Best Countries to Visit in June

If you pick one month for Iceland, this is it. The sun barely sets in June, so a day that starts at 9am can still be going at 11pm and you stop planning around darkness. The interior highland roads open through the month, puffins are on the cliffs at Latrabjarg, and whale boats sail daily from Husavik. Long light also means the Ring Road fits into a shorter trip. Iceland is expensive once you are there, so trips are usually built to order rather than bought as a set package.

Norway's fjords are at their best in June. Geirangerfjord and Naeroyfjord, both on the UNESCO list, run green and heavy with meltwater waterfalls, and the mountain roads and hiking trails are clear after the winter. Go north of the Arctic Circle, to Tromso or the Lofoten islands, and the sun does not set at all. It is an expensive country, so most Indian travellers pair it with a coastal cruise.

Known For : Gardens by the Bay Universal Studios Singapore Marina Bay Sands

Singapore is warm and humid all year, so there is no special June weather to sell you. What June has is the school holidays, and Singapore is the easiest big trip to do with children. Flights run four to six hours from most Indian metros, everything is a short train ride away, and Sentosa, the Night Safari, Gardens by the Bay and Universal Studios fill a week without a long drive anywhere. Rain comes in short bursts, and June is drier than the year end. Packages average around Rs 57,000 per person.

Best Time: February to September

273 Singapore Attractions

Bali's dry season starts in May and June is well into it, which means sunny mornings, low humidity and calm water for diving off Nusa Penida and the Gili islands. It comes before the July and August rush, so villa rates in Seminyak and Ubud are gentler. Beyond Bali, June suits Komodo boat trips and the sunrise climb at Bromo in Java. Packages average around Rs 42,000 per person.

Kenya's long rains taper off through May and June, and the parks dry out. Grass gets shorter, animals gather at waterholes, and game viewing in the Masai Mara and Amboseli becomes reliable. The big wildebeest herds are still in Tanzania at this point and usually cross into the Mara from late July, so June gives you strong resident wildlife with fewer vehicles at each sighting. Packages average around Rs 2,37,000 per person.

June is when the migration herds move through Tanzania's western corridor and gather along the Grumeti river, where they usually stay until the end of the month. The southern Serengeti has dried out, the Ngorongoro crater is clear, and Zanzibar is into its dry season if you want beach days after the safari. Book early, because the June camps fill months ahead. Camps are the main cost, and trips here are usually built to order rather than sold as fixed packages.

Greece in June gives you the summer without the squeeze. The sea is warm enough for long swims, ferries are on their full schedules, and Santorini and Mykonos are busy but not at July levels, so the sunset spots in Oia are still manageable. Athens is hot by midday, which makes it worth doing the Acropolis early and saving the islands for the rest of the trip.

Finland runs on daylight in June. Above the Arctic Circle the sun does not set for weeks, and even Helsinki stays light close to midnight, so evenings stretch out on the islands and lake shores. Lapland swaps its winter programme for hiking, canoeing and reindeer farms in the green. Midsummer, in late June, is the biggest weekend of the Finnish year.

June is when the Swiss summer starts. Mountain passes clear of snow, the cable cars to Jungfraujoch and Schilthorn move to full schedules, and the meadows around Grindelwald and Zermatt are in flower. Daylight lasts past 9pm, so a Swiss Travel Pass covers more ground than in spring. The highest trails and the lake swimming come good a few weeks later, which is why July and August are the fuller alpine months. Budget generously: mountain railways and cable cars add up fast on top of Swiss hotel rates.

Italy is at its most comfortable in June, before the August heat settles in and before Italians leave for their own holidays. The Amalfi coast is warm enough to swim, Tuscany is green rather than burnt dry, and long evenings mean dinner outdoors at 9pm. Rome, Florence and Venice are busy, so book timed entry for the Vatican Museums and the Uffizi well ahead.

June splits Vietnam in two. The central coast is the pick: Da Nang, Hoi An and Nha Trang are dry and sunny, with the calmest sea of the year at An Bang and My Khe. The north around Hanoi, Sapa and Ha Giang is hot and green with afternoon showers, still good for the rice terraces. The south, including Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong, is into its wet season. Packages average around Rs 60,000 per person.

Croatia's Adriatic warms up in June and the islands come alive without the August crowding. Dubrovnik's walls are walkable early in the morning before the cruise ships dock, Hvar and Korcula have space on the ferries, and Plitvice is full of water from the spring melt. Sailing charters run their full season from June at lower rates than in peak summer.

Portugal in June is warm and dry, with the Atlantic still cool enough to be refreshing. Lisbon holds its Santo Antonio festival in the middle of the month, when the Alfama lanes fill with grilled sardines, music and street parties that run through the night. The Algarve beaches are open but not yet at August density, and the Douro valley is green well before the harvest.

June suits Turkey because the heat has not yet peaked. Cappadocia balloons fly on most mornings, when conditions are steadier than in high summer, and the light over the valleys from about 5am is the reason people book the trip. Istanbul is walkable rather than sweltering, and the Aegean coast around Bodrum and Fethiye is warm enough for boat days. Prices climb from July.

Spain gets going in June. Barcelona and San Sebastian have beach weather without the August crush, Andalusia is hot but workable if you keep to mornings and evenings, and the north around Bilbao stays mild. On the night of 23 June, San Juan brings bonfires to beaches across the country. Rail links make this a good month for a multi-city trip.

Scotland gets its longest days in June, close to 18 hours of light in the Highlands and more in the northern isles, so one day can hold Glencoe, a stretch of Skye and a distillery without rushing. It is also among the driest and mildest months of the Scottish year. Carry repellent, since midges are about from late spring. Edinburgh is far calmer now than in August festival season.

France in June is set up for being outdoors. The Provence lavender begins to colour towards the end of the month, the Riviera is warm without August traffic, and Paris terraces stay busy late because it is light past 10pm. On 21 June the Fete de la Musique puts free concerts on streets in almost every town. Good month for a Paris and countryside combination. Paris hotels are the main cost, so a few nights in the regions brings the trip average down.

Austria's alpine summer opens in June. The high roads such as the Grossglockner are clear of snow, the cable cars around Zell am See are running, and the Salzkammergut lakes at Hallstatt and Wolfgangsee warm up enough to swim by month end. Vienna and Salzburg are good for walking before the July heat. It costs noticeably less than Switzerland for similar mountain scenery, which is the main reason to pick it.

Georgia is one of the better value trips going in June. Tbilisi is warm, but the mountains are the point: the military highway to Kazbegi is open, the meadows in Svaneti are green, and the passes that stay shut through spring are clear by now. Kakheti's vineyards are in leaf, and a day of tasting there costs a fraction of what it does in western Europe.

England has its longest evenings of the year in June, which helps when you are fitting the Cotswolds and the Lake District into one trip. The summer solstice at Stonehenge on 21 June draws a crowd through the night. Wimbledon starts at the end of the month and the gardens at Kew are at their fullest. Rain is still likely, so keep indoor options handy. Most departures from India come as wider UK or Europe itineraries rather than England on its own, which pushes the cost up.

June is winter in South Africa, and that is what makes it good for safari. The bush thins out, water gets scarce, and animals in Kruger and Madikwe come to the rivers where you can see them. Mornings are cold, so carry layers for open vehicles. Southern right whales start arriving off Hermanus around now. Cape Town is wet in June, so weight the trip towards the parks.

Northern Australia runs its dry season from May to September and June sits comfortably inside it. Cairns has clear water for the Great Barrier Reef, Darwin is warm and dry, and the Kimberley and Kakadu roads that flood in summer are open again. Humpback whales begin moving up the east coast. The southern cities are cold, so plan this around the tropics. It is a long and expensive flight from India, so a two week trip gets more out of the airfare than a short one.

June starts winter in New Zealand, which is exactly why people go. Coronet Peak, The Remarkables and Cardrona open for the ski season, and the Queenstown Winter Festival lands in late June with street events and fireworks. Fiordland is at its most dramatic, with fresh snow on the peaks above Milford Sound. Outside the ski towns the country is off peak and cheap.

Known For : Seven Coloured Earth of Chamarel Le Morne Brabant Underwater Waterfall

Mauritius in June is in its cool dry season, which suits sightseeing more than long days in the water. Temperatures sit in the mid twenties, humidity drops, and the walks at Black River Gorges and the coloured earth at Chamarel are comfortable. The west and north coasts stay sheltered while the east catches the trade winds. It is a quieter and cheaper month than December.

Best Time: April to December

147 Mauritius Attractions

Peru's dry season runs through June and this is the best window for the Andes. The Inca Trail and Machu Picchu get clear mornings, Rainbow Mountain is accessible, and Lake Titicaca is bright and very cold. Cusco holds Inti Raymi on 24 June, the Inca festival of the sun, which fills the city with processions. Book trail permits far ahead, because June dates sell out first.

Baku is warm and dry in June, and the Caspian promenade is pleasant once the sun drops. The reason to come now is the country outside the city: Gabala, Sheki and the Guba highlands are green and the mountain roads are open. Flights from Delhi and Mumbai are short, and it stays one of the cheaper short haul trips out of India.

Copenhagen is at its best in June. It stays light until nearly 11pm, the harbour baths at Islands Brygge open for swimming, and the city eats outdoors along Nyhavn and the canals. Cycling is the sensible way to see it and rentals are everywhere. Beyond the capital, the Jutland beaches and the castles at Helsingor and Frederiksborg make easy day trips, and Tivoli runs late into the evening.

Known For : Anse Lazio Snorkeling in Seychelles Sunbathing in Seychelles

June brings the southeast trade winds to Seychelles, so it is drier and less humid than the start of the year, with clear skies most days. It is also breezier, which suits sailing and windsurfing more than flat calm swimming, and some east facing beaches collect seaweed at this time. Mahe, Praslin and La Digue are all comfortable, and rates sit below the December peak.

Best Time: April to May, September to October

96 Seychelles Attractions

June is dry season on Malaysia's east coast, which is when the Perhentian and Redang islands are worth the flight, with water clear enough for good diving. Langkawi on the west side gets short afternoon showers but stays usable. Kuala Lumpur works in any weather, and Sabah in Borneo is reasonable now for Kinabalu and the orangutan centres. Packages average around Rs 48,000 per person.

Canada opens up in June. The Icefields Parkway between Banff and Jasper is clear of snow, Lake Louise has thawed back to its blue, and wildflowers are out across the Rockies. Vancouver is mild and dry, and Montreal's jazz festival runs from late June. This far north you get around 16 hours of light, which is a lot of driving time, and the July crowds have not arrived.

Sri Lanka's southwest monsoon arrives in mid May, so through June the west and south coasts are wet. The east is the opposite: Trincomalee, Pasikudah and Arugam Bay are dry and sunny, and the Arugam Bay surf season is at its peak. Yala and the cultural triangle at Sigiriya and Polonnaruwa stay workable. Plan the trip eastward and June is a good month. Packages average around Rs 32,000 per person.

Be clear about what June is in Japan: tsuyu, the rainy season, which usually runs from early June to mid July across Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku. Hokkaido is the exception, because the rain front weakens before it reaches there, so Sapporo, Furano and Biei stay dry and mild. If you are set on Kyoto, the hydrangeas at the temples are worth the umbrella and hotel rates are lower. Packages average around Rs 1,41,000 per person.

Thailand is in its wet season in June, but not everywhere at once. The Gulf islands, Koh Samui and Koh Phangan, sit on the other side of the weather and stay mostly dry, while Phuket and Krabi on the Andaman side take the monsoon. Bangkok and Chiang Mai get short heavy showers rather than all day rain. Hotel rates drop sharply, which is the trade off. Packages average around Rs 35,000 per person.

June is the start of Nepal's monsoon, so this is not the month for the big treks. The Everest and Annapurna routes get rain, leeches and cloud that hides the mountains you came for. What still works is the Kathmandu valley, the temple towns of Bhaktapur and Patan, and Pokhara's lakeside between showers. Chitwan is green and quiet. Come for culture and low prices. Packages average around Rs 22,000 per person.

Cambodia is wet in June, with rain most afternoons rather than all day. The upside is real: Angkor's moats and reservoirs fill, the reflections at Angkor Wat are at their best, and the crowds thin enough that you can sit at Ta Prohm on your own. Mornings are usually clear enough to cover the temples before the rain arrives. It is one of the cheapest months of the year here, and it is usually sold as an add on to a Vietnam trip rather than on its own.