the Caribbean?

Curaçao sits outside the main hurricane belt, and no hurricane has made landfall there since the US National Hurricane Center began tracking them. Willemstad's August highs average 32.2 °C (90 °F), with a 27.9 °C (82 °F) sea.

What are the cheapest places to travel in August?

Of the places here with a reliable figure, Glacier National Park ($148), Kotor ($149) and the Galápagos ($160) have the lowest mid-range daily costs per person, in Budget Your Trip's traveler-reported averages (updated October 2026).

Is August a good time to visit Edinburgh?

August is Edinburgh's festival month: the 80th Fringe runs from August 6 to 30, 2027, and the Military Tattoo from August 6 to 28. Highs average a cool 19.1 °C (66 °F). Scotland's hotel occupancy peaks in August, so book a room first.

Is August a good time to visit London?

Notting Hill Carnival fills west London on August 29 and 30, 2027, the summer bank holiday weekend. Highs average 23.9 °C (75 °F). August is the busiest month at London's airports, so expect school-holiday queues at the big sights.

Is August a good time to visit Japan?

In Aomori, at the top of Honshu, giant lit floats parade for the Nebuta Matsuri from August 2 to 7 every year. Highs average 27.9 °C (82 °F), cooler than Tokyo, but rain is heavy, at 233 mm (9.2 in) over about 14 wet days.

Is August a good time to visit Croatia?

August is swimming season in Split, with highs of 32.2 °C (90 °F) and a 24.5 °C (76 °F) sea. August is also Split's busiest month, with 2.62 times an average month's tourist nights, so expect crowds on the beaches and in the old town.

What is the weather in Bali in August?

Over 2013 to 2022, Denpasar averaged August highs of 30.5 °C (87 °F) and lows of 22.9 °C (73 °F), with 56 mm (2.2 in) of rain over about ten wet days and a 26.7 °C (80 °F) sea. August falls in Bali's dry season, which runs from April to October.