Where to Travel in July

The phenomenal natural spectacle of the great migration of the Serengeti wildebeest (as well as zebra and gazelle) and the migration of southern right and humpback whales in South Africa coincide with the mild African winter. As well as outdoor adventure, July is the best time for a European summer beach holiday in the Algarve or on the stunning Greek or Balearic Islands.

Go wildlife watching in South Africa

A whale in South African waters (Photo: Getty Images)

July is South Africa’s winter and the cool, dry days in the north and east of the country are perfect for spotting game in Kruger National Park, roughly four hours’ drive from Johannesburg, the “City of Gold”. In the south and west of South Africa the weather can be wet in July, but the start of the whale-watching season is worth braving a little rain. From your hotel in Cape Town drive south for less than two hours to reach Hermanus, one of the top whale-watching destinations in the world.

See Ireland at its most beautiful

Come July, Ireland’s verdant landscape buzzes with life, making gloriously clear why the ‘Emerald Isle’ nickname was coined for the island. Dublin is fabulous at any time of year (and a pint of Guinness in one of the capital’s pubs will be especially refreshing as the sun sets on a warm July day) but summer is the perfect time to embrace Ireland’s less-visited interior. A little to the south of Dublin, the Powerscourt Hotel, Autograph Collection, with its Palladian-style architecture, is an elegant gateway to Wicklow, the ‘Garden of Ireland’. Head west from here to Ireland’s hidden gem region, The Midlands, where the Sheraton Athlone Hotel awaits a stone’s throw from the River Shannon. Complete your summertime Ireland tour with a stay at one of the country’s finest hotels, the Georgian Mount Juliet Estate, Autograph Collection, near richly historic Kilkenny.

Combine watersports and wellness in the Algarve

The Algarve (Photo: Getty Images)

The Algarve is all that you dream a holiday paradise should be. Portugal’s jewel-blue seascapes make it understandably popular in the summer months so it’s worth heading for the region’s charming off-the-beaten-path towns and beaches. Watersports such as snorkelling, scuba diving, sailing and surfing are fantastic at this time of year and that high-energy attitude is replicated at W Algarve, with its bright design and pulsating beats.

Explore Berlin’s great outdoors

Beside the Spree river in Berlin (Photo: Getty Images)

As Berlin warms up in July, the city’s outdoor charms come into their own. First port of call for visitors must be the lush Tiergarten at the German capital’s heart, which offers endless cool walking routes in the shade of the park’s verdant canopy. After an afternoon spent exploring the Tiergarten, The Ritz-Carlton, Berlin at the park’s southeast corner is the perfect urban summertime retreat. A very different kind of park can be found in the southeast of the Schoeneberg district. Natur-Park Schoeneberger Suedgelaende is an enchanting nature reserve and outdoor sculpture park set on a former railway yard. Head further southwest again to reach Schlachtensee, an idyllic lake where you can take a dip, rent a rowing boat or just lounge on the lakeside beach.

Have an outdoor adventure in Tanzania

Some of the best hotels in Tanzania are on the east coast in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar Island, and also in Arusha, in the northern highlands. From Arusha National Park, you can see the African continent’s highest peak, Kilimanjaro, which is the ideal destination during the cool and dry weather in July. Arusha is also the gateway to the Serengeti National Park where in July you can track the Great Wildebeest Migration across the northern Serengeti Plains.

Enjoy Stockholm and its archipelago

Stockholm enjoys a wealth of fantastic sights – top of the list is the Old Town and the Vasa Museum – and places to eat and drink, but beyond the city, a peaceful archipelago of over 30,000 islands beckons. Easily reached, Fjäderholmarna, Vaxholm, Gustavsberg and Värmdö are wonderful day-trips from your hotel in Stockholm, but to truly get away from it all, take a ferry to Sandön, Möja, Nåttarö, Utö, Finnhamn or Grinda. July is the season for midnight sun in Sweden; in Stockholm and on the archipelago it barely gets dark all month.

Soak up the views in Santorini

Santorini (Photo: Getty Images)

There’s a reason that July is the peak time to visit the Greek Islands – they are stupendous under the summer sun. In Santorini, part of the Cyclades island group and the poster child for all Greek Islands, whitewashed buildings pop against the turquoise Aegean Sea and dramatic red volcanic landscape. While you can explore Santorini in just 48 hours, this is an island whose delights – not least its wineries – are really worth lingering over.

Get off the beaten path in Iceland

Iceland’s distinctive landscape of geysers, steaming lava fields, glaciers, rugged sea cliffs and black sand beaches are bathed in light for nearly 24 hours a day in July – meaning you have plenty of time to connect to your inner adventurer and take the road less travelled. While it’s not exactly hot (the average summer temperature is 13 degrees Celsius), the midnight sun means that tours can last well into the evening and that hiking trails in the mountains are open and more easily traversed.

Go island hopping in the Balearics

Off the east coast of Spain and just a one-hour flight (or overnight ferry) from Barcelona, the four largest Balearic Islands are Mallorca (Majorca), Ibiza, Menorca and Formentera. Each island has its own distinctive vibe – Menorca is gorgeously laidback and Formentera has a hideaway feel, while it’s still perfectly possible to discover an empty cove on Mallorca or Ibiza (and perhaps a world-class restaurant, too). Capital of the Balearics is Palma de Mallorca and in July the evenings are balmy and perfect for sitting at one of the tables spilling out onto tree-lined boulevards close to the city’s brightly lit cathedral.

Discover Beirut, where East meets West

Beirut (Photo: Getty Images)

Arrive in Beirut before the rainy season (which begins in mid-autumn) and enjoy the long, hot and dry summer days. Visitors to “the Paris of the Middle East” – so called because of the French influence on the city in the twentieth century – flock to the Hamra neighbourhood and the corniche (seafront), enjoying sunset over the Mediterranean at Pigeons’ Rock (also known as the Rock of Raouché). The Beirut Museum is the place to understand Lebanese history and archaeology.

Published: July 26, 2022

Last Updated: June 20, 2023