The best places to go in August, ranked from twenty years of historical climate data. Pick by what matters to you — warm sun, sightseeing, or a relaxing break — then open the live tool to fine-tune.
Choosing where to go on holiday in August comes down to one question: which destinations are actually warm, sunny and dry that month — not in general, but in August specifically? This ranking is built from twenty years of historical climate records (ECMWF ERA5, served by Open-Meteo). For each destination we average the daily mean temperature, sunshine hours, rainfall and wind speed across every August on record, then score the result against three traveller profiles: all-round, beach and city-break.
August is peak European summer. The Mediterranean dominates the ranking, but the hottest inland spots (interior Spain, southern Turkey, parts of Cyprus and Greece) can push past 35°C — fine for the beach but too hot for sightseeing or hiking. Atlantic islands and northern Mediterranean coasts (Côte d'Azur, Costa Brava) usually offer a more comfortable balance. The current top five for August are Mallorca, Crete, Algarve, Tenerife, Costa Brava.
The tables below are split into three bands. All-round (the default) rewards destinations that are simply comfortable in August — mild temperatures, decent sun, low rain. Beach holiday tightens the criteria for swimming and sunbathing (22–33°C, 7+ hours of sun, fewer than two rainy days per week). City break loosens the temperature range to 15–26°C for sightseeing. Each row links to the destination's full guide and the live weather tool so you can check the specific dates you have in mind.
In August the warmest, sunniest spots in our dataset are Mallorca (26.7°C, 12.4h sun/day); Crete (25.1°C, 12.9h sun/day); Algarve (25.1°C, 12.8h sun/day). The full ranking averages temperature, sunshine, rainfall and wind over twenty years of historical climate data.
August is peak European summer. Most Mediterranean destinations score highly for beach weather, but the hottest spots (inland Spain, southern Turkey, Cyprus) can pass 35°C, which is uncomfortable for sightseeing. The ranking above shows the top destinations for August across three traveller profiles: all-round, beach and city-break.
August is peak holiday season — the weather is the most reliable but prices and crowds are at their highest. Book early or pick less obvious destinations from the ranking.
August is a strong shoulder-season month for several Mediterranean and Atlantic-island destinations. Look outside the top three for places that score well but get less mainstream coverage — Madeira, Cape Verde, Sicily, the Algarve and Croatia are often overlooked.
Our sightseeing band ranks destinations by mild temperatures (15–26°C) and low rainfall in August, so you can pick a trip with comfortable walking weather. Mallorca, Crete, Algarve score well this month.
Each row in the ranking shows the average rainfall (days per week) and sunshine hours for August, based on twenty years of historical data. Sea temperatures lag air temperatures by about a month — so for swimming, look for destinations that were already warm in the previous month too.