Where would you go for a month in August?

[Thickasabrick89]

With our daughter soon starting school, any month long trips will have to take place in the summer holidays and realistically we probably won't be able to go away for a month until August 2028 at the earliest when she'd be 6 (7 in the December).

A few ideas I'm playing around with are:

Borneo and Panang.
.
Azores

I'd also like to do Ecuador/Galapagos Islands but she may need to be 8/9yo for a trip like that.

Would also consider other parts of South America (heard Columbia is good too in August).

What do people recommend?

That’s what we did. From Jakarta we went to Tanjungputing National Park and stayed on a house boats to see the orangutans. We then flew on to Komodo and on another boats around Komodo national park. That was amazing and the dragons and snorkelling were exceptional. From there we went to Ubud on Bali but climbed mount batur, did a cycle around rice fields (UNESCO site) and did a cookery class at an outreach project. Loved it and could have easily stayed for a month and seen other sites and island.

Just chipping in, the Azores are amazing and has loads of outdoor activities but perhaps not the best choice for a young child, the outdoor activities are definitely more adult suitable. Still do-able and enjoyable but I think you’d struggle to fill ten days and would be better elsewhere.

very boring

Isn't cold

I’d inter-rail across Europe. this is what co-pilot came up with:

🌍 4-Week Interrail Europe Itinerary
Theme: outdoors, culture, scenic rail routes, no resorts
Flow: Central Europe → Alps → Balkans → Mediterranean cities

WEEK 1 — Germany & Switzerland: Forests, Lakes & Medieval Towns
📍 Day 1–3: Berlin, Germany
Why: Museums, edgy neighbourhoods, World War II history, huge parks.
Outdoors: Tempelhofer Feld (cycle on old runways), Tiergarten, Spree riverside trails.
Culture: Museum Island, Reichstag dome, street art in Kreuzberg.
➡️ Train: Berlin → Dresden (2 hours)

📍 Day 3–4: Dresden & Saxon Switzerland National Park
Why: An underrated cultural gem + one of Europe’s best hiking areas.
Outdoors: Bastei Bridge hike, sandstone cliffs.
Culture: Reconstructed old town, galleries, classical music.
➡️ Train: Dresden → Munich (4.5 hours)

📍 Day 4–6: Munich & Bavarian Alps
Why: Beer halls, history, Alpine foothills.
Outdoors: Day trip to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Lake Eibsee, or Zugspitze.
Culture: Marienplatz, Residenz Palace, Pinakothek museums.
➡️ Train (scenic!): Munich → Zürich (4 hours)

📍 Day 6–7: Zürich / Lake Lucerne
Why: Clean Alpine lakes, tidy hiking trails, smooth Swiss rail scenery.
Outdoors: Rigi or Pilatus day hike, Lake Lucerne boat ride.
Culture: Historic old town, Swiss design boutiques.

WEEK 2 — Switzerland → Italy: Alps to Art Cities
📍 Day 7–10: Lauterbrunnen / Interlaken (Swiss Alps)
Why: Possibly Europe’s best valley for hiking.
Outdoors: Mürren, Schilthorn, waterfalls, alpine meadows.
Culture: Alpine villages, farm visits, cheese huts.
➡️ Train (scenic): Interlaken → Spiez → Brig → Milan (3.5–4 hours through the Alps)

📍 Day 10–13: Milan → Lake Como → Verona
Use Milan as a rail hub, don’t stay in resorts.
Day 10–12 (Base: Como or Lecco—choose the less resorty towns):

• Hike Sentiero del Viandante
• Visit Varenna’s castle and gardens
• Explore Roman ruins in Como

Day 12–13: Verona Culture: Juliet’s house (skippable), Roman arena, medieval lanes. ➡️ Train: Verona → Venice (1–1.5 hours)

WEEK 3 — Balkans by Train: Slovenia + Croatia
📍 Day 13–16: Ljubljana & Lake Bled/Triglav, Slovenia
Why: Calm, green, compact—perfect outdoors culture.
Outdoors:

• Hike Vintgar Gorge
• Lake Bohinj kayaking
• Triglav National Park day hikes
• Culture: Castle hill, Art Nouveau architecture.

➡️ Train: Ljubljana → Zagreb (2.5 hours)

📍 Day 16–18: Zagreb, Croatia
Why: A surprisingly arty capital with great food and museums.
Outdoors: Medvednica Mountain hikes, lakes at Jarun Park.
Culture: Old town, quirky museums, Austro‑Hungarian architecture.
➡️ Train: Zagreb → Budapest (5–6 hours)

WEEK 4 — Hungary & Austria: Thermal Baths, Danube Cities, Alpine Finale
📍 Day 18–21: Budapest, Hungary
Why: Thermal baths, grand architecture, riverside biking.
Outdoors: Margaret Island cycling, Buda Hills hiking.
Culture: Parliament building, ruin bars, classical concerts.
➡️ Train: Budapest → Vienna (2.5 hours)

📍 Day 21–24: Vienna, Austria
Why: Museums, concerts, coffee houses.
Outdoors: Danube Island, Vienna Woods.
Culture: Schönbrunn, Belvedere, Klimt’s “The Kiss”, opera.
➡️ Train: Vienna → Salzburg (2.5 hours)

📍 Day 24–28: Salzburg & Austrian Alps
Why: Mountains + Mozart + baroque beauty.
Outdoors:

• Hike Golling waterfalls
• Cable car to Untersberg
• Sound of Music cycling loop (genuinely pretty)

Culture: Fortress Hohensalzburg, Mozart house, old town lanes. ➡️ Train: Salzburg → Berlin (8–9 hours if looping back)

⭐ Alternative Themes You Can Swap In
If you prefer more wild nature:

• Replace Milan/Verona with the Dolomites (Bolzano / Cortina).
• Replace Budapest with High Tatras (Poprad, Slovakia).

If you prefer more history:

• Add Kraków (Poland) after Prague or Berlin.

We did KL, Borneo, Penang and Langkawi, 4 weeks in total. Kids are mid teens and there was lots to do

Would you mind sharing your itinerary please? We are going for 3 weeks this August. Flights to KL booked but nothing else yet. Really keen on jungle trip and beach at end w scuba and snorkeling.

@Bushwinder we did 2+ weeks just in Borneo. Kids were 9-14.
Flew KL to KK to Sandakan (if you've already booked to KL just go straight to Sandakan).
2 nights Sepilok (orangutans, sunbears, rainforest place)
2 nights 3 day homestay on Kinanbatagan river (v basic but incredible people and food - absolute highlight)
2 nights Sandakan around the above
2 nights KK (island to island zip wire, markets, island day trip)
5 night Mantanani island (chilling)
2 nights KK (white water rafting trip)
https://riverbug.asia/kiulu.html
Mari Mari Mantanani island
https://www.kopelkinabatangan.com/ homestay

Went to Borneo in August and loved it, would recommend especially Kinabatangan river and Sepilok. Very hot but manageable with wearing cool fabrics like linen. Amazing wildlife and easy to spot. There can be a lot of flying is staying for a month. Budget will be fine. Great for jungle, wildlife, food, culture, beaches we didn't visit but can have litter.

Been to Azores in March and also loved it but its easy to get to for a shorter holiday - you could go round all the islands but not sure how interesting would be over a month for a 4 year old. Its mainly walking, flowers, hot springs, boat trips with dolphins. Would work well for a week or so or two weeks but something could easily do later.

Loved Australia but maybe better when older /swimming - did Great Barrier Reef, Lumholtz Lodge with tree kangaroos, possum, bettong, pademelon, stayed in tree house there with wallabies, possum, etc boat trip with whales and dolphins, Daintree with crocodiles, Sydney / Blue Mountains with kangaroos etc all in August mainly in Queensland due to weather. Can combine with somewhere like Singapore.

We’re going to Kenya for a month in August.

Personally I’d do a trip around the Greek islands

@Bushwinderwe are going over at the same time. Flying to HK, then onto Sabah (Kinabantagan and Deramokat), then Singapore and Gilli Air.

Can you tell me more about your Indonesia trip? Thinking of planning a trip with our daughter . Aged 15 . We've been to Sri Lanka with her (twice) which we loved, now up for another adventure . But Indonesia is so big , not sure where to start! I visited java many years ago, so thinking maybe java? A few pointers would be great!

We went to Indonesia at least 10 years ago so I can't remember too much about where we went.
I remember going to Lombok, Bali and Rinca (we went there rather than Komodo to see Komodo Dragons). We didn't go to Java.
They were all lovely at the time but I don't know how much they have changed since then.