Where to go in July: 9 places at their best
July is the month of the northern summer. The days are as long as they get, the mountain passes are open, the sea is warm enough to swim in and the festivals are outdoors. It is also school holiday season across Europe and North America, so flights, rooms and rental cars cost the most they will all year, and the famous places fill by mid-morning.
The trick is to choose places where July is the reason to go and not the price you pay for going. High trails clear of snow, a sun that barely sets, the start of the great migration in East Africa and the dry season in the Andes all peak now. Where the heat is the problem, in the Mediterranean and the deserts, this list leaves you alone. Here are nine countries that earn their July crowds.
Because July is the month everyone travels, the choice of a single place matters more than the number of places. A week in one region beats a week of transfers, and the first and last weeks of the month are quieter than the middle.
Iceland
July is the easiest month in Iceland. Roads are open, the highland tracks usually clear from late June, and the nights never get properly dark, so you can drive, hike and soak in hot springs at 11 pm in daylight. Puffins are still on the coast. The price is crowds at the best-known waterfalls and a rental car booked months ahead. Bring an eye mask, and read our Iceland travel guide before you commit to a route. Give it a week if you can. A ring road drive takes time even in daylight, and the weather can change in an hour, so check the forecast and road conditions each morning on the official Icelandic sites.
Norway
The fjord boats, mountain roads and hiking trails all run in full, and above the Arctic Circle the sun does not set for weeks around Tromsø. Waterfalls are still strong from the snowmelt, and the most famous viewpoints are best reached early in the day. July is the busiest month, so book fjord stays and ferries ahead. High trails can still hold snow, so check conditions before you set out. Start with the Norway travel guide. A good first week joins Bergen and the western fjords with a day on the water and a day on a trail. Bergen is among the rainiest cities in Europe, so treat dry days as a bonus.
Switzerland
By July the high trails are usually clear of snow, the meadows are in flower, and every mountain railway and lake boat is running. Valleys are warm and the peaks are cool, but thunderstorms build in the afternoon, so walk early. Interlaken, Lucerne and Zermatt are at their busiest, so look at quieter valleys too. The Switzerland travel guide has the places and the order to see them in. Choose one or two bases and use the trains between them, rather than moving every night. The scenery is the same from a smaller village, and the rooms cost less.
Canada
Summer is the high season in the Rockies, on Vancouver Island and in the Maritimes, with long days and every road, trail and ferry open. Canada Day on 1 July is a long weekend and fills the popular towns. Mosquitoes can be bad in forests and the north, and wildfire smoke sometimes drifts across the west, so keep a few days flexible. Read the Canada travel guide to pick between the west and the east. Distances are huge. Pick the Rockies or the coast for a first trip and give each at least a week, rather than trying to cross the country in one go.
Ireland
Days are very long, with light until well after 10 pm in the west, so you can drive the Wild Atlantic coast and still reach a pub for dinner. It is rarely hot and the rain can come on any day, but the weather is as good as it gets. The Cliffs of Moher and the Ring of Kerry are crowded and cars cost the most, so book early. Our Ireland travel guide suggests how to avoid the queues. A week on the west coast is enough for the Dingle peninsula, the Burren and the cliffs. Plan a few indoor options for each day, and do not let one wet morning decide the rest.
Denmark
Summer is Denmark at its best: light evenings, open harbour baths, outdoor tables and festivals across the country. Danes take their own holidays in July, so some small businesses close for a few weeks, but Copenhagen carries on. Pack a waterproof, as wind and rain can come in any month. For a three-day plan, see the Copenhagen itinerary, and the wider Denmark travel guide for the islands. Add a day out of the capital, to a castle on the coast or to one of the islands, and take a swim in the harbour like everyone else.
Austria
The Salzburg Festival usually runs through July and August, and the Bregenz Festival stages opera on a floating stage on Lake Constance. The mountains and the Salzkammergut lakes are warm enough for swimming and walking. Vienna is hot and a little emptier because locals are away, which makes it easy to book museums and tables. Use the Vienna itinerary and the Austria travel guide to combine city and Alps. If you only have a week, split it between a few nights in Vienna and a few in the lakes or mountains, linked by train.
Peru
July is deep in the dry season, the best time for the Andes: sunny days, clear mountains and cold nights at altitude. It is also the peak for Machu Picchu and trek permits, which sell out, so book those first and build the trip around them. Fiestas Patrias, the independence holidays on 28 and 29 July, bring domestic travellers and busy transport. Lima is under its grey winter cloud. The Peru travel guide covers acclimatising to altitude. Spend your first days in Cusco and the Sacred Valley to adjust to the altitude before any trek, and drink plenty of water.
Kenya
The long dry season is the classic time for safari. The grass is short, animals gather around the rivers, roads are good, and from roughly July the great wildebeest migration arrives in the Maasai Mara. River crossings are most likely in August and September, so July is the start rather than the peak. It is also the most expensive season, and camps book many months ahead. See the Kenya travel guide. Two or three camps over a week works better than one, because each area has its own animals. Early starts are the best hours for wildlife.
Planning a trip for July
July is a month where booking early is the difference between a trip and a compromise. Rental cars in Iceland and Ireland, mountain huts and fjord stays in Norway and Switzerland, Machu Picchu tickets and safari camps all sell out first, and prices only rise. Our advice on how far in advance to book gives you a sensible order for it. If your dates are flexible, the last days of June or the start of September are cheaper and quieter, as we explain in shoulder-season travel.
Pick the one place first, then fit the rest around it. A fortnight in the Alps, or one big journey through a single country, is easier to plan than three countries in a short window. Whatever you choose, put it somewhere the whole group can see it.
One more thing: July heat can arrive suddenly even in the north, so pack sun protection and a water bottle, and keep your plan for the middle of the day flexible.
