The seasons in every place we've been

August is the crowd peak with July behind it, heaviest on the Ionian coast at Sarande and Ksamil and in the north, while Tirana and central Albania spread more evenly from June to September.

Shkoder, Theth, Tirana, Korce, Permet, Gjirokaster, Sarande, Ksamil, Berat

Overseas arrivals peak in December and February and school holidays from mid-December to late January fill the coast and the Great Ocean Road, but Alice Springs on this row runs the other way, with its high season from May to September.

Melbourne, Apollo Bay, Halls Gap, Coonawarra, Adelaide, Alice Springs, Sydney

Evidence is thin and no current monthly counts were found, but travel sources put the busiest months at June to August, the middle of the dry season on the reef.

Australian tourism uses November to April for the wet. The Bureau of Meteorology's formal northern wet season starts earlier, on 1 October.

Townsville, Magnetic Island, Cairns, Daintree

July and August are the peak for foreign arrivals, late December brings a second spike in room rates, Eid fills the East Java trains and the Ketapang to Gilimanuk ferry, and Nyepi shuts Bali for 24 hours, on 8 March 2027 by the government list.

April to October dry is the usual split, but sources differ on April, October and November. The hills around Munduk and Kintamani get showers and mist even in the dry season.

Seminyak, Munduk, Ubud, Kintamani, Sidemen, Padangbai, Banyuwangi

July and August hold more than half the year's nights, peaking from late July to the 15 August Assumption holiday on the coast, while Zagreb is far steadier and its domestic peak is Advent in December.

Zagreb, Osijek, Zadar, Sibenik, Split, Dubrovnik

Prague is busy all year but July, August and December are its fullest months with October close behind, while the spas and national park on this row peak only in July and August.

Prague, Hrensko, Karlovy Vary, Mariánské Lázně, Pilsen, Kutná Hora, Brno

July and August are the peak for overseas visits and English school holidays, the August bank holiday on 30 August 2027 is the worst weekend for the coast and national parks, and London has a second busy spell in December.

London, Bath, Bristol, Castle Combe, Swindon, Oxford, Leamington Spa, Kenilworth, Castleton, Bakewell, Shrewsbury, Leominster, Rowberrow

August is the national peak because of domestic holidays and July is the peak for foreign visitors and for Berlin, while Frankfurt stays steady with trade-fair spikes and Munich fills for Oktoberfest, 18 September to 3 October 2027.

Berlin, Bremen, Frankfurt, Wurzburg, Ulm, Munich

Budapest's fullest months are August and December, with July and October close behind depending on the year, while the Eger and Tokaj region peaks in August and July.

Budapest, Eger, Tokaj

Venice's hotels run on a high plateau from May to October with July highest, day-trippers add to that on weekends, and Ferragosto on 15 August is the domestic peak, but no monthly figures were found for Verona or Bologna themselves.

Verona, Bologna, Venice

April and October are the biggest months for foreign arrivals and for Kyoto hotels, May and November are next, and Golden Week from 29 April to 5 May 2027 and Obon in mid-August are the worst weeks for domestic crowds.

The rainy season, tsuyu, runs from about the start of June to mid-July in most of Japan. The second half of July is already full summer.

Tokyo, Hakone, Matsumoto, Takayama, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Kobe, Himeji, Hiroshima

July and August are almost level at the top of the year with June and September next, but the figures are national, so the split between the coast and the mountains is not measured.

Kotor, Stavna, Gusinje, Zabljak, Niksic, Cetinje, Petrovac, Stari Bar, Ulcinj, Podgorica

Marrakech peaks in spring and October, with December strong too, while national arrivals peak in July and August because Moroccans living abroad come home, the same months Marrakech hotels are at their quietest.

Tangier, Chefchaouen, Fes, Rabat, Casablanca, Essaouira, Marrakech, Ouarzazate, Atlas Mountains, Zagora, Tamgroute, Erg Chigaga

December to February is the peak, with overseas arrivals highest in December and Queenstown-Lakes guest nights highest in January, when New Zealand school holidays also fill campsites and Milford cruises.

Christchurch, Rakaia Gorge, Lake Pukaki, Glenorchy, Te Anau, Cascade Creek, Milford Sound, Henry Creek, Queenstown, Wanaka, Haast, Fox Glacier, Jacksons, Arthurs Pass, Little River

Foreign arrivals peak from December to February, Christmas to New Year is the busiest domestic travel week, Holy Week holidays on 25 to 27 March 2027 pack the beaches and Palawan ferries, and Cebu City books out for Sinulog on 17 January 2027.

PAGASA's national split is rainy from June to November and dry from December to May. The dry months divide into cool (December to February) and hot (March to May). Western areas such as Manila and Palawan can turn dry a month sooner.

Manila, Sabang, Port Barton, El Nido, Coron, Oslob, Moalboal, Cebu City

August and July are the busiest months in Transylvania, Bucharest instead peaks in October, September and May, and Orthodox Easter on 2 May 2027 is the busiest domestic travel week of spring.

Oradea, Cluj-Napoca, Deva, Sibiu, Sighișoara, Brasov, Sinaia, Bucharest

Foreign arrivals are highest in August, then October, July and April, spring blossom and autumn leaves draw domestic crowds as well, and trains sell out for Seollal, 6 to 9 February 2027, and Chuseok, 14 to 16 September 2027.

The monsoon, jangma, usually arrives around 19 to 25 June, reaching Jeju first, and lasts until about late July.

Seoul, Jeonju, Suncheon, Busan, Seogwipo, Jeju City, Gyeongju, Sokcho

July and August are the national peak and the north coast is at its fullest then, but Madrid's busiest months are October, May and April, Andalusia's foreign visitors stay high from May to October, and Semana Santa, 21 to 28 March 2027, is the week to avoid in the south.

Madrid, Avila, Salamanca, Oviedo, Gijon, Cangas de Onís, Poncebos, Santander, Santoña, Bilbao, Logroño, San Sebastian, Zaragoza, Barcelona, Valencia, Murcia, San Pedro del Pinatar, Cartagena, Almeria, Granada, Córdoba, Seville, Cádiz, La Linea de la Concepción, Tarifa

Foreign arrivals peak from November to February, with rates highest from about 20 December to early January and around Lunar New Year on 6 February 2027, and Chiang Mai also fills for Yi Peng in November and Songkran on 13 to 15 April.

Thailand's official seasons change mid-month: hot from mid-February, rainy from mid-May, cool from mid-October.

Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Lop Buri, Sukhothai, Lampang, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son

Monthly counts for Krabi and Khao Sok were not found, so this is an estimate from travel sources, which agree that December to February is the peak on the Ao Nang coast, alongside the national January peak.

The southwest monsoon hits this coast directly, so May to October is wet and the sea gets rough. November is a changeover month.

Khao Sok, Ao Nang

Turkey peaks from July to September with Istanbul taking about 1.8 to 1.9 million foreign visitors in each of those months, October stays strong, and the two bayram holiday weeks fill transport with domestic travellers.

Istanbul, Ankara, Goreme, Pamukkale, Selcuk

This is an estimate from partial data: Hanoi's foreign arrivals are strongest from about October to March, and Ninh Binh fills with domestic visitors around Tet, which falls on 6 February 2027.

The north has four seasons, but sources draw the lines differently. The rainiest stretch is May to October, across the summer and into autumn.

Hanoi, Ninh Binh

This is a rough estimate because no monthly counts were found: foreign visitors favour the dry months around March and April, domestic families fill the coast in summer, and Hue took about 709,000 visitors in July 2025.

The World Bank puts the central rains at September to January. Some travel sources end them in December.

Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang

National arrivals peak around December to March and Ho Chi Minh City's high season is December to February, but transport is packed around Tet on 6 February 2027 and restaurants close for the first days, and city-level months are not confirmed.

The World Bank gives May to October for the rains. Some sources run them into November.

Da Lat, Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho