Where are the best places to travel in August?

Gdańsk: Baltic summer at its warmest

Gdańsk is an August pick for travellers who want a warm northern city without Mediterranean heat. At the Gdańsk station the WMO lists an average August high of 22.2 degrees Celsius and a low of 13.2, the same high as July (1981 to 2010 normals). The two months are the warmest of the year in that table.

The trade-off is rain. August records 69.2 mm over 13.9 days, the highest monthly total in the table by a small margin over July. Showers are more likely than long dry spells, so keep an indoor plan ready. See Gdańsk for stays.

London: Notting Hill Carnival at the end of the month

London suits August because of its summer weather and one large dated event. The Notting Hill Carnival website, read in October 2026, lists the next carnival for 29 and 30 August 2027, with Sunday as Families and Children's Day and Monday as Adults Day. It also lists a ticketed steel band competition on Saturday 28 August 2027. The event falls at the very end of the month, so check the organiser's page before you plan around it.

At the London station the WMO gives an average August high of 23.1 degrees Celsius and a low of 13.8, with 54.3 mm of rain over 8.1 days (1981 to 2010 normals). That is warmer than the shoulder months but wetter than July, which records 34.6 mm in the same table. Expect crowds on the carnival days. Browse London stays early, and see our guide on travelling with kids if you are planning a family trip.

Vancouver: the driest part of the year

Vancouver is a pick for its dry summer. The WMO lists an average August high of 21.9 degrees Celsius and a low of 13.4, with 39.1 mm of rain over 6.8 days (1971 to 2000 normals). That is about the same as July at 39.6 mm, and far below the 181 mm recorded in November.

The lows are mild and the highs are moderate, so it suits walking more than beach days. As with all long-term normals, they describe one station, and actual weather varies. The Vancouver page lists stays.

Split: peak Adriatic heat

Split is the hot Mediterranean choice. The WMO lists an average August high of 29.5 degrees Celsius and a low of 21.5, with 42.7 mm of rain over 5.2 days. July is marginally warmer, at 29.8, and drier, at 27.6 mm. The WMO page does not state the normals period for this station.

The trade-off is heat and warm nights, with an average low above 21 degrees. If you are sensitive to heat, plan the day around mornings and evenings. The Croatia hub shows the stays we hold in the country.

Oslo: still warm, but wetter than July

Oslo is an August pick for cooler summer air. The WMO lists an average August high of 20.1 degrees Celsius and a low of 11.3, with 89 mm of rain over 16 days (1961 to 1990 normals). July is the warmest month at 21.5, so August is slightly cooler.

Rain is the cost. The August total is above the July figure of 81 mm and close to September's 90 mm. Waterproofs are useful, and museums give you somewhere to go on wet days. These are decades-old figures for one station, so treat them as a pattern. See Oslo for stays.

Innsbruck: warm valley days with frequent showers

Innsbruck gives an Alpine setting with comfortable temperatures. At the Innsbruck station the WMO lists an average August high of 24.4 degrees Celsius and a low of 12.7, against a January high of 3.5 (1971 to 2000 normals). July is a touch warmer at 24.7.

Rainfall is high, at 111.3 mm over 12.6 days, compared with 41.4 mm in February. Valley figures also say little about conditions higher up, so check mountain forecasts before any hike. See Innsbruck for stays.

Windhoek: dry winter days and cold nights

Windhoek is the southern-hemisphere pick, chosen because August is in the dry winter. The WMO lists just 1.1 mm of rain over 0.3 days, compared with 85.6 mm in January (1961 to 1990 normals). The average August high is 23.8 degrees Celsius.

The trade-off is the temperature swing. The average low is 8.9, a gap of about 15 degrees from the daytime high, so evenings need a warm layer. The UK Foreign Office's Namibia page covers safety, entry and health, and the version we read in October 2026 was marked as last updated on 10 December 2025. Check your own government's advice too. See the Namibia hub for stays.

August climate at a glance

The table collects the August figures quoted above so you can compare them. All come from the WMO World Weather Information Service pages for each station. The normals period differs by station, so compare patterns, not exact numbers.

How we chose, and the limits of this list

We looked for places where August has a verifiable reason to go: a dated event on an official page, or a climate figure from a national weather service reported through the WMO. We chose a spread of climates, from dry to showery and from cool to hot, and we did not use traveller votes or rank the places. The list leaves out many good destinations and says nothing about prices or availability.

Normals are long-term averages, several of them decades old, and each describes a single station. The carnival date comes from the organiser's page read in October 2026 and can change. Booking early is sensible where your dates are fixed; our when to book guide explains timing. The table below shows our own aparthotel figures for the countries on this list.