Where to go in August

Arguably Rio's best month: all the dry-season reliability with warmth returning.

Winter ending — drier, sunnier, warming up. The best value month before spring prices recover.

Winter lifting — wildflowers transform the West Coast and spring is on its way.

National Day (August 9) is Singapore's proudest moment — fireworks, parade, and pure national energy over Marina Bay.

The driest month of the year — whale season peak, perfect visibility, and the best diving of the year.

Feria de las Flores — the most extraordinary flower festival in South America, and the year's most expensive week.

Notting Hill Carnival bank holiday weekend — and everywhere else, maximum crowds and expense.

Warmest month — outdoor film festival ends, Viennese head to the Alps.

Still warm, Reykjavik Pride, and the very first aurora sightings returning late in the month.

Summer at full capacity — same conditions as July, slightly cooler and quieter by month's end.

Ferragosto and maximum Italy — the most expensive and most crowded month of the year.

Equal to July in weather, slightly worse for crowds — Australian school holidays at peak.

Warmest and driest month — but Paris without Parisians is Paris with the soul extracted.

Still monsoon, still cheap — the island's temples, markets, and interior at their best.

Still peak rainy season, but the city's cultural calendar is picking up pace ahead of September.

Near-identical to July: extreme heat, empty city, extraordinary prices. Avoid unless you're serious about it.

Obon festival brings Japan alive — but also brings the most oppressive heat of the year.

Same as July in conditions — maximum everything.

Hottest and most crowded month — remarkable weather but the city feels overwhelmed.

US Open tennis (late August) is world-class — but otherwise peak crowds and peak humidity.

Same peak-season conditions as July, with the Pride festival gone. The crowds remain.

Wettest stretch of the year — Bangkok as a transit hub, not a primary destination.

Peak month: absolute maximum tourists, prices, heat, and the infamous Oia bottleneck.

The hottest month — Daimonji fire festival is spectacular, but midday Kyoto is oppressive.

Wettest month of the year: maximum monsoon rainfall, not ideal unless you're here for surfing.

Peak month: maximum prices, maximum crowds, and Dubrovnik under the most pressure.

Peak hurricane risk, hottest temps, heaviest rain — deep discounts do not offset the conditions.

Near-identical to July — avoid unless weather doesn't matter to you.

As hot as July and more humid — but still the cheapest month to be in one of the world's most impressive cities.

Rain climbing sharply — still busy with tourists who don't yet realise the weather has shifted.

Barcelona residents leave for August. Tourists fill the gap. The city feels like a theme park.

Ferragosto — Romans flee to the coast, tourists fill the gap, and the city feels hollow.