How to Visit Europe in the Summer Without Becoming Homicidal
Posted on 01. Jul, 2012 by Steph in Advice, Destinations, Europe, On the Road
It’s such an unfair paradox: summer is when most people take their vacations, but summer is also pretty much the worst time of year to visit a lot of places. Like Europe: visiting Europe in the summer is a lot like visiting Disney World in the summer: it’s unbearably hot, you have to wait in line for everything and its crowded shoulder to shoulder with other miserable people who just wish they could go somewhere with air conditioning.
That’s not really how I want to spend my hard-earned European vacation. The easiest way around this is to travel during the shoulder season in spring and fall, when the weather is still good but the hordes haven’t yet arrived. That’s not always an option though.
Fortunately you have an advantage over all of those people on their all-inclusive holidays, cruises and bus tours. You are independent. And lucky for you there are places to visit in Europe in the summer. Not everywhere morphs into a boiling sink trap in July and August. If you’re willing to pass up on the obvious (France, Italy, Spain etc.) and go somewhere a little bit different, you can still have a pleasant European holiday in the summer months.
Here are a few suggestions:
Iceland
Honestly Iceland should probably just start paying me some kind of commission, I am a huge evangelist for them (right now I am cat-sitting for my dear friend who is on her honeymoon- to Iceland). There is a reason I am so enthusiastic though: it’s an incredible place. Exploring Iceland is like exploring some sort of deserted other planet. Iceland is the place that inspired me to get off my butt and get blogging, who knows what it will do to you.
Even better, summer is the ideal time to visit Iceland. It never really gets crowded there to begin with (particularly outside of Reykjavik), and between May and September it actually stops snowing and warms up to a bearable sixty or seventy degrees. Perfect for hiking and exploring weird natural phenomenon (link). If you visit in June like I did, you can experience the summer equinox when the sun never full sets. It’s eery and beautiful.
Scotland
Anyone else go see Brave last weekend? It totally reminded me of my unfulfilled desires to ramble around Scotland and explore my heritage (also to somehow grow a giant mane of curly red hair). Scotland is rugged and green and beautiful, plus it’s got lots of neat ruins and old castles to stir the imagination.
And like Iceland Scotland becomes not only bearable but beautiful in the short summer months. The locals come outside and start celebrating. You can find traditional Highland Games occuring throughout the country from June- September and in August Edinburgh has it’s world-famous Fringe festival.
Germany
Germany is a popular place to visit all year round- in the fall you have Oktoberfest and near the holidays the Christmas Markets keep everyone busy. It’s crowded in the summer too, but it has one advantage over the rest of Western Europe:
August is vacation time in many southern european destinations like Italy and Spain. Everyone goes on vacation so many attractions close. This is not true in Germany which remains as organized and clock-work like as always. There are also many festivals happening in Germany during the summer and the weather is great.
Eastern Europe
I preach about how awesome Eastern Europe is almost as much as I do about Iceland. Think about it though: common sense dictates that the farther off the beaten path you get, the less crowded things will be. Most foreign visitors to Europe end up in London or Rome or Amsterdam, which are all super cool, but a lot of them never even consider heading to the East.
Personally I would avoid South-East Europe in the hottest months- Belgrade in June was a little too scorching for me. But if heat doesn’t bother you then scope out Montenegro, Macedonia or Romania. Further north you might want to explore Ukraine or the Baltics. If you’re feeling adventurous you might even tackle Russia.
By the way, Poland, the Czech Republic and Croatia no longer count as off the beaten path. They are awesome, but expect crowds.
Get Experimental
Some countries are crowded but they aren’t crowded everywhere. For example, millions of people visit beautiful Budapest, but how many people see the rest of Hungary? Look for fun and interesting places to explore that are outside of major cities and attractions. Instead of joining a huge amount of people in Barcelona, head up north to Basque country where far less tourists ever make it. You might discover something really cool.
Now, if anyone knows how to get a flight to Europe that won’t break my credit card in half, I’m all ears.
This post was written by me, brought to you by First Choice.
19 Responses to “How to Visit Europe in the Summer Without Becoming Homicidal”
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Riana Autumn
01. Jul, 2012
This is where I got my cheap flight to Europe: http://yyzdeals.com/
It’s Toronto based, but I’m sure there’s an equivalent for whatever city is convenient for you. I flew into London on July 14 for $199 and I’m flying out of Lisbon on July 5 for $214. That includes all taxes! Hope you find something – good luck!
Efrutik
02. Jul, 2012
OMG the yyzdeals are amazing. Should I move to Toronto just b/c of it? lol. Thanks for sharing Riana!
Waegook Tom
01. Jul, 2012
If you avoid Krakow and Warsaw in the summer and go to cities like Poznan, Wroclaw and Gdansk instead, you can avoid tourist crowds – the cities are beautiful!
Eastern Europe in summer sounds divine – although people may want to avoid Bulgaria as it’s become a VERY popular package holiday destination for western Europeans. Romania would be lovely though, or for somewhere reallllly off the beaten path, then maybe even the odd child of Europe, bizarre little Moldova.
Steph
01. Jul, 2012
I love me some Eastern Europe. Thanks for the tip on Bulgaria, I had no idea!
Gigi
02. Jul, 2012
Also, Belgium! Right now it’s sunny and gorgeous and sometimes rainy. I switch back and forth between a light jacket and a short-sleeved shirt and the scenery and food are wonderful!
Amanda
02. Jul, 2012
Totally with you on Eastern Europe! I’m in Romania right now, and it’s been lovely (though getting progressively hotter the further south we go). I’m off to Bulgaria tomorrow, so will have to report back how traveling there in July is. I know it will be hot… but hopefully not overly crowded!
Lauren
02. Jul, 2012
Croatia was terrible in July! It was so busy and so so so expensive! I ended up paying around €30 a night and frequently arrived somewhere to be told that every single hostel was full up and I’d have to go somewhere else… Nightmare!
Steph
02. Jul, 2012
Ugh, sounds like my experience in Thailand in the high season. Avoid avoid avoid.
I on the other hand went to Croatia in June and it was lovely. This was a few years ago though so I imagine it’s busier in general now.
Efrutik
02. Jul, 2012
Going to Milan, Paris, and Switzerland in August and September, hope will not be homicidal, lol. The good thing is that we are independent travelers so we will be “driving” our own way. Great tips though, I’m already dreaming of my “future” trip to Iceland…oh how I love the sound of that
Vane
02. Jul, 2012
THanks for the tips and links! Looking forward to future travel! I was thinking of traveling to France in september, any tips??
T.W. Anderson @ Marginal Boundaries
02. Jul, 2012
I never found Europe that hot during the summer…here in Cancun, on the other hand….wowzer!
I lived in Sofia, Bulgaria for over two and a half years, and while it can get up into the mid-90s F during the summertime if you are on the pavement surrounded by buildings and asphalt, the overall humidity levels are low enough that it’s a lot like Colorado back in the States…very doable since it’s a drier heat. Plus, there’s plenty of forests, mountains and other areas where you can explore to escape the heat
The Mediterranean, on the other hand….yeah, 110+ degrees on some of the coastal areas. No thanks, unless you plan on soaking up some rays
Erin
02. Jul, 2012
We are currently in Europe and love the heat so we are happy in southern Europe. Our way of dealing with it is by booking apartments in advance as monthly rates are far cheaper. We booked an apartment in an off the beaten track village in Tuscany for 500 euros for the month from Airbnb. Not only was it great value but there were hardly any other tourists around.
Even in cities like Florence and Rome where there are a lot of tourists we are coping by wandering down side streets far from the main attractions, and only visiting the big things early in the morning. At 8.30am this morning we had the Trevi fountain and the Pantheon almost to ourselves.
Audrey
02. Jul, 2012
I did enjoy Germany in the summertime. I visited a lot of the castle laden towns in the south, and there were hardly any visitors there despite these being some well known locations. I guess everyone was holidaying in Spain…
Gerard ~ GQ trippin
03. Jul, 2012
Eastern Europe is on the top of our list! However we’d probably wait until summer is over to visit. Not keen on all the high prices and packed sights. And it looks like it’s been one HOT summer indeed!
Sarah
03. Jul, 2012
I definitely read the title of this post and thought “Not possible! No way, no how!” but you’re right – there are ways to do it. I’m living in Copenhagen at the moment, so I should add that Scandinavia has beautiful weather and isn’t too crowded this time of year. (Well, maybe it is by Scandinavian standards, but compared to Rome, Paris, etc. it’s practically abandoned.) I would definitely add it to the list!
(But seriously, avoid the major cities in the summer. I have been to Paris, Athens, Rome, and Ephesus this summer and left each one of them feeling stabby.) (Well, not Paris. But that’s because I’ve been there before, got to the things I really wanted to see early, and was more focused on visiting friends than going up the Eiffel Tower.)(And also because I love Paris and it can do no wrong.)
Adam
05. Jul, 2012
Summer in Europe is NOT hot! Unless you’re in Spain, Italy or Greece – the rest of the continent seems to have very little hot weather and lots of rain (thunderstorm here in Berlin as I write this…)
I’m totally with you on traveling in Europe during the summer is stressful though. Hostels book up and everything requires more planning in advance. Some cities are just too crowded in the summer for my taste, but I suppose it is one of the best times of year to see them. Berlin, for one, just comes alive!
Sarah
06. Jul, 2012
I’m so glad to hear you say that about Berlin – I’m headed there next weekend on a really last minute trip (my friend and I were talking on Wednesday and said, “Berlin sounds cool, and we’ve never been there. We should go to Berlin!” and booked flights) and I wasn’t totally sure what we were getting ourselves into.
Anything cool going on next weekend?
Ellen
12. Aug, 2012
I spend 10 weeks this year interning in Lithuania. The Baltics start to warm up and restaurants beging outdoor seating end of April. Perfect time to go to still get the local vibe without too many tourists!