I used to spend every summer making the same mistake.
Iโd scroll through travel sites, get overwhelmed, and then justโฆ book the same resort Iโd been to twice already.
Safe.
Predictable.
A little soul-crushing, honestly.
Then one summer I kind of just threw out the plan and said forget it โ Iโm going somewhere Iโve never even considered.
That trip wrecked me in the best possible way.
Because once you see whatโs actually out there waiting for you in summer, you canโt go back to playing it small.
These are my favorite world destinations for summer โ the ones I genuinely believe most people overlook, sleep on, or just never thought to explore.
And trust me, some of these are going to surprise you.
The Greek Islands Youโve Never Heard Of (And Need To)
Everyone talks about Santorini.
And look, I get it โ itโs stunning.
But when I landed on Milos a couple summers ago, I felt like Iโd found something the rest of the world hadnโt caught up to yet.
The water there is this wild shade of turquoise that almost looks fake in photos.
But standing on the edge of Sarakiniko Beach โ surrounded by those white volcanic rocks glowing in the afternoon sun โ felt completely surreal.
No massive cruise ships crowding the port.
No overpriced tables where youโre basically paying for an Instagram backdrop.
Just raw, wild beauty and a quietness that hits you in the chest.
Milos, Naxos, Ikaria โ these are the Greek islands Iโd push every single friend toward before Santorini or Mykonos.
Ikaria especially.
The locals there are legendarily long-lived and they move through life like theyโve figured something out the rest of us havenโt.
Thereโs a softness to the pace there that you can actually feel in your body after a day or two.
If I had to pick one region for a perfect summer trip, Greece โ the lesser-known corners of it โ would be my answer every single time.
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Why Japan in Summer Is Actually Underrated
I know what youโre thinking.
Japan in summer?
Isnโt it brutally hot and humid?
Yes.
And also โ completely worth it.
When I visited Kyoto in late summer, I expected to be miserable.
Instead, I found this magical overlap of ancient festival culture, lush green bamboo groves, and some of the best food Iโve ever eaten in my life.
The Gion Matsuri festival transforms Kyotoโs streets into something out of a fever dream โ lanterns everywhere, people in yukata moving through the warm evening air, the smell of street food wrapping around everything.
You canโt fake that kind of atmosphere.
And hereโs the hack most people miss: head north to Hokkaido.
The temperatures up there in summer are genuinely mild, and the lavender fields in Furano are the kind of thing you stop walking just to stare at.
Purple as far as you can see, with mountain ridges sitting behind them like a painting.
Japan rewards the curious traveler more than almost any destination Iโve ever been to.
You just have to be willing to get a little off the tourist track.
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Get Your Guide Now$15.99Portugalโs Alentejo: The Region That Stole My Heart Quietly
The Algarve gets all the attention in Portugal.
And the Algarve is gorgeous โ donโt get me wrong.
But Alentejo is where Portugalโs soul actually lives.
Rolling golden plains, cork oak forests, whitewashed villages perched on hilltops like theyโve been there forever.
I spent four days there driving through tiny towns, stopping at local wineries, eating plates of slow-cooked black pork with roasted chestnuts.
The wine they make there is seriously underrated.
And the people are warm in this quiet, dignified way that doesnโt feel performed.
Summer evenings in Alentejo hit different โ the sky turns this deep amber and the air smells like dry grass and lavender and something I still canโt name.
You feel the heat of the day slowly releasing as the sun drops.
Itโs the kind of place that makes you genuinely consider what your life would look like if you justโฆ stayed.
If youโre planning any time in Portugal, build in at least three or four days in Alentejo.
Youโll thank yourself.
Colombiaโs Caribbean Coast: Where the Energy Is Electric
I wasnโt prepared for Cartagena.
I thought I knew what to expect โ colonial architecture, warm weather, good coffee.
But walking through the walled city at dusk, with the bougainvillea spilling over the old stone walls and salsa music floating out of open doorways, I sort of lost my sense of time entirely.
Itโs one of those places that grabs you by the collar.
The colors are outrageous in the best way.
Painted doors in yellow and cobalt blue, streets that feel like they belong in a storybook, all bathed in this golden coastal light.
And then there are the Rosario Islands just offshore โ white sand, crystal water, an almost lazy kind of paradise.
Colombiaโs coast is warm, yes, but the energy is what really gets you.
Thereโs a celebration of life baked into the culture there that I havenโt felt quite as intensely anywhere else.
People eat late, dance later, and genuinely seem to enjoy being alive.
That energy is contagious.
Fair warning: you will not want to leave.
Icelandโs Midnight Sun Is Something Else Entirely
Iโm not sure I can fully explain what it feels like to watch the sun dip low on the horizon at midnight and then justโฆ rise again.
But Iceland in summer does exactly that.
I drove the Ring Road one summer and there was this stretch through the Westfjords where I was completely alone on the road, surrounded by lava fields and distant glaciers, at 11:30 at night โ in full daylight.
Itโs genuinely disorienting in the most incredible way.
Your internal clock gives up entirely.
And that kind of freedom โ no schedule, no darkness forcing you inside, just endless light and open road โ feels like something you didnโt know you needed.
The waterfalls in summer are absolutely roaring from snowmelt.
Skรณgafoss, Seljalandsfoss โ you can walk behind that second one and feel the mist hit you like a cold slap, while the water catches the endless summer light and throws rainbows everywhere.
Iceland is one of those places where the landscape makes you feel small in a humbling, healing kind of way.
Iโd go back every summer if I could.
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Moroccoโs Atlantic Coast: The Cooler Side of a Hot Country
Most people picture the Sahara or Marrakech when they think Morocco.
And those are incredible โ but in the thick of summer, the Atlantic coast is where Iโd send anyone looking for something cooler, more laid-back, and honestly kinda magical.
Essaouira especially.
This breezy, blue-and-white port town sits right on the Atlantic and has this constant, cool ocean wind that makes summer feel completely bearable.
The medina there is smaller and less hectic than Marrakech.
Artisan workshops line the narrow streets โ woodcarvers, leather workers, musicians playing in doorways.
I spent a whole afternoon just wandering with no destination, buying small things, tasting preserved lemons at a spice stall.
The seafood right off the boats is ridiculous โ grilled sardines eaten standing up, watching the fishing boats rock in the harbor.
That kind of simplicity hits different.
And if youโre into wind sports, Essaouira is a world-class kitesurfing destination.
The energy there feels bohemian and relaxed โ kind of like a beach town that also happens to be centuries old.
That combination is rare and worth every hour of travel to get there.
Croatia Beyond Dubrovnik: Hvar, Vis, and Korฤula
Dubrovnik is stunning.
Itโs also absolutely packed in summer.
So when a friend convinced me to skip the crowd and sail between Hvar, Vis, and Korฤula instead, my whole idea of what a Croatian summer could be shifted completely.
Vis is the one that really got me.
The island has this undeveloped, almost time-forgotten quality.
There are no huge resort hotels.
Just stone villages, wildflowers growing out of ancient walls, and fishermen who still tie their boats up in the same spots their grandfathers did.
The Blue Cave on nearby Biลกevo โ where the seawater glows electric blue in the morning light โ is one of the most beautiful natural phenomena Iโve ever witnessed.
You float into this dark grotto in a small boat and suddenly youโre surrounded by this otherworldly neon blue glow.
Nobody around you says a word.
Hvar brings the livelier side โ restaurants carved into old stone, rooftop bars with views over terracotta rooftops and the Adriatic.
But even Hvar has corners of it that feel quiet and untouched if you wander past the main harbor.
Rent a small boat if you can.
Thatโs how Croatia reveals itself.
Canadaโs Banff in Summer: The Rockies Are Absolutely Wild
I grew up thinking the Rockies meant Colorado.
Then I drove into Banff National Park in summer and had to completely revise that opinion.
Iโm not being dramatic when I say it felt like driving into a screensaver.
Turquoise lakes โ Lake Louise, Moraine Lake โ that look so impossibly colored you genuinely stop believing your own eyes.
The water gets that color from glacial rock flour suspended in it.
And knowing the science behind it doesnโt make it any less jaw-dropping.
Hiking above the treeline at Sentinel Pass, looking out over a valley of peaks and shimmering lakes below, I felt this overwhelming sense of perspective.
Like the scale of the planet was trying to communicate something.
Wildlife is everywhere in Banff in summer โ elk grazing roadside, bears in the distance, ground squirrels aggressively demanding your trail mix.
You have to earn most of the best views with some elevation.
But the payoff is the kind that sticks with you for years.
If youโre in North America and havenโt done a proper summer in Banff, thatโs the move.
Full stop.
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The south of Bali โ Seminyak, Kuta, even Ubud in peak season โ can feel like a very beautiful Instagram feed come to life.
Which is nice, but also a little exhausting after a few days.
The north of Bali is a completely different story.
When I made my way up to Munduk and the area around Singaraja, I felt like Iโd stepped into a version of the island that the tourism wave somehow passed over.
Terraced rice fields glowing green in the morning mist.
Waterfalls hidden down jungle paths where I was completely alone.
Clove and coffee plantations that smell absolutely incredible when the breeze moves through them.
The lakes up there โ Buyan, Tamblingan โ have this still, misty quality in the early morning that feels sacred.
I rented a scooter and drove mountain roads lined with fruit trees and small shrines.
A local family invited me in for coffee at their compound.
These are the Bali moments you canโt manufacture.
You find them by going where most people donโt bother.
North Bali is the version of the island Iโll keep returning to.
Mexico Beyond the Resorts: Oaxaca and the Pacific Coast
Thereโs a version of Mexico that exists completely outside the all-inclusive resort world.
And once you find it, everything else feels a little hollow.
Oaxaca is where Iโd start.
A colonial city in the mountains, with a food culture so deep and complex and delicious that Iโm still thinking about the mole negro I ate at a tiny comedor down a back alley.
The markets there are sensory overload in the best possible way โ dried chiles, fresh flowers, handwoven textiles in colors that feel like they belong in a painting.
And then the Pacific coast of Oaxaca โ towns like Mazunte and Puerto Escondido โ offer this raw, underdeveloped beach culture that feels completely different from Cancun.
Big surf, open-air fish tacos, hammocks strung between palms.
Puerto Escondido has waves that draw surfers from around the world but still manages to feel local and unhurried.
I slept in a small palapa steps from the sand.
The sound of the Pacific in the morning, through an open-air window, is the kind of alarm clock that makes you feel alive.
Mexico has so many layers.
Peel past the resort strip and you find something that genuinely moves you.
Patagonia: The Most Epic Landscape on Earth
Iโll be honest โ Patagonia intimidated me before I went.
It felt like the kind of place for serious mountaineers and hardcore adventurers.
And then I actually went, and I realized itโs also for anyone who just wants to stand in front of something so enormous and ancient that it resets something inside of you.
Torres del Paine in Chilean Patagonia is โ without exaggeration โ the most dramatic landscape I have ever been in.
The granite towers jutting out of the Patagonian steppe.
The rivers running a milky, glacial blue.
The wind that slams into you so hard you have to lean into it just to walk.
You can do multi-day treks through the national park and camp under skies so clear and dark that the Milky Way feels close enough to touch.
Or you can take it easier โ day hikes, scenic drives, lodges with fireplaces and incredible local lamb.
The perito Moreno Glacier on the Argentine side is a must.
Watching chunks of ancient ice the size of buildings calve into the water with a sound like thunder is something that language struggles to hold.
Go to Patagonia at least once.
Go before the crowds find it the way they found everywhere else.
Caribbean Paradise Unlocked
From pristine beaches to vibrant local culture, discover the Caribbeanโs best-kept secrets with my comprehensive travel guide.
- 120+ Hidden Beach Secrets
- Local Cuisine Guide
- Budget Travel Tips
- Island Hopping Routes
How To Actually Stop Wasting Summers
Hereโs the thing about summer โ it always feels long until itโs gone.
And then youโre standing in September wondering where it went and what you actually did with it.
Iโve been there more times than I want to admit.
What changed for me was stopping the wait for the โperfectโ trip and just committing to going somewhere that genuinely excited me.
Not somewhere impressive to mention at dinner.
Not somewhere safe and familiar.
Somewhere that made my chest feel something when I looked at the map.
The destinations I shared here arenโt just pretty places.
Theyโre the kinds of places that rearrange something quietly in you while youโre walking around in them.
A summer in Patagonia or Iceland or rural Bali or the Alentejo isnโt just a vacation โ itโs a story youโll tell for years.
Itโs the version of yourself you meet when youโre slightly lost and completely present in a place thatโs new.
Thatโs the summer worth having.
Start planning it.
Even if itโs just one trip.
Even if itโs just one of these places.
Thatโs how it starts โ and where it starts to matter.
