Best Places to Travel This Summer 2026

The Azores, Portugal — Europe's Best-Kept Summer Secret

The Azores — a Portuguese archipelago of nine volcanic islands in the mid-Atlantic, roughly equidistant from Lisbon and New York — have a claim to being the most extraordinary natural landscape in Europe that almost nobody is talking about. In summer 2026, they remain that rarest of things: a genuinely spectacular destination that hasn't yet been overwhelmed by mass tourism. The reason is logistical — getting there requires a flight to Ponta Delgada on São Miguel — but once there, the isolation becomes the point.

São Miguel, the largest island, contains a volcanic crater lake (Sete Cidades — two lakes, one blue and one green, separated by a bridge, set inside a collapsed caldera) that is the single most beautiful landscape most visitors have ever seen. The island also has Furnas, a village where locals cook food in underground volcanic vents, and Caldeira Velha, a waterfall fed by geothermal springs that you can swim under. The whale watching is among the best in the world — the Azores sit at the junction of Atlantic migration routes of blue, fin, sperm, and sei whales, with guaranteed sightings from April through October.

"The Azores broke something in me," wrote travel writer Andrew McCarthy in National Geographic Traveler in 2025. "I had become so accustomed to destinations that perform for tourists. The Azores don't know you're there. The whales breach whether you're watching or not. The caldera was there before the Portuguese arrived. I felt, for the first time in years, genuinely small in the best possible way." (National Geographic Traveler, June 2025.)

Azores Summer Practical Guide

• Fly to Ponta Delgada (PDL): direct from Boston (~5h), London or Lisbon via connections, or Lisbon direct (2h20min on SATA or TAP)
• June and September are the sweet spots: warm enough for swimming, far fewer tourists than July–August
• Sete Cidades crater lake: hike the rim (8km loop, 2.5–3h) for the full perspective. Or take the viewpoint road if mobility is a concern
• Whale watching: Futurismo and other operators run tours from Ponta Delgada, €75–95/person. April through October, with June–August peak season
• Budget: €80–€120/day mid-range. Accommodation significantly cheaper than mainland Portugal. Local Verdelho wine: €8–15 in restaurants
• Inter-island: SATA airline runs between all nine islands (~€80–120/hop). Combine São Miguel with Flores (the most remote and wildest) or Faial (sailing culture, volcanic landscape)

7-Day São Miguel Itinerary

• Day 1: Arrive Ponta Delgada. Evening walk through the city's black-basalt architecture and seafront fortifications
• Day 2: Sete Cidades — full crater rim hike at dawn. Afternoon: swimming at Lagoa das Sete Cidades shore
• Day 3: Furnas — geothermal cooking pots, Furnas Lake, Terra Nostra Park botanical gardens and thermal pool. Cozido das Furnas (stew cooked underground) for lunch
• Day 4: Whale watching morning trip. Afternoon: Caldeira Velha waterfall swim. Evening: craft beer at Maia coastal village
• Day 5: Nordeste — the wild, forested northeast corner. Waterfalls, viewpoints, nearly deserted roads
• Day 6: Pico do Vara hike (1,103m, São Miguel's highest peak). Cloud permitting, views across to Pico island
• Day 7: Morning market in Ponta Delgada, departure

Norway — Midnight Sun & Fjords in Peak Season

Norway in summer is a country operating at peak intensity: 20+ hours of daylight north of the Arctic Circle, fjords at their most dramatic with full snowmelt waterfalls, and hiking routes open that are buried in snow for nine months of the year. The Lofoten Islands — a chain of sharp peaks rising directly from the sea 200km above the Arctic Circle — have in the past decade become one of the most photographed landscapes on earth. In summer 2026, the E10 highway connecting the islands is fully accessible and the long golden light of the midnight sun turns every photograph into something from a dream.

The classic Norway summer itinerary connects Bergen (gateway to the Western Fjords, a UNESCO city of wooden houses, the Bryggen wharf, and possibly the best fish market in Europe) with the Sognefjord (Norway's longest and deepest fjord, running 205km inland) and the Flåm Railway — a 20km train journey down a mountain at a 5.5% gradient through 20 tunnels, considered one of the world's great rail journeys. The Trolltunga ("Troll's Tongue") — a horizontal rock projection 700 metres above a lake — requires a 10–12 hour hike but delivers images that are unambiguously worth the effort.

Norway Summer Budget Guide

• Norway is expensive — budget €150–€200/day minimum for food, accommodation, and transport. There is no way around this
• Bergen: fjord cruise with Norled from €30 (basic) to €120 (full-day). Flåm Railway: €45 one way — book ahead in July
• Self-catering significantly cuts costs: grocery stores (Rema 1000, Kiwi) stock excellent salmon, bread, and cheese at reasonable prices
• Lofoten in summer: book accommodation 3–4 months ahead. Rorbu (traditional fishermen's cabins) from €120–200/night — the most atmospheric option
• Midnight sun: visible above Arctic Circle from late May to late July. In Bergen (below Arctic Circle), long golden twilight creates similar magic
• Hiking: DNT (Norwegian Trekking Association) huts along major trails offer affordable overnight stops (~€35/night members, €50 non-members)

Montenegro — The Adriatic's Rising Star

Montenegro is to the 2020s what Croatia was to the 2000s: a small Adriatic country with dramatic coastline, medieval walled towns, and extraordinary natural landscapes, in the process of being discovered by independent travellers before the resort infrastructure catches up. In summer 2026, it remains substantially cheaper than Croatia's Dalmatian coast while offering comparable — and in some places superior — scenery. The Bay of Kotor, a flooded river canyon that looks at first glance like a fjord, is one of the most dramatic inland waterways in Europe. The walled city of Kotor itself, a UNESCO heritage site with Venetian-era palaces and churches, is comparable to Dubrovnik in atmosphere but without anything like Dubrovnik's crowds.

Inland, Durmitor National Park offers some of the Balkans' best hiking and the Tara River Canyon — the deepest canyon in Europe at 1,300 metres — is accessible by white-water rafting and canyon hiking. The Black Mountain (Crna Gora, from which the country takes its name) lives up to its name: dramatic, dark, and dramatically beautiful. The food culture is a blend of Adriatic seafood and Balkan meat traditions — grilled fish beside a clear-water bay, followed by a shot of rakija (fruit brandy) at sunset, is a very good way to spend an evening.

Montenegro Summer Budget

• Getting there: fly into Tivat (TIV) or Podgorica (TGD). easyJet, Ryanair, and Wizz Air fly from multiple European hubs in summer
• Bay of Kotor accommodation: €60–€120/night for good apartments with sea views. Kotor town itself fills fast — book 2–3 months ahead for July/August
• Budget: €60–€90/day is comfortable. Significantly cheaper than Dubrovnik or Split (Croatia) for comparable quality
• Sveti Stefan: the famous fortified island (now an Aman resort — rooms start at €1,500/night) is gorgeous from the outside. The public beach below it is free
• Durmitor rafting: Tara Canyon rafting full-day excursions from ~€40–60, including transport from Žabljak base town