The best summer destinations for your next holiday

When it comes to planning your vacation, your choice will depend a lot on your interests: sunbathing or cycling? City or country? To help you decide here are some fun summer destinations worth considering.

To visit
If you want a good-weather guarantee and lots of chances to lie on the beach then Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece are among the best summer destinations to consider.

• If you don’t tolerate heat well, you’ll get lots of sun but cooler winds on the North Atlantic islands of Tenerife (one of the Canary Islands) or Madeira.

To avoid
Although the beaches of Croatia and the French Riviera are sunny and beautiful, they’ve become victims of their own success and the crowds are unbearable for many space-loving North Americans.

• In the Caribbean, summer temperatures are bearable, but hurricane season could ruin your vacation.
• The Middle East is spectacular, but keep in mind that the heat is overwhelming this time of year.

If basking in the sun isn't your idea of what a vacation should be, then summer is the perfect time to visit the manor homes of Ireland, the Scottish Highlands, the cycling paths of the Netherlands or the imperial gardens in Russia.

• You can also fly to Norway, Sweden or Denmark, which are all very pleasant at this time of the year.
• Why not take a trip to Iceland, where the sun sets for only a few hours at night?
• You could always consider Australia, whose northern districts are plenty warm, even during the Down Under winter.

If you’d like to spend your vacation closer to home, there’s plenty to discover. From coast to coast, Canada is full of wonders. And if you turn towards our southern neighbours, you’ll find some more of the best summer destinations.

• If the humidity is overwhelming in Louisiana and New York City overrun with too many tourists, there's always a state somewhere that’s nice. Perhaps you could try the northwest coast and its national parks.
• Costa Rica is also beautiful in the summer, and although winter is in full swing in South America, you can still enjoy the sunny days in Peru, Bolivia and Brazil, where temperatures usually only drop to a mild 15°C (60 °F).
• You can even go skiing in Argentina or Chile, if your heart desires.

If you don’t like heavy rains and humidity, you’d better skip a summer trip to Southeast Asia. But you’ll love Bali and northern India, where the monsoon (rainy season) leaves tourists alone.

So, where are you going to go on vacation?