There are often so many summer holiday ideas that it can be hard to know where to go. Each year there’s seemingly a raft of exciting new summer destinations, while air and rail carriers continue to draw the world around us closer.
But where to start this summer? It’s not always easy to settle on a good place to book from the UK to Europe or farther afield, especially when talk turns to bucket-list destinations. To make it easier for you, I’ve selected the 15 best summer holiday destinations for 2024 based on my experiences, things to do, new flight routes and hotels and cultural events.
Best summer holiday destinations in Europe
From a magical Irish road trip to exploring the European Capital of Culture and family crowd pleasers, this summer there’s a European destination to suit all tastes.
The Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland
Best for: A summer road trip
Ireland’s much-heralded Wild Atlantic Way was launched 10 years ago and is as loved for its rugged scenery as its corking Celtic craic. It’s one of the longest coastal touring routes in the world, coming in at 1600 miles, and uncoils down the coast from Donegal to Cork, with highlights including Ballycroy National Park, the soaring Cliffs of Moher and Unesco-worthy Skelligs in Kerry.
In the seaside villages in between are myriad areas of outstanding natural beauty. Factor in a stay in Sligo — poet Yeats’ country — and on Achill, Ireland’s largest offshore island. If it looks familiar, it was recently a star turn in Oscar-nominated Banshees of Inisherin. The driving route would be nothing though, without the Irish themselves. So spend plenty of time in its open-armed hotels and pubs, ideally with a seafood chowder and a pint of the good stuff.
Lucca, Italy
Best for: A cultural summer holiday
If you know your Madame Butterfly from your Tosca and Turandot, Tuscany is the place for you. This year, Lucca is marking the centenary year of the death of Giacomo Puccini, its most famous resident and one of the most successful proponents of the genre. It’s fabulously operatic at the Puccini Museum where the composer was born, while this year a summer-long series of nightly concerts will happen in the Church of San Giovanni.
A notch up in the style stakes is the city’s only 5-star palace, Hotel Grand Universe Lucca, which overlooks its most beautiful squares. Or consider staying in Torre Del Lago nearby on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It’s the host of the annual Puccini Festival, which runs through July and August. To get to Lucca, fly to Pisa and then take a train (30 minutes).
Oviedo, Spain
Best for: Foodies
Asturias, in northwestern Spain, has long been an outlier in tourism terms compared to Madrid, Barcelona and the crowded Costas because of a supposed lack of blockbuster draws. But then there’s the food. Regional hub Oviedo has been named Gastronomic Capital for 2024 and that means wherever you go in this intoxicating up-and-comer, food follows you.
There’s a dazzling assortment of dishes — most of which bring the region’s greatest hits (cheese, beef, beans, wine, and cider) together in some form. Try the fabada, a chorizo and morcilla sausage stew that’s fuelled with beans, or ‘cachopo’, veal fillets layered with slices of ham and cheese and then deep fried. Usually, northern Spain isn’t the easiest place to get to from the UK, but there are now direct flights between the medieval city and London Gatwick.
Poitiers, France
Best for: Family holidays, whatever the weather
France’s strong family credentials are on show at the country’s flagship theme parks. Futuroscope near Poitiers, with direct flights from London Stansted, is renowned for sharp lessons in science with shows, rides, 3D and 4D films, but its new sister park Aquascope could be just the ticket. Especially if another European heatwave is on the cards. Covering more than 7,500 sqm of indoor activities, the park is bumper-to-bumper with slides, wave pools and a kid’s play area, partnering all this with futuristic virtual swim experiences, where projections appear on the water.
Bodø, Norway
Best for: Culture
In these days of climate change, hotter summers, and more extreme temperatures, so many eyes are now looking north. So this summer, why not consider Bodø in Northern Norway? In Norwegian terms, Oslo and Bergen often hog the limelight, but this year Bodø is the European Capital of Culture. The first time a city north of the Arctic Circle has received the status.
It’s sharing the honour with Tartu, Estonia’s second city, but Bodø stands out for its superlatives: namely, Svartisen, Europe’s most accessible glacier, and Saltstraumen, the world’s strongest maelstrom.
The Lycian Coast, Türkiye
Best for: Hikers
Southern Türkiye is a time-travelling cocktail of ruins, Roman temples and ancient sarcophagi, where pirates once plundered and golden beaches are mixed with ancient towns and hiking trails. Chief among its most fabulous stretches, though, is the Lycian Way, a marked 435-mile-long assault from Fethiye to Konyaaltı in Antalya that turns 25 this year.
On the trail, highlights abound and you’ll need to make time for aquamarine waters, hidden coves and ancient Lycian history. See the ruins of Phaselis, which thrived in Alexander the Great’s era; then there are the eternal flames of Chimaera, an astonishing series of naturally occurring gas vents that spontaneously ignite, spouting fumes from a hillside perch. One last must-do: Simena with views of Kekova Island’s sunken city.
Note: Hiking here is better in the cooler months of June and September.
Paris, France
Best for: Sports lovers
Yes, it’s another destination in France, but what a year for the country. One of the world’s most important international multi-sports events takes place in Paris from 26 July to 11 August and it’s the first time since London 2012 that the world’s largest sporting event has been held in Europe — who’d want to miss out on that?
This year, there’ll be new sports to try and draw in a younger audience — welcome, surfing, skateboarding, sport climbing and break dancing — while the French capital can always be relied on to provide a dazzling assortment of entertainment.
Best summer holiday destinations in the Americas
Art, cinematic landscapes and relaxation await at these bucket-list summer destinations.
Los Angeles, USA
Best for: Art
It’s the neighbourhoods that really make Los Angeles sing. After visiting the classics, West Hollywood, Downtown LA, Beverley Hills, and Venice Beach, consider a visit to Crenshaw. The heart of L.A.’s Black population and east of fashionable Culver City, the suburb has recently undergone a $100 million facelift.
A 1.3-mile stretch of Crenshaw Boulevard has now been turned into an open-air art and culture experience, featuring more than 100 commissioned works by local artists described on paper as “the most dynamic expression of Black American culture in the United States.” That’s some talking. Visiting later in the summer? Then fill your calendar with Los Angeles’ other showstopper: PST Art, the USA’s largest art event, which runs citywide throughout September.
Utah, USA
Best for: Movie fans
Southern Utah’s red rock country is a Mars-like wilderness, where nature has long had the upper hand. It’s also Hollywood’s go-to when location scouts need seemingly eternal desert-scapes and cinematic arches. The likes of Thelma and Louise, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Planet of the Apes have all been filmed here.
The state’s first two silent movies were shot in 1924 and that’s a solid excuse to revel on a road trip from Salt Lake City through its A-lister landmarks of Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Zion National Parks. In this homeland of the road trip, amid landscapes of movie-set America, you’ll have a truly one-of-a-kind summer holiday.
Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Best for: Somewhere different
You prefer to try new destinations and you like a dollop of quirky British history too. Then Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada is a revelation. New direct flights launch this summer from the UK, plus plenty is afoot this year because the province is celebrating 75 years since joining the Canadian Confederation.
For starters, 2024 is known as the “Year of the Arts,” a celebration of the province’s artists, writers, musicians and playwrights, with a roster of festivals. Activities? Think coastal hikes, lighthouse excursions, whale watching and, if you head west, icebergs. Thirsty? Provincial capital St. John’s has the highest density of bars in Canada, making it a city stirred by pleasure, whether it’s summer or not.
Jamaica
Best for: Early summer good vibes
The hurricane season officially runs from June to late November, but with most storm activity swirling around the Caribbean in the later summer months, early in the season is wonderfully laidback. This year, the island’s most famous son — Bob Marley — is also back in the news, thanks to the anticipated release of the biopic of the music legend’s tumultuous life.
If you like the idea of reggae, this is your island. The Bob Marley Museum now takes over the site of the musician’s home and Tuff Gong Studios, founded by the singer-songwriter, is blissfully uncommercial in a suburb of Kingston.
Naturally, this provides a soundtrack for hammock swinging and rum drinking (on Jamaica, it’s from Appleton Estate) and, ideally, staying in a resort with guaranteed sunshine like Sandals Dunn’s River which opened in Ocho Rios last May.
Best summer holiday destinations in the rest of the world
If you’re looking for a summer holiday idea with a difference then opt for a long-haul holiday at one of these destinations.
Dubai, UAE
Best for: Outright fun and sun
You either love or hate the idea of Dubai. It’s big, bold and brash, with dizzying mega-architecture, man-made islands, knock-your-socks-off shopping and attractions like the Museum of the Future.
But it makes for a great summer holiday destination, with heat and sun on tap and a myriad of attractions. This year, consider the Dubai Balloon, which soars you at sunrise above the Palm Jumeirah or Neon Galaxy, a multi-level indoor playground for when the heat gets too much. If you need something more grown up, gee yourself up the Edge Walk and Glass Slide at Sky Walk Dubai atop The Address Sky View Hotel.
Okavango Delta, Botswana
Best for: Wildlife
East Africa usually gets the safari nod, but Botswana is home to some of the finest safari camps and lodges — and they’re more of a secret. Summer 2024 is set to shift things up a gear, too, with the launch of two hyped new openings, both located within the half-drowned wonderlands of the Okavango Delta.
First up is Wilderness Mokete, a limited-edition camp with 9 remarkable suites, which will open for only 2 years. This type of leave-no-trace, pop-up safari retreat is a new trend and, if that weren’t exclusive enough, it’s the only lodge for more than 50,000 hectares.
In marked contrast Atzaró Okavango Camp is another private concession in the wildlife-rich Okavango Delta, but one with an uncompromising approach to the luxury safari experience. Indeed, each villa comes equipped with its own vehicle and ranger.
Bhutan
Best for: Health and wellbeing
The pursuit of happiness is the thread that runs through most summer holidays. There’s a compelling argument then, that a holiday in the Kingdom of Bhutan, on the rooftop of the world in the Himalayas, is this year’s golden ticket. Marking 50 years since the Land of The Thunder Dragon opened its doors to foreign travellers, the country is building on its extraordinarily successful approach to sustainable tourism by offering ways to immerse in local culture.
Perhaps, go stargazing free from light pollution at the Dochula Pass between the capital of Thimphu and Punakha. Or search for inner peace by following in the footsteps of a Buddhist nun. What helps too, is Paro International now connects to the UK via India and Nepal, with flights debuting soon from the UAE.
Republic of the Congo
Best for: Adventure
A hint of the unknown, a splash of West African culture, and tourist-free silence. The Republic of the Congo is everything that gorilla safari rivals Rwanda and Uganda are not. The far-flung Congo Basin is opening itself up to gorilla-tracking and with flights from London to Brazzaville via Paris or Brussels, there is a sense that the world’s second-largest rainforest is now closer than ever.
You’re here to spend a precious hour with the critically endangered Western Lowland Gorilla, but also to contribute to eco-tourism in both Odzala-Kokoua and Noubalé-Ndoki national parks and support local community development. The dry season runs from June to September making the gorillas easier to locate beneath the overstretched, tangled canopy of trees.
So many life-affirming summer holiday destinations, yet only a few months to cram it all in. Then, of course, is the temptation to stay closer to home in one of the UK’s best seaside towns, or settle for a tried and trusted cheap beach holiday. Because, after all, there is always next summer too.
