8 Destinations You Should Not Visit This Summer According To Travel Experts
Summer time is sort of right here, and we all know precisely what everyone seems to be pondering: it’s time to pack a bag, money in these PTO days, and chase the solar. However earlier than you lock in your flights for the massive journey, we have to have a severe chat about the place the crowds are heading.
Summer time 2026 is shaping as much as convey record-breaking numbers to the world’s most well-known hotspots, and plenty of of them are formally waving the white flag. Between mind-melting heatwaves, locals pushing again towards huge crowds, and sky-high peak season pricing, making an attempt to navigate these main hubs goes to empty your vitality and your pockets.
You deserve a trip that really appears like a break, not a sweaty battle for a dinner reservation. Listed here are 8 iconic spots we extremely suggest skipping this summer season, together with some unbelievable, uncrowded options the place you may truly breathe and benefit from the view.
PLUS: We have constructed an interactive quiz for you on the finish of this text to search out the proper vacation spot different that matches your journey type.
1. Venice, Italy: The Sinking Squeeze
The Floating Metropolis is an absolute architectural masterpiece, however making an attempt to navigate it in July or August appears like being trapped in a good looking, sinking subway automotive.
The sheer quantity of day-trippers shuffling elbow-to-elbow over the Rialto Bridge fully kills the romance of the canals.
Town has even introduced again its day-tripper entry price for 2026 simply to attempt to stem the bleeding.
If you end up ready in an hour-long line below the blazing solar simply to cross a bridge, the magic fades quick.
- As an alternative, take into account: Treviso. Only a brief practice trip inland from Venice, this attractive walled metropolis affords the very same picturesque canals, romantic medieval structure, and unbelievable wine bars, nevertheless it fully lacks the overwhelming, chaotic throngs of vacationers.
Touring to Europe this summer season? Do not get denied boarding, check entry requirements here.
2. Barcelona, Spain: Tourism Fatigue
The Catalan capital is unbelievable, however the locals are formally at their breaking level.
Barcelona has been the epicenter of huge protests lately, with residents deeply pissed off by hovering lease costs and public areas which might be fully overrun.
Attempting to stroll down Las Ramblas within the useless of summer season warmth whereas dodging pissed off locals and big tour teams is not the laid-back Spanish vibe you’re searching for.
- As an alternative, take into account: Valencia. Spain’s third-largest metropolis offers you the final word mix of historic appeal, futuristic structure, and sprawling Mediterranean seashores. Plus, it’s the precise birthplace of paella! You get all of the world-class meals and tradition of Barcelona with a a lot cooler, welcoming vitality.
3. Santorini, Greece: The Sundown Site visitors Jam
Everyone knows the long-lasting blue domes from Instagram, however the actuality of a summer season sundown in Oia entails getting shoved by 1000’s of cruise ship passengers all preventing for the very same photograph.
The infrastructure on this tiny island merely can’t deal with the summer season surge.
The roads turn out to be gridlocked, and all the things from a fast taxi trip to a fundamental Greek salad turns into wildly overpriced.
It feels much less like a tranquil island escape and rather more like a extremely aggravating theme park.
- As an alternative, take into account: Naxos. As the biggest island within the Cyclades, Naxos boasts unbelievable sandy seashores, towering mountains, historic ruins, and conventional villages. It affords spectacular, genuine Greek island magnificence with out the intense crowds and inflated costs of its well-known neighbor.
4. Amsterdam, Netherlands: The Coverage Pushback
Amsterdam has been actively making an attempt to push huge crowds away, actually operating international campaigns telling folks to cease visiting simply to get together.
The streets and slender canals get so severely congested in the course of the summer season that the town loses its cozy, laid-back appeal.
Moreover, the native authorities has aggressively cracked down on short-term leases and elevated vacationer taxes, making discovering a budget-friendly place to remain extremely troublesome proper now.
- As an alternative, take into account: Utrecht. Often described as a “mini Amsterdam,” Utrecht boasts gorgeous canals with distinctive wharf cellars which might be lined with unbelievable cafes proper on the water’s degree. It has a historic metropolis heart, a vibrant youthful ambiance, and all of Amsterdam’s iconic appeal with a fraction of the worldwide vacationers.
5. Rome, Italy: An Historic Furnace
Rome is magnificent, however visiting the Everlasting Metropolis in August is actually strolling into a good looking, historic furnace.
The warmth radiating off the traditional cobblestones is fiercely oppressive, and there may be virtually zero shade close to icons just like the Colosseum or the Roman Discussion board.
Attempting to understand millennia of historical past whereas dripping in sweat alongside 30,000 different exhausted vacationers shuffling towards the Trevi Fountain will take a look at the persistence of even probably the most seasoned explorer.
- As an alternative, take into account: Bologna. Often known as Italy’s foodie heartland, Bologna affords wealthy historical past and arguably the perfect culinary scene in all the nation. Better of all, the town is known for its miles of gorgeous, shaded porticoes, permitting you to stroll the historic streets and escape the brutal summer season solar whereas avoiding the overwhelming crowds.
6. Amalfi Coast, Italy: Bumper-to-Bumper Coastlines
This is likely to be probably the most glamorous shoreline on the earth, however the summer season site visitors is known for all of the incorrect causes.
The well-known cliffside street turns into an entire car parking zone of huge tour buses and honking scooters. The picturesque towns of Positano and Amalfi turn out to be extremely congested, and the tiny seashores are packed shoulder-to-shoulder.
The logistical nightmare of simply making an attempt to get round fully shatters the dolce vita fantasy.
- As an alternative, take into account: The Cilento Coast. Positioned simply south of the Amalfi Coast, this gorgeous nationwide park affords miles of lovely, unspoiled shoreline, genuine seaside villages, and the unbelievable historic Greek ruins at Paestum. It offers you the proper Italian coastal magic with clear seashores and respiratory room.
7. Canary Islands, Spain: A System Overload
The Spanish archipelagos have traditionally been the default summer season getaway for hundreds of thousands, however the islands have hit their absolute restrict.
Large protests have erupted throughout the area, with locals demanding a freeze on vacationer arrivals to guard their housing markets and fragile water provides.
When a vacation spot’s infrastructure is that this stretched, and the controversy over mass tourism is that this heated, it’s best to provide the islands some area to get well.
- As an alternative, take into account: Madeira, Portugal. Usually referred to as the “Hawaii of Europe,” this Portuguese island affords dramatic volcanic landscapes, lush botanical gardens, and world-class mountain climbing alongside its well-known irrigation channels (levadas). It delivers an epic island journey with out the extraordinary anti-tourism friction presently gripping the Canaries.
8. Kyoto, Japan: The Breaking Level
Japan’s cultural coronary heart is suffocating below the burden of its personal recognition.
The scenario has escalated to the purpose the place native authorities have began placing up bodily boundaries and fully banning vacationers from coming into sure historic personal alleys within the Gion district because of persistent unhealthy habits and overcrowding.
Mix that intense native rigidity with Japan’s notoriously thick, heavy summer season humidity, and exploring the town rapidly turns into an exhausting wrestle.
- As an alternative, take into account: Kanazawa. Often known as “Little Kyoto,” Kanazawa affords immaculately preserved samurai and geisha districts, gorgeous conventional gardens like Kenroku-en, and unbelievable contemporary seafood. You get all the pristine historic Japanese tradition with out the suffocating crowds or restricted entry.