Travel calendar: our tips for where to go in July

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Travel calendar: our tips for where to go in July

Whether you're sinking schnapps during Sweden's summertime or forging a path to far-flung Fijian islands, this month is for taking things easy…

Emilie Hall

BY Emilie Hall9 May 2018

In the northern hemisphere, July is a time when things get a little frivolous – you can get away with tiny swimsuits, light-hearted novels and live-for-the-moment romances. Travel-wise, sybaritic city breaks, carefree coastal adventures and alfresco feasting are the way to go.

GO WITH THE FLOW

It’s like Billy Crystal says in When Harry Met Sally: ‘When you realise you want to spend a summer weekend somewhere, you want that weekend to last as long as possible’. Enter Stockholm, where the sun only sets for six hours in July. What will you do with all the extra daylight? Well, there are 30,000 islands in the capital’s archipelago to explore, fresh seafood to savour, endless schnapps to sink and a floating wine bar called ‘Mälarpaviljongen’ to adeptly mispronounce. This month also offers the best chance of halcyon days in the coastal towns of Cornwall, with languid lunching, harbourside crabbing and offshore surfing all on the holiday menu. Brace yourself: you might even need sunscreen.

ESCAPE THE CROWDS

July is the ideal time for newlyweds and thrill-seekers to visit the seductive South Pacific islands of Fiji. The dry season between July and September means temperatures are cooler for hiking the volcanic peaks and the coral-ringed waters are at their kaleidoscopic best. If you seek the heat, pitch up poolside at a traditional masseria (farmhouse) in Puglia – the sun-tanned heel of Italy’s foot – where temperatures average a toasty 30 degrees in July. You’ll be enchanted by the rustic region’s traditional cone-shaped trulli houses, easy-on-the-eye Adriatic beaches and punchy primitivo wines.

WHAT’S HAPPENING?

We can hear it now: laughter from pub gardens, the thwack of tennis balls on television and the gentle fizz of freshly-made Pimms. This month, London is in the full bloom of British summertime as the capital basks in the joyous weeks of Wimbledon, outdoor Hyde Park concerts and, oh, those long summer nights. Yonder Stateside, they’re rolling out the red, white and blue. July 4 is Independence Day, so everyone in the country is off work and ready to party. Whether you’re cracking lobster in New England, smouldering on the shores of South Beach or planning your last exit to Brooklyn, it’s a hell of a time to be in the US of A.

BOOK NOW FOR

Plan ahead for gourmet trips to Bordeaux in early autumn, when the harvest bounty is heaped high and vineyards around the French city are a hive of activity. Families chasing late-summer sun should snap up villas in southern Spain, Portugal’s Algarve, Greece’s islands and more for the October half-term.

For more travel inspiration, explore where to go in August