Best Places to Travel in August

During Iceland’s harsh winter, daylight is scarce, museums are closed, and many of its interior roads are clogged with ice and snow, closing much of the island to travelers. Summer is a different story, when days experience up to 20 hours of sunlight and routes to some of the island’s most spectacular settings—the Highlands, the Westfjords—reopen, their rolling green landscapes primed for mid-day hikes and horseback rides. Come August, bird-watching enthusiasts make a beeline for the Westman Islands, in the south, to watch adolescent puffins take flight from their cliff-side nests for the first time. And in late summer, another local pastime resumes: berry picking, when the blueberry-like wild bilberry ripens to ideal sweetness.

The sprawling natural landscapes and sheer abundance of wildlife keep Kenya high on Africa’s safari docket. August in Kenya, which is dry and cool, signals the start of the great migration—considered the eighth natural wonder of the world. Here, herds of wildebeest and zebra depart the Serengeti for Kenya’s Mara region, where wildlife spotting is at its very best. Enjoy an Out of Africa moment at Angama Mara, a 30-suite lodge on a Great Rift Valley escarpment where the movie was filmed, as you watch the herds move across the plains.

With America’s National Park Service turning 100 on August 25, its centennial has spawned celebrations around the country—and newfound interest in the country’s great parklands. Big Bend, in Texas, earned International Dark Sky Park status for its pristine, clear skies void of light pollution (in fact, it has the least amount of pollution compared to any other national park in the lower 48 states). Here, viewers can see the distinct streak of the Milky Way. The famous Perseid meteor shower, considered the best meteor display of the year, peaks in August—and there might be no better place to watch it than from the isolated reaches of far west Texas. If you go, be sure to bring your stargazing essentials.

Everything is bigger and wilder in Nevada: Las Vegas, the Mojave Desert, and, every August, the mesmerizing social experiment turned annual cult gathering known as Burning Man. Each year, tens of thousands of resilient individuals take their bikes and Winnebagos out to Black Rock City, a temporary community raised out of the desert sand, to live out a week of artistic self-expression, self-reliance, and camaraderie. It’s a phenomenon that continues to evolve and grow—last year welcomed 70,000 attendees, making it the third largest city in the state—but one thing remains certain: dusty selfies have never been in more demand.

It’s a long time coming, but America’s Comeback City has officially made its way back into the tourism circuit. What was once a town in dire straits is now an incubator for development, welcoming sleek new hotels, a redesigned riverfront park, luxury retail outlets like John Varvatos and soon-to-come Nike, and over 100 new restaurants in just the last few years.

Travel to this buzzy European capital in August and you’ll score its lowest hotel rates of the year—but it’s a mystery why. Berlin’s culture calendar saves its best for the summer, and this month is no exception, welcoming the city’s beloved International Beer Festival as well as Dance in August, one of Europe’s most important contemporary dance festivals. On the food front, local restaurants have recently upped their game, with international chefs serving up innovative fare in artsy new outposts, such as the Vietnamese-influenced Madame Ngo, the high-society hangout Le Petit Royal, and Louis Pretty, known for its German twists on American Jewish deli staples.

August is high season in the Galápagos, one of the best places to travel in 2016, when the weather has cooled down and summer’s undercurrents have brought nutrients to the water’s surface—spawning a feeding frenzy for local wildlife. The biodiversity here is unparalleled: spot Minke and Sperm whales off Isabella Island, sea lions and their pups around San Cristobal and the Plazas, giant tortoises on Santa Cruz, Galápagos penguins on Fernandina, and waved albatross adolescents adjusting to life on their own on the island of Espanola. Weeklong cruises make the most of this trip of a lifetime, with stops at smaller islands and onboard naturalists ready to unleash their knowledge.

Ah, Vancouver. Framed by snowcapped peaks, evergreen forests, and the tranquil Pacific Ocean, this boomtown is Canada’s jewel of the Pacific Northwest, a hub for eco-friendly hotels, restaurants serving the freshest seafood and Asian fusion, an ever-strong cocktail culture, and endless outdoor pursuits. Its ideal position on the western coast makes summer days more crisp and pleasant than hot and sticky. Spend time exploring the city’s shores by kayak, hiking mountain trails, browsing modern art galleries—or better yet, make it a starting point on an odyssey across the country.

Slovenia’s capital is a time capsule into Eastern Europe of old, home to a 9th-century castle rebuilt in the 16th, majestic palazzos turned hotels, aging squares, and winding sidewalks connecting by stone bridges. This year, it became an official European Green Capital: imagine a downtown free of cars (instead, bikes everywhere) and more trees than you’d expect from the largest city in the country, found everywhere from Tivoli Park to its two-century-old botanical gardens. A food movement has emerged here, focused on molecular cuisine born out of traditional Slovenian dishes. You’ll find it at Špajza, whose bistro fare draws from family recipes, and Vinoteka Movia, showcasing the region’s many vintages.

As in the rest of the Caribbean, prices and crowds drop in the Grenadines during the late summer. Rain is a constant threat in August, but that just means the island will be at its most lush. Embrace the glamorous lifestyle by island-hopping via yacht, or pick your favorite and stay awhile. Rub elbows with the style set on the resort-strewn isle of Canouan, a magnet for billionaires thanks to its yacht-filled marinas, award-winning restaurants, and dreamy villas overlooking the turquoise surf. This month, keep a lookout for events surrounding the Breadfruit Festival, which pays homage to the island’s heritage.

In recent years, Portland’s profile has far surpassed Seattle’s, thanks in no small part to its eccentric start-ups, too-hip restaurants, explosion of microbreweries, and enviable laidback lifestyle. August is consistently warm in Stumptown, and locals are in their element, taking advantage of the city’s indie coffee shops, eclectic festivals, and storied outdoors culture. There are tons of free activities to take part in, from biking to browsing farmers’ markets to gallery hopping. Whatever you do, don’t miss Bite of Oregon on Waterfront Park, an annual August festival that celebrates local food, wine, and craft beer with Iron Chef competitions, local music, and more tastings than you’ll likely have time for.

The last World Cup may be a distant memory, but eyes remain locked on the Cidade Maravilhosa as it plays host to yet another world event: the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, kicking off August 5. Over 300,000 spectators are expected to flock to Rio for the spectacle, but they’ll find more than just sports to entertain. New hotels, museums, and even entire districts have been built or rebuilt in preparation for the crowds, including the innovative Museum of Tomorrow, the modern Museo de Arte do Rio, and a Grand Hyatt in a coastal suburb. With its mountains, beaches, and distinctive bossa nova, this dynamic Brazilian city is a bucket-list destination in and of itself, but this year becomes a scene you won’t want to miss—if you can score a ticket.