From river beaches to outdoor art trails, these summer trip ideas offer great alternatives to crowded coasts and congested cities

We all like the idea of summertime in Europe – long, lazy days in the Mediterranean sunshine, whiling away an evening people-watching in local bars – but the reality is often much less romantic, with overtourism, sky-high prices and heatwaves blighting many a Euro Summer fantasy.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. To inspire your summer holiday plans this year, we asked writers across Europe to tell us about their favourite alternative summer trip ideas. From Croatia’s quieter island-hopping route to an Estonian spa break, here’s where to head for crowd-free bliss and unsung adventures right across the continent. You’re welcome.

The best alternative summer trips in Europe

1. Follow an outdoor art trail in the south of France

To avoid the swarm of summer tourists in Provence, I head to the region’s outdoor art spaces. In my hometown of Marseille, the Friche d’Escalette strikingly blends an industrial nineteenth-century lead factory with the natural paradise of Calanques National Park. Amble between hills and remnants of brick walls to see contemporary art like Jean Prouve’s movable pavilions.

North of Aix-en-Provence, Chateau la Coste is a sprawling 500-acre estate where a contemporary art walk weaves around rows of grapevines. Of the 40 works, I’m particularly fond of the recently installed Prune Nourry’s Mater Earth, an enormous pregnant woman emerging from a grassy field. After working up an appetite, my friends and I treat ourselves to fire-roasted food at Francis Mallmann’s restaurant.

Take the boat from Hyères to Ile de Porquerolles. Perched above idyllic beaches and breathtaking cliffs, Villa Carmignac houses rotating exhibits with top artists from Basquiat to Warhol. The best part? You walk around barefoot, just as you would on the nearby beaches. I’m looking forward to the Infinite Woman show this summer.

2. Relax on central Portugal’s inland beaches

Each summer, I escape the crowds of the Lisbon coast and head to the sandy river beaches of central Portugal for warm water, wild nature, and plenty of elbow room. There are numerous praias fluviais (river beaches) dotted around this under-the-radar part of Portugal, and during the summer season they’re equipped with lifeguards, sun loungers, and beach bars serving salty local olives washed down with dangerously affordable jugs of wine.

Flanked by forest-covered mountains and whitewashed hilltowns, these inland beaches are summer social hubs where swimmers, kayakers and paddle boarders can coast for miles. The hilly terrain is popular with mountain bikers, trail runners and hikers, and the most rewarding way to see the region is by river beach-hopping along a stretch of the Schist Trails, which wind their way between 27 traditional schist stone villages in 14 municipalities. Along the way, there’s hearty food and simple guest houses (do book in advance) to keep you fed and rested.

3. Cycle the Balkans

A journey of 2,000 miles starts with a single spin of your bicycle wheel at Kobarid, where Slovenia meets Italy and the Julian Alps lend a sense of drama. This is the departure point for the Trans Dinarica Cycle Route, a cross-Balkan bike trail opening fully in July 2024 to take in eight countries and connect all of former Yugoslavia plus Albania over 3,364km of mapped-out roads and pathways.

You may set out and tap out anywhere you like, of course, but following the emerald-green river Soča through Slovenia seems as gentle an introduction as any. Venturing into the Goriška Brda wine region allows you to sample the white Rebulas and Blue Pinots at bucolic hilltop wineries commanding panoramic views and suggesting you stay longer.

For an urban experience thrown in, the Tito-built city of Nova Gorica should give you your fill of heroic statuary and fractured history.

4. Spa away on Estonia’s Saaremaa island

The island of Saaremaa is one of Estonia’s best-kept secrets. Once home to Viking invaders and Scandinavian folklore, today it’s the perfect retreat to spa away in. There’s no shortage of spa hotels at affordable prices, replete with saunas and swimming pools, with the old town centre of Kuressaare having the highest number of spas per capita in the world. Once you’re refreshed, check out Kuresaarree castle with its star-shaped fort. Or take a gentle hike along deserted beaches and feel the cool Baltic Sea breeze. Spot pagan tombstones, ruins and the spectacular 7,600-year-old Kaali meteorite crater, a must-see at 22 metres deep. You can hop to Saaremaa in under half an hour via a tiny propeller plane from Tallinn airport, or take the longer, scenic route over land and ferry through western Estonia.

5. Tour Berlin’s sunset spots

Walking down Karl-Marx-Straße one summer in Berlin, a friend pointed to the top of a nondescript shopping centre. ‘You have to get up there for sunset,’ she said. So I trekked across the top-floor car park of the mall and climbed a concrete slope into a Kulturdachgarten club named Klunkerkranich, just in time to see the sunset’s orange light turning the Berlin TV Tower pink.

From here on out, the sunset-chasing addiction begins. In Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, hike past the waterfall in Viktoriapark to reach the highest point in the city, and sit at the feet of the forbidding cast iron Prussian war memorial for the sunset. Picnic in the grassy expanse of Tempelhofer Feld as evening falls. Take an afternoon cruise down the River Spree for some sundowners, or above the water with street buskers at Oberbaumbrücke.

Berlin’s not often thought of as a summertime destination, but it’s during the warmer months the city is at its most sociable (and beautiful). Spend a long weekend hunting down its sundown lookouts, which are as varied – and often as eccentric – as its nightlife.

6. Hike a web of trails in Greece’s new Sitia Geopark

Staying in a cosy suite at Palazzo di Sitia, I spent a wonderful week in Sitia Geopark in the rarely visited eastern half of Crete island. One of Greece’s newest geoparks, it’s home to countless endangered species of flora and fauna; I saw a kettle of griffon vultures swooping low overhead as I clambered out of Zakros’ Gorge of the Dead, so-called because the Minoans once used the beehive of caves pocking the surrounding cliffs as a cemetery.

A 40-minute bus ride from Sitia town, the Unesco-classed Sitia Geopark stretches from Cape Sidero’s nineteenth-century lighthouse to the Minoan palace of Zakros. During my week here, I swam from the golden sand beach of Vai (home to Europe’s only palm forest), sampled Cretan stuffed snails and other local treats in family-run tavernas near Sitia town’s fishing harbour, and hiked off the calories along the Geopark’s web of thyme-scented trails.

7. Hunt for Albania’s Cold War bunkers

I’ll be the first to admit that spending your summer holiday hopping from one Cold War era bunker to another doesn’t have quite the same ring of romance to it as island hopping through Greece. But there are estimated to be around 170,000 of these grey concrete structures strewn across Albania, and visiting as many of them as possible will take you on an Indiana Jones-style adventure to all four corners of the country. Created under Albania’s former Communist dictator, Enver Hoxha, some of these bunkers – such as Tirana’s BunkArt – are enormous multi-storey, atomic bomb-proof structures that now house impressive art galleries or museums showcasing the horror of the Hoxha period. Most, though, are tiny, derelict structures tucked into forest glades, known only to a few farmers who were bemused but delighted to show a visitor these fading relics from Albania’s days of fear.

8. Road trip Scotland’s North East 250

I’ve driven the North East 250 many times. I call it Scotland in miniature, as it offers the very best of the castles, scenery, wildlife and whisky (most of the last one, actually) found elsewhere in the country, condensed in a 250-mile Aberdeenshire loop. On my most recent trip, I rented a luxury off-grid motorhome from Camplify named Vando, stopping at local campsites as I went around. In one afternoon I’d visit the grounds of the wonderfully restored Braemar Castle and tour Glenlivet distillery in the Cairngorms, ending on the beach in Portsoy with a fresh fish supper eaten out of the wrapper. The next day I’d follow the coast and see gannets and puffins at Troup Head, dolphins off Aberdeen Harbour and a 400-strong seal colony with a Wild Discovery tour of Newburgh Beach. On another day I’d hike the sprawling Glen Tanar pine forest, spot elusive ptarmigan at the Well of Lecht and take a chilly wild dip in Loch Muick. You could do all of this over a weekend, but why rush?

9. Go on a Copenhagen ice cream crawl

Ice cream might scream ‘Mediterranean beach resort’ more than ‘Scandinavian city’ but stay with me: Copenhagen’s ice cream scene, much like summer in this bijou city, is an underrated treat. When they’re not swimming in the harbour, dining alfresco and building sandcastles on the beaches half an hour away, sweet-toothed Danes will be eating ice cream.

In the summer you’ll find soft ice – the Danish term for Mr Whippy ice creams – everywhere. It’s concealed in pastries at Andersen & Maillard bakery, and shows up at Coffee Collective as a ‘coffee soft ice’, a tall swirl of vanilla ice cream dusted with chocolate powder on top of a dose of espresso. I love to cycle the city in search of the best ice cream. This summer I’ll be dropping into retro-themed Ismageriet in Kødbyen to try out each of its 32 flavours, as well as Aurora, trendy bakery Alice’s hyped new parlour in Carlsberg Byen.

10. Sail around Croatia’s lesser-known islands

By now many of us have sailed to Brač from Split for the price of a pint and jostled for a seat on the crowded deck of a state-run Jadrolinija ferry. But it needn’t be this way. The company’s newly introduced line 401, which sails from Zadar to a cluster of little-known islands, allows you to experience Croatia as it once was (to borrow the country’s own catchy marketing phrase).

First port of call, Ist, comprises a jetty and little else, making you wonder if the captain was picking up a relative. Next stop, Olib, offers a couple of restaurants and deserted beach by the harbour, while for a soupçon of civilisation, Silba boasts a shop and several private apartments. The next island over, Premuda, welcomes divers to its cove-indented coastline, and diners to the three restaurants on a land mass bigger than Gibraltar. Sailings leave at reasonable times. Take a book, some water and provisions, and you’re on your way.

11. Be a shepherd for a week in the Pyrenees

Picture the scene. You’re biting into a chunk of delicate brebis cheese (ewes milk cheese), made in the nearby stone shepherd cabin, and staring up at the ice-streaked mountains. The only sound in the mountain meadow is that of the bells hung around the necks of a herd of grazing sheep. The summertime life of a shepherd in the Pyrenees mountains is, you conclude, a life well lived.

Living out such a dream yourself might sound like an impossible aspiration, and had you tried to do so just a decade ago then you might have been right. Back then it seemed that the ancient transhumance lifestyle of the Pyrenees mountains, a gorgeously unspoilt spine of peaks separating France from Spain, was doomed to fade away. But recently there’s been something of a revival of the lifestyle, and many of this new generation of Pyrenean shepherds welcome guests to spend time with them, learning the art of one of humanity’s oldest crafts. You can learn about the shepherding life in the French Vallée d’Ossau, Vallée d’Aspe and in the high Pyrenees.

Cruising is a big deal. Last year more than 30 million people boarded a cruise ship, making it one of the most popular ways to vacation in America.

That’s because cruising is the most convenient way to travel. You only unpack once (since your hotel travels with you). You get to eat as often and as much as you like for the same amount of money. There are a ton of free activities and shows all over the ship, which makes it easy for everyone to do whatever they want, while still vacationing together. And you’re not forced to make everyday transactional decisions like in real life, since everything is taken care of.

That’s why I enjoy cruising just as much as I do adventure or land travel. Contrary to what detractors often say, there is nothing inauthentic about sailing the ocean on a real ship, to real ports, with real people along the way. And there’s nothing wrong with only seeing the highlights in a half or full day at port. It’s way better than nothing.

That said, there are several things you need to understand to get the most of your first (or next) cruise. Here are five cruising tips to help you on your way.

1. Not all cruise lines are alike.

While the gist of cruising is the same, different cruise lines prioritize different things. “A lot of passengers still assume every ship is a booze cruise, highly structured, or overly formal,” says Michael Scheiner, chief marketing officer of Celebrity Cruises. “But every cruise line is different.” So selecting the cruise line that best suits your needs is the first thing you should do.

For example, if you want huge ships with lots to do, Royal Caribbean is the best and most popular cruise line in the world. If you want the best entertainment, Disney Cruises scores especially high. If you want the best food, Celebrity is hard to beat. If you want to save money, Carnival is known for lower fares. If you hate vacationing with kids, Virgin Voyages are adults-only. If you want to really immerse yourself in the culture and history of the ports you visit, Azamara has you covered. And so forth.

2. Book the best ship, not the best ports.

Many passengers book a cruise based on ports instead of the ship. This is a mistake. Since up to 75% of your time will be spent on the actual ship, you really want to make it a good one. More specifically, you want to book a new, recently renovated, or well-rated ship that cruisers already enjoy. You can do this with the help of Cruise Critic, which lets you read thousands of passenger reviews to help you make the most informed decision.

That said, you’ll need to decide which area you’ll be sailing in first. The Caribbean is the most popular by far, followed by Europe and Alaska. Cruises sail all over the world, but those are the big three and the typical starting point.

3. Don’t assume everything is included.

In most cases, cruises are all-you-can eat with free water, juices, and coffee. The vast majority of onboard activities are free too, including kids clubs. The spa, casino, and shopping cost extra, however. Some cruises have onboard “specialty” restaurants too that charge between $20-80 more per person per visit.

Overall, you’ll be expected to pay extra for both soft and hard drinks, premium spirits, wifi, shore excursions, and tips. But many cruise lines let you bundle or pre-pay for those in advance, so you know exactly what you’re paying going in.

Pro Tip: Book your shore excursions in advance to avoid sell outs and consider third-party excursions that are sometimes (but not always) cheaper than booking through the cruise. You can also save money on airfare by booking through the cruise.

4. Board early and disembark late.

Most cruises let you board as early as 11 a.m., regardless of what your scheduled boarding time might be. This lets you start your vacation early, since buffets, restaurants, and activities are already open. It also lets you beat many of the crowds that surprisingly board late.

On the back end, I also recommend deboarding as late as 9:30 a.m. to let the scrum clear out. As a bonus, use the free cruise app to check in online and save additional time while boarding, deboarding, and finding the latest information and activities and even customer service help.

5. Indulge yourself.

After cruising a dozen times, eating four soft-serve ice creams on an especially hot day in the Caribbean is one of my all-time favorite memories. It was awesome. So order as much food as you like. Order two entrees and two desserts if you like. Pig out. Drink up. A seven day cruise isn’t going to make or break your health. Giving in to temporary gluttony is a big part of the draw—a celebration of life itself. Enjoy it.

Pro Tip: Use the stairs to avoid lines and the wait for the elevator and burn off the excess calories you’re consuming.

Taking care of your skin and hair before travelling boosts your physical appearance and improves overall mood and confidence levels.

Travelling is an exciting experience. The idea of going to and exploring a new place is thrilling, but a change of weather and climate conditions can harm your skin and hair. It may cause dullness of hair, skin breakouts, acne flare-ups, dry lips, tan lines, and other such common issues. It, therefore, becomes important to take care of yourself and manage some common issues while travelling. Dr Rinky Kapoor, consultant dermatologist, cosmetic dermatologist and dermato-surgeon, The Esthetic Clinics, says there are some skin and hair treatments you can opt for before travelling. Preparing your skin and hair prior to embarking on a journey is essential to ensure you look and feel your best, she says, recommending scheduling a cosmetic skin treatment.

Hydrating Facial Or Exfoliating Peel

These can be done to rejuvenate your complexion and address any skin concerns. According to the expert, these treatments can help improve the texture and appearance of the skin, leaving you with a ‘radiant glow’ that will boost your confidence throughout the trip.

Hair Treatment

In addition to skincare, it is also imperative to pamper yourself with a hair care treatment before travelling. The dermatologist says it can help revive your tired locks and enhance the overall health and shine of your manes. “Whether it is a deep conditioning treatment or a fresh haircut, investing in your hair care routine can make all the difference when it comes to maintaining manageable hair while on the road,” she suggests.

Other Skin And Hair Tips To Follow While Travelling

This is what the expert advises:

1. Opt for a lightweight moisturiser with SPF protection to keep your skin hydrated and shielded from harmful UV rays.
2. Use a hydrating face mist throughout the journey to refresh and revitalise your skin, especially during long flights.
3. Pack all your essential skincare products like cleanser, toner, moisturiser, night cream, and sunscreen.
4. Remember to carry disposable makeup wipes to easily remove your makeup.
5. Always have a water bottle handy and drink water regularly. Not prioritising hydration can damage the skin and hair. Dehydration can cause dullness in the skin; it can take away the shine from the hair.
6. For hair care, consider carrying a travel-sized dry shampoo to combat greasy hair on-the-go.
7. To protect your hair from damage caused by styling tools or harsh water, apply a leave-on conditioner before styling.
8. Embrace natural hairstyles like braids or buns to minimise heat styling.
9. Shield your hair from dirt, pollution, and sun damage by keeping it covered. It can safeguard the scalp and maintain the youthfulness of hair for a longer period.

Monsoon is in full swing in many parts of the country, and its time to update your wardrobe for the rainy season. While the torrential downpour, puddles and muddy streets can make dressing up a challenge during these months, following a few guidelines will help keep your fashion game high.

Add a pop of colour to your wardrobe

You might have a preference for subtle colours, but this is the season to bring out your bright coloured outfits. You can pick colours such as orange, canary yellow, fuchsia pink to stand out from the crowd. If you are not comfortable with wearing such vibrant colours, you can go for a pair of neon coloured socks to get a funky look. Nowadays, even many working professionals tend to match up their formal outfit with colourful socks with quirky patterns.

Pick the monsoon-perfect socks

Closed footwear should ideally be avoided in monsoon. However, most of us don’t have the liberty to wear casual shoes at our workplaces. If you are wearing closed footwear in monsoon, make sure to wear waterproof socks which will keep your feet dry and safe from bacterial infection. Usually thicker than normal socks, waterproof socks come with moisture wicking properties as well as anti-microbial properties.

Choose the right footwear

Travelling in monsoon is a task in itself, and the wrong choice of footwear can even make things worse. Unless you want to spoil your favourite pair of shoes, avoid wearing stilettos or kitten heels. Also, wearing shoes that are made of leather, suede and velvet is not a wise decision during the rainy season. Instead, go for rubber footwear, jelly shoes, crocs, and colourful flip-flops that will give you a refreshing look. If you want to make a bolder statement, wear a pair of thigh-high PVC boots, which are all rage this season.

Make a statement with your umbrella

Gone are the days, when umbrellas were used as a mean to protect against rains. If you look at the current trends, umbrellas are here to take the fashion world by a storm and rightfully so. A fun, bright colored umbrella can make your outfit look vibrant and playful. Carrying a cherry red umbrella in the sea of black umbrellas will surely turn some heads. You can experiment further by picking an umbrella with quirky prints that brings out the kid in you. However, if you want to settle on something more sophisticated, you can go for umbrellas in pastel colours.

Choosing the right attire

It doesn’t take more than common sense to understand that monsoons are not here to stay long. Especially, when you are travelling, try to avoid wearing jeans, trousers or dresses that go past below your knees. Instead, choose shorts, skirts and dresses with short hem that will not get dirty. If you want to add some fun quotient to your style, wear a bright colour romper or a jumps

The fabric matters

During monsoon, it’s almost impossible to not get drenched in a sudden downpour when we step outside. This is why choosing the right fabric is important. Save the clothes made of denim or silk, as they tend to take a lot to dry up and even gets ruined, especially silk. Upon the arrival of rainy season, pick clothes that are made of cotton or polyester which are not only comfortable but also dry quicker.

Don’t forget to carry your handbag

While you may want to skip carrying a handbag during monsoon, it’s probably not a wise decision. If you are travelling, you should always choose a spacious bag that is big enough to hold the essentials as well as the umbrella. Tote bags come really handy in the monsoon.