Brief Overview
It’s summertime in Europe, which means the beer gardens and piazzas are heaving with revellers. In June, the Mediterranean shines brightly from morning to night, and the daylike evenings encourage spritzes on canals and sangrias in cobbled squares well into sunset. The start of the busy season across the continent is a great time to go out on your own and discover undiscovered beaches and happening nightlife (many of which you can even reach by train). Alternatively, go big or go home and head to the United States of America, the country of plenty, where the vast landscapes are glowing in the summer sun and the major metropolitan areas are revving up their festival schedules.
The Amalfi Coast, Italy
If you want to know why Italy has inspired so many works of romantic fiction, all you have to do is take a trip to the Amalfi Coast. Colourful homes with elaborate domes and spires crowd the cliffs above the blue Mediterranean Sea. Not to mention the illumination! While June is a busy month, July and August bring the tour groups that can cause dangerous backups on the narrow roads. The most well-known towns are Positano and Amalfi, both of which are extremely popular with tourists despite their undeniable beauty. Ravello, high atop the cliffs, boasts the nicest vistas, but secluded Cetara is adorable and has a lovely pebble beach perfect for tanning.
Yosemite National Park, USA
Everyone seems to agree that now is the best time to visit Yosemite National Park to see the high waters, rough landscapes, and spectacular colours that the park is known for. In early June, you may enjoy the dry, warm weather of spring without having to deal with the throngs of tourists that tend to arrive later in the month and throughout the summer.
Yosemite Falls, a spectacular double waterfall with three cascades of differing heights, receives its water supply from melting snow over the course of the winter, reaches its peak outflow in June, and then runs dry for the rest of the summer. Yosemite Falls’ can be observed through live webcam.
Yosemite’s other famous waterfalls, Sentinel, Bridalveil, and Ribbon, are all at full volume by June. Even in North America, ribbon is the greatest individual drop. A place to cross off your list of must-visits.
Greenland
Greenland experiences average Arctic temperatures of roughly 10°C in June, but the low humidity makes it feel warmer and cosier. Temperatures in the south of the country can occasionally reach 20 degrees Celsius.
Greenland is high on our June list because the air is so dry and clear that you can see for miles and miles. Distances, even between landmarks like cities, mountains, and fjords, can fool the eye.
Yet, with the right preparation, you can experience fantastic treks in near-perfect weather and in breathtakingly remote settings. Greenland isn’t just a pretty place to look at; there’s a tonne to do there besides take in the scenery. Shown is the picture-perfect Saqqaq settlement, which is just one of many UNESCO World Heritage Sites and Viking ruins in the area.
Prague, Czech Republic
There have been rumblings of “overtourism” in the past whenever the crowds of tourists hit Prague’s Old Town during the summer. But the city is working hard to reinvent itself, with fewer pub crawls and horse-drawn carts and more culture and food, and if you get out of the tourist areas, you’ll find that there’s a lot to see beyond Charles Bridge and the (tourist-proofed) Lennon Wall (though both are still worth a look first thing in the morning). While it’s still early in the tourist season, June is a great month to visit because to the pleasant weather and (in typical years) abundance of tasty festivals, such as Central Europe’s largest ice cream festival and a celebration of local microbreweries.
Zadar, Croatia
The summer months in Dalmatia are extremely busy, and you should expect crowds wherever you go. Throughout the spring, they are so prevalent that you can hardly move for them. Bring your windbreaker and come here in the winter if you want to experience the Croatian shore in peace and quiet. Nonetheless, June in Zadar is a picture-perfect time, and the town that is secretly Dalmatia’s most fascinating puts its best face forward for the tourists. One of the region’s top attractions is the Salutation to the Sun, which is made even more enjoyable with the help of the brilliant setting sun and a cold Brlog beer.
Cornwall, UK
If you want to visit the south during the summer, but escape the crowds that come with school vacations, go in June. There will be fewer guests in the hotels and open spots in the campgrounds.
Relax with the locals on one of the few popular beaches (you might even see a dolphin), take your time on one of the many spectacular Cornish coastal walks, or see the blooming flowers at the Great Garden of Cornwall.
Although the British climate is notoriously fickle, even 17 degrees Celsius is not out of the question.
Norwegian Fjords
One option is to take a cruise through the fjords; another is to take a monumental road journey, gliding along the edges of cliffs and meandering through verdant farmland as blue water sparkles below. Hiking routes are free of both visitors and the annoying midges of summer in June, when wildflowers are at their peak. Travel the Discovery Way from Bergen to see the apple trees in bloom at the stunning Hardangerfjord and have your heart racing at the edge of Pulpit Rock. Bergen, with its Scandi-red clapboard houses and its buzzing cocktail bars, is a fantastic place to calm your worries. No Stress, which takes pride in its homemade syrups and juices, is a reliable spot to find a lively crowd.
Mykonos, Greece
Before the frenzy of July and August, those in the know go to Mykonos in June, when the evenings seem to stretch into eternity and the sunlight sparkles off the small white stone cottages. Drinking magnums of Champagne while dancing to international DJs at Cavo Paradiso and recovering by the bluer-than-blue Aegean Sea at one of the trendy new beach clubs is the new ouzo on the island of Mykonos. Take the ferry to Delos, one of Greece’s most significant archaeological sites, if you need a dose of history and culture.
Edinburgh, Scotland
Edinburgh is a lively city with charming Georgian alleys, an all-night piano bar where you can sing your heart out, and a comedy festival where sleazy comedians take over for a whole month. Although while the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August is fantastic, it also turns the city into a carnival with its inflated pricing and limited availability at its hotels, bars, and restaurants. You can still get your fill of culture even if the temperature outside is in the twenties in June, when Scotland’s summer is in full swing (both the Leith arts festival and Edinburgh International Film Festival are on then). In the Michelin-starred Martin Wishart, seasonal Scottish ingredients meet classic French fine dining; the millennial pink-brushed Eden Locke aparthotel features its own own third-wave coffee shop.
Advice for Eco-Friendly Travel:
The Caledonian Sleeper train from London to Edinburgh is not only more eco-friendly than flying but also a lot more fun. The most luxurious compartments feature en suite facilities, and passengers can dine and relax with a dram in the lounge car before drifting off to sleep and making it to Scotland in time for breakfast.
Cappadocia, Turkey
Cappadocia is a fantastical terrain full of cave houses, underground civilizations, and the fabled ‘fairy chimneys,’ so it may seem tough to top. Nevertheless, if you visit in June, you may enhance that already beautiful scene with blossoming wildflowers and more time to go on adventures (and the very best light for photographs). This is the high season, but if you want to avoid the hot air balloon and the throng, you can go there on foot or by horseback. This allows you to access routes that the general public cannot, leading you to hidden vistas and beautifully sculpted churches made of stone. Is your on a motel in a cave? Take Ariana Sustainable Luxury Lodge, for example, which features a vineyard on the premises, sun terraces with amazing valley views, and modern cave rooms with marble baths and wood floors.
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