Where to go in August: dry-season beaches, safaris and cool northern escapes

August works best for travellers who head either to the dry tropics or to the cool north. Bali, Zanzibar and Sri Lanka's east coast are in their dry season, the Croatian coast has its warmest sea of the year, and Iceland, Scotland and the Canadian Rockies offer mild days and long evenings. East Africa's dry grasslands draw the Great Migration herds into the Masai Mara.

Because August is peak holiday month in Europe and North America, the right choice depends heavily on who is travelling, so this guide is arranged that way: families first, then couples, solo travellers and those after adventure.

How the weather compares

Nairobi stands in for the Mara because the reserve has no long-term climate record of its own; it sits at a similar altitude, and afternoons in the Mara are similar or slightly warmer.

Travelling as a family

School holidays push family fares to their annual peak on many routes out of Europe and North America, so the trick in August is choosing places where children are happy outdoors all day and the logistics stay simple. Short drives, safe swimming and plenty of space count for more than a long list of sights.

Banff and the Canadian Rockies

By August the high trails of Banff National Park are mostly clear of snow and the glacier-fed lakes are at their brightest. The town of Banff makes an easy base, with the Banff Gondola, short lakeside walks and the Icefields Parkway towards Jasper all within reach. Older children can manage the Plain of Six Glaciers trail from Lake Louise, which ends at a historic teahouse. Afternoon showers are common but usually pass quickly, and mornings near 6°C mean fleeces at breakfast.

Planning is the catch. The road to Moraine Lake is closed to private cars, so you reach it by the Parks Canada shuttle or a licensed bus, and shuttle seats need reserving well ahead. Every visitor needs a national parks pass.

Lodges in the park and in nearby Canmore are booked months out, and wildfire smoke from fires elsewhere in western Canada can haze the views in some summers, so build a few flexible days into a five-to-eight-day stay. Carry bear spray on trails and learn how to use it before you set off.

The Dalmatian coast, Croatia

Families who want easy swimming will find the Adriatic at its warmest. Many towns along the coast of Croatia have concrete swimming platforms with ladders as well as pebble beaches, which suit younger swimmers, and ferries and catamarans run their fullest timetables. Split makes a good start, with Diocletian's Palace to explore, before moving to the islands of Hvar, Korčula and Mljet and ending in Dubrovnik.

The coast is at its busiest and most expensive now, and stone old towns trap the afternoon heat, so plan sightseeing for early mornings and swims after lunch. Croatia uses the euro and is in the Schengen area.

Two popular family choices are worth avoiding this month. Florida and the Caribbean are in the most active part of the Atlantic hurricane season, which can close airports for days, and the Gulf states are at the peak of their summer heat, when sightseeing on foot is hard work until evening. Croatia and the Rockies give you warm days without either problem.

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Travelling as a couple

For honeymoons and couples' trips, August's strongest choices pair warm water with a little culture, and both of these sit in the dry season.

Bali

August is in the heart of Bali's dry season, which runs from roughly April to October, with lower humidity than the wet months and a trade wind that keeps the coast comfortable.

Couples tend to split their time between the south coast and Ubud: the Kecak fire dance at Uluwatu temple at sunset, a sunrise trek up Mount Batur, the rice terraces of Tegallalang and Jatiluwih, snorkelling off Amed or Menjangan, and the sea temple of Tanah Lot. Surfers find consistent swell on the Bukit peninsula's west-facing reefs. This is one of the island's two busiest periods, so villas in Canggu, Seminyak and Ubud fill well ahead.

Traffic is what first-time visitors underestimate. The drive from the airport to Ubud can take well over an hour, and the roads between Canggu and Uluwatu clog in the late afternoon. Choose two bases rather than four and hire a driver for day trips. On 17 August, Indonesia's Independence Day, villages hold parades and games such as greased-pole climbing, which are fun to watch but slow the roads further.

Zanzibar

Zanzibar's long dry season makes August one of its most settled months, breezy and sunny with short showers. It pairs naturally with a safari on the mainland of Tanzania, such as the Serengeti, for a honeymoon that covers wildlife and beach. Where you stay shapes the trip.

Nungwi and Kendwa in the north are least affected by the tides, so you can swim at most times of day, while Paje, Jambiani and Bwejju in the southeast have wide lagoons that drain at low tide, better for kitesurfing and walking than swimming.

Spend at least one night in Stone Town, whose alleys and Old Fort are at their best in the evening, when the Forodhani Gardens food market sets up on the waterfront. Days out include a spice farm tour, the red colobus monkeys of Jozani forest, a dhow to Prison Island and snorkelling at Mnemba atoll.

Couples drawn to Thailand or Goa should look elsewhere this month. The southwest monsoon brings rough seas and regular rain to Phuket and Krabi, and Goa's beach shacks largely close for the season.

Travelling solo

Solo travellers do best where it is easy to meet people and get around without a car. August offers one of the world's most sociable cities in full festival mode, and a quieter coast in Sri Lanka with a backpacker scene.

Edinburgh in festival month

In 2027 the Edinburgh Festival Fringe runs from 6 to 30 August, 80 years after the first one in 1947, and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo plays on the castle esplanade from 6 to 28 August. The Edinburgh International Festival usually fills most of August, but its 2027 dates have not been announced.

Thousands of shows take over pubs, churches, lecture halls and tents, and it is easy to go alone: queue for a show, talk to the people next to you, and follow their tips to the next one. Free street acts line the Royal Mile, and Edinburgh Castle and the climb up Arthur's Seat fill the gaps. Expect changeable weather.

The city is at its busiest and priciest, and rooms can sell out months ahead. Many solo visitors stay in Leith or in Glasgow, under an hour away by train. The Fringe programme comes out in early summer. Mix booked shows with walk-ups, because many small venues have last-minute seats and the half-price hut sells same-day tickets. Three to five days in Scotland's capital is enough before the Highlands.

Sri Lanka's east coast

While the southwest monsoon soaks Colombo, Galle and Mirissa, where whale-watching boats largely stop running, the east side of Sri Lanka is hot and dry. Arugam Bay is in its surf season, which runs from about May to September, and has a relaxed, sociable scene of surf camps and guesthouses.

Further north, Trincomalee and Nilaveli have flat, clear water, and snorkelling trips run to Pigeon Island National Park, a protected reef best seen in the morning before the wind rises. The clifftop Koneswaram temple and the ancient cities of Sigiriya and Polonnaruwa are within reach inland.

A good solo loop starts in Kandy, heads north to Sigiriya by bus or train, then east to the coast. Kandy's Esala Perahera, the island's best-known Buddhist procession, falls in July or August depending on the lunar calendar; its 2027 dates have not been announced on the official Perahera site, and rooms in Kandy sell out fast once they are. Allow eight to ten days.

Travelling for adventure

Iceland

Iceland in August keeps most of high summer's advantages. Mountain roads into the interior are usually open, hiking huts are staffed for the Laugavegur trek, and the countryside is green. By late August the nights are dark enough for the first northern lights on clear nights.

The classic route takes in the Golden Circle, the waterfalls of Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss, the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon and whale watching from Reykjavík or Húsavík. Allow seven to ten days for the south coast and ten to fourteen for the Ring Road.

Reykjavík's Culture Night (Menningarnótt) falls on a Saturday in the second half of August; its 2027 date is not yet out on the City of Reykjavík events page.

Roads marked with an F number are legally restricted to four-wheel-drive vehicles, and rental agreements usually forbid normal cars on them, so match the car to the route and take care at river crossings. Check the road and weather services each morning, because wind on the south coast can close stretches of the Ring Road for hours.

The Masai Mara

The wildebeest and zebra herds of the Great Migration usually arrive in the Masai Mara in Kenya from about late July, and the river crossings tend to peak in August and September. Timing depends on rain, so nobody can promise a crossing on a given day; three or four nights give better odds than one. This is the top season, and camps charge their highest rates.

The private conservancies that border the reserve limit vehicle numbers and allow night drives and walking safaris, which the main reserve does not. Small planes fly from Nairobi's Wilson Airport to Mara airstrips, saving a long road transfer, but check the luggage limit, often a soft bag of around 15 kg. Early drives are cold under the grey skies of the cool season, so bring a fleece and a hat.

Hong Kong and southern China are the adventure choice to drop this month: August is hot, very humid and within the typhoon season, when storm signals can shut ferries, parks and trails at short notice.

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Moving around once you arrive

Each of these destinations has its own transport logic, and getting it right saves whole days. In Bali there is no rail network and public buses are limited, so visitors rely on private drivers, ride-hailing apps and rented scooters. A driver hired by the day is the most relaxed choice for temple and rice-terrace trips.

Scooters are popular, but you need an international driving permit valid for motorcycles, and helmets are compulsory. Fast boats run from Sanur to Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida, and from Padang Bai to the Gili Islands and Lombok; sea conditions in the dry season are usually good, but check the operator's safety record.

Zanzibar is reached by flight or by ferry from Dar es Salaam, a crossing of around two hours on the fast boats. On the island, taxis and private transfers link Stone Town with the beaches; the shared minibuses called dala dala are cheap and slow. For a Mara safari followed by Zanzibar, regional airlines fly between Nairobi and Zanzibar, which avoids a return to Nairobi city.

In Croatia, the coast road is beautiful but slow in summer traffic, so the sea is often the quicker route. Catamarans carry foot passengers between the islands; car ferries are the only option if you hire a car. Buses run frequently between Split and Dubrovnik, a journey of around four to five hours, and the road passes briefly through Bosnia and Herzegovina at Neum, so keep your passport with you.

Iceland has no railway and only a sparse bus network outside the capital region, so most visitors hire a car or join guided tours from Reykjavík. Fuel stations can be far apart in the east and the interior, and many are self-service and need a card with a PIN.

In Scotland, trains link Edinburgh with Glasgow, Stirling and Inverness, and the Highlands are easiest by car or on a small-group tour. In the Canadian Rockies, Banff is roughly 90 minutes by road from Calgary airport, with airport shuttles for those who do not want to drive.

In Sri Lanka, trains and buses reach the east coast but are slow, so many visitors hire a car and driver for the drive from Kandy.

Eight days on the Dalmatian coast

• Days 1 and 2, Split. Sleep inside or just outside Diocletian's Palace, so the old town is on your doorstep after day-trippers leave. Spend the first morning in the palace cellars and on the bell tower, then swim at Kašjuni below Marjan hill. Book catamaran seats for the whole trip before you arrive, as August sailings sell out.
• Days 3 and 4, Hvar. The catamaran to Hvar town takes about an hour. Stay in Hvar town for bars or in Stari Grad on the quieter north side. Spend a day on the Pakleni islands by taxi boat from the harbour, and keep the other for the fortress and a late swim.
• Days 5 and 6, Korčula and Mljet. Hvar to Korčula is roughly an hour and a half by catamaran. Sleep in or near the walled town. On day 6 take the boat to Mljet National Park to cycle or kayak around its saltwater lakes; bring cash for small cafés.
• Days 7 and 8, Dubrovnik. The catamaran from Korčula takes around two hours. Stay in Lapad or Ploče rather than the walled city to escape evening crowds. Walk the walls at opening time, and check the port's cruise calendar so you can keep the busiest days for the beach.

Five days on Iceland's south coast instead

Drive from Reykjavík to Vík, about 190 km and two and a half hours without stops, seeing Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss on the way. Spend the next day around Vík, then continue a similar distance east to Jökulsárlón and Diamond Beach, sleeping near Höfn or at a farm guesthouse. Return west with a night near Selfoss for the Golden Circle. Book rooms along this road first, as small villages have few beds.

Packing for two climates

Many August trips mix heat and cold. What to pack, place by place:

• Bali (around 29°C) and Trincomalee (near 35°C): loose linen, a wide hat and reef-safe sunscreen; Balinese temples ask visitors to wear a sarong.
• Stone Town: its mostly Muslim streets expect covered shoulders and knees.
• Croatia: the beaches are pebble or rock, so water shoes protect against stones and sea urchins.
• Reykjavík: with nights around 9°C and frequent rain, a waterproof shell, a warm mid-layer and a wool hat are essential.
• Banff and Edinburgh: a fleece for mornings near 6°C, and a compact umbrella for Edinburgh's changeable weather.
• The Mara: a warm jacket for open vehicles plus neutral colours, which draw less attention from animals and tsetse flies.

Entry rules to sort before you fly

Several of these countries now run online pre-travel systems. Visa-exempt visitors to the United Kingdom need an Electronic Travel Authorisation from gov.uk, and those flying to Canada need an eTA from canada.ca. Kenya asks most visitors from outside Africa for an eTA through its official portal; citizens of East African Community states, and since July 2025 most other African nationals, are exempt.

Tanzania, which includes Zanzibar, issues e-visas on its immigration site, and every foreign visitor must also buy a state travel insurance policy, from the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation if you arrive in Zanzibar or from the National Insurance Corporation if you arrive on the mainland (the mainland rule began on 1 October 2026).

Indonesia offers an electronic visa on arrival at evisa.imigrasi.go.id, and Sri Lanka uses an electronic travel authorisation, explained on our Sri Lanka visa page. Croatia and Iceland are in the Schengen area; check the EU's travel-europe site for the current status of ETIAS. Our visa hub has more country guides. Rules depend on nationality and change often, so check before you book.

Booking windows, health and costs

When to book

Edinburgh needs the longest lead time: rooms during the Fringe go many months ahead, so book as soon as you decide. Mara camps near the crossing points often sell out six months or more ahead. In Banff, reserve lodging and the Moraine Lake shuttle as soon as booking opens, since both have limited capacity. Iceland's rental cars and south-coast rooms are best fixed four to five months out.

Bali villas, Zanzibar hotels and Croatian island rooms usually need two to four months, and catamaran seats a few weeks.

Health

Rabies is present in Bali, so do not touch dogs or monkeys, including the macaques at Uluwatu and the Monkey Forest, and get treatment the same day if bitten. Kenya and Tanzania, including Zanzibar, carry a malaria risk, so see a travel clinic about prevention, and carry a yellow fever certificate if you arrive from a country where the disease is present.

On Iceland's Reynisfjara beach near Vík, sudden large waves have swept visitors into the sea, so stay well back from the water. In Croatia, drink plenty of water while touring in the afternoon heat.

Costs

Bali charges foreign visitors a tourist levy of 150,000 rupiah, payable online through the provincial Love Bali site, which saves queuing but not the fee. Iceland's tap water is safe and good, and self-catering from supermarkets cuts food costs sharply. Edinburgh's free Fringe venues run hundreds of shows with a bucket collection at the end. In Banff, Roam Transit buses reach Lake Louise and Canmore and can replace a rental car.

In Croatia, private rooms (sobe) cost less than old-town hotels, and the state ferry line Jadrolinija runs slower car ferries alongside the catamarans. In the Mara, a conservancy camp booked for more nights is often better value per night than a short luxury stay.

How we checked this

The weather table uses national weather services' long-term normals, mostly 1991 to 2020, with Dubrovnik on the older 1971 to 2000 series and Nairobi's sunshine hours from 1961 to 1990. Event dates come from the organisers, and entry rules from the official government pages linked above. We checked everything in November 2026, and how we research our guides sets out the method.