BeCause

Where Summer Rules

June 07, 2017
As May turns into June, Memorial Day fades in the rear view mirror, and the summer solstice sneaks up on us, thoughts often turn to vacation. Kids are out of school, workplaces may be a little more lenient when it comes to three-day weekends, and something about the warmer temperatures tells us that it’s time to get outside.

Often, as we pull out our calendars, we think of area beaches – or even of flying to nicer ones. But there’s another way to think about the summer traveling season: What are the destinations that are, by far, best in the summer? Where should you go in June, July and August where there’s a major advantage over November, December and January?

At Mitch-Stuart, we believe that the vast majority of destinations for our non-profit fundraising auction travel packages – including those below! – are appropriate for year-round travel. But for these cities, states and island provinces, there’s something about summer that makes them “musts” during those months rather than “maybes.”

While it’s true that modern cruise ships are pretty well climate-controlled, summer is still the best season by far to take a trip through Alaska. The “cruise season” is said to run from April through to September, making summer the most popular time, and with good reason: High temperatures are warm enough that off-boat excursions don’t require coats. Late summer, in particular may be particularly attractive, with nighttime growing dark enough to catch glimpses of the northern lights and the mosquito population beginning to thin out.

Average high temperatures in Reykjavik, Iceland never get above 60 degrees, even during the summer, so it’s not the place for the thin-blooded. But considering that the average high temperature in the winter months hovers around freezing and summer precipitation averages are as much as 40 percent lower, anyone looking at heading to the Icelandic capital would do well to consider June, July and August. An added bonus: At the summer solstice, the city gets as many as 21 hours of sunlight, meaning even more time for exploring the country’s rugged beauty.

The southern hemisphere is in the midst of winter when we’re enjoying beach weather here in the north. The temperatures in Bali, though, do not deviate much throughout the year, thanks to the island’s proximity to the equator. Accordingly, the seasons are separated less by degrees and more by inches of precipitation. The winter, according to the travel experts at Frommer’s, is considered the rainy months, where flash floods and afternoon thunderstorms are frequent. If your donors would like to explore Bali’s charms without getting soaked (or carrying around an umbrella), our summer is by far the best time to visit.