June means it’s officially summer in the Northern Hemisphere. And vacation planning follows the happy-hour rule (if it’s 5 p.m. somewhere, sneak in a snifter), so use it as an excuse to take the year’s headline trip this month.
Here are 12 appealing places around the world to travel to this June, whether you’re hankering for an out-of-season jolt of Carnival out of season or keen to roam the wintry reaches of an unlikely corner of southern Africa.
Mackinac Island remains proudly car-free.
Photo by Michael Deemer/Shutterstock
1. Mackinac Island, Michigan
June is great for: blossom viewing beyond cherry season.
Lilacs have been planted on this island in Lake Huron for more than 200 years, although no one is sure how they ended up a staple of the forests. One theory is that a New Hampshire farmer brought them with him to remind him of home. Whatever first brought them here, thanks to the high pH level conferred on local soil by the underlying limestone, they’ve thrived and often reach heights of 40 feet. Today, there are more than 250 varieties on the almost four-square-mile island, all celebrated in a fiesta dating back to just after World War II; in 2025, it runs from June 6 to 15.
The 10-day event is Mackinac’s biggest bash; it crowns a Lilac Queen to preside over events while offering planting seminars on how to grow your own lilacs, live music, and a 10-kilometer run. The event peaks with the Lilac Festival Grand Parade on the afternoon of June 15, with horse-drawn wagons.
Where to stay
Arriving at the Grand Hotel is more like stepping into the cover of a classic romance novel than checking in at a hotel. The 388-room grande dame of the island is more than 130 years old.
Insider tip
Getting to Mackinac is half the fun: There are no bridges, so every journey involves a boat unless you charter a puddle jumper from the local airstrip, but where’s the fun in that? Book a flight to either Pellston Regional Airport (PLN) or Chippewa County International Airport (CIU), and take one of the regular shuttles to the ferry docks from either. Hotel staffer Elizabeth Graves also recommends an evening at the Carousel Arcade on Market Street, which offers corn dogs, popcorn, and other treats—as well as canned cocktails for grown-ups.
Eleuthera, a spindly island—110 miles long, but barely a mile wide—sits on the eastern rim of the Bahamas.
Photo by Szilard Toth/Shutterstock
2. Eleuthera, Bahamas
June is great for: fruity fun.
Eleuthera was historically renowned for its pineapples, which thrived on the flat land. Today, countless smallholdings here still tend to the crop, like Jackie Russell, who offers tours of her family’s farm, a 25-acre site producing the Sugarloaf. Its flesh is particularly soft and sweet.
In June, the island celebrates its prime produce via a two-day festival, this year on June 6 and 7, in Gregory Town. It includes many pineapple-based dishes, from breakfasts to desserts, as well as fun competitions: a challenge to eat as much pineapple as you can, another to plait the pineapple pole.
Where to stay
Stay at this property, which reopened in November 2023. A stay in one of its 29 villas, suites, and bungalows gives guests access to its two private beaches.
Insider tip
“In the Bahamas, Nassau usually takes the spotlight thanks to its larger-than-life resorts,” Afar Caribbean expert Laura Begley Bloom noted in her article on the best Caribbean beaches. “In-the-know travelers head to French Leave, a breathtaking pink-sand beach on Eleuthera, a hidden treasure in the Out Islands.”
There’s still plenty of goodlife-ing happening alongside the ongoing fight for equality in Washington, D.C.
Photo by Bob Korn/Shutterstock
3. Washington, D.C.
June is great for: rainbow-tinged celebrations from around the globe.
WorldPride descends on the nation’s capital this year and runs May 17 through June 8. It’s a global celebration of the LGBTQ+ community, drawing visitors from across the world for its rallies, conferences, and parties.
This year’s theme is the Fabric of Freedom, intended to nod to the resilience of the community through adversity. The headline event is the music festival June 6–7. That is followed by the closing ceremony and concert on Sunday 8, with Doechii as the star performer at a free concert that will take place along Pennsylvania Avenue.
Where to stay: The Morrow Hotel
The 203-room hotel in NoMa, right at the junction of Union Market and H Street, was custom built to offer an upscale, new hospitality anchor to the tree-lined neighborhood three years ago. Don’t miss the champagne vending machine.
Insider tip
Red Bear Brewing Co. is the drinking den that Cory Mayer, Morrow Hotel’s GM, recommends: “It is LGBTQ+ owned and operated and a strong pillar of the neighborhood. They host year-round regular drag brunches and trivia events and promote not only being a safe space, but a hate-free zone.”
Think of Festa Junina as the second coming of Carnival every year.
Photo by ThalesAntonio/Shutterstock
4. Salvador, Brazil
June is great for: an excuse to slip into feathers and sequins.
This month, Brazil celebrates with almost as much gusto (and as many feathers) as when Lent is about to roll around. There are dance groups and contests each year pegged to the São João festival, and the most famous of them is in Salvador. Called Quadrilhas Juninas, or June quadrilles, the name nods to the festival’s descent from the formal 19th-century dance style.
Teams tee up to compete at Praça da República, in the Periperi neighborhood, with OTT costumes and sets. You’ll also hear traditional music flood the streets, whether forró, which originated right here in the northeast of the country, or xote, a localized reimagining of Central European folk music styles.
Where to stay: Fasano Salvador
The onetime HQ of the A Tarde newspaper, this 11-story art deco building now has a rooftop pool and 70 rooms. Its Gero restaurant serves an appealing fusion menu that mixes Italian classics with Bahian specialties like baked cocada, a dessert made from grated coconut and sugar.
Insider tip
Fasano Group managing director Constantino Bittencourt recommends visiting the Casa do Carnaval—which he calls “an educational journey into Bahia’s most beloved festival.” Bittencourt also recommends the house of Jorge Amado, the late modernist writer and Nobel Prize nominee, in Rio Vermelho. Check the schedules, too, at Centro Cultural Barroquinha. “It’s located in a beautifully restored 18th-century church and is a pioneering, multidisciplinary space for contemporary art and performance.”
Come to Albuquerque for family-friendly dance classes and screenings of films that celebrate flamenco culture.
Photo by Albuquerque Journal via ZUMA Press Inc / Alamy
5. Albuquerque, New Mexico
June is great for: putting on your dancing shoes.
The largest flamenco festival outside Spain takes place here from June 20 to 28. The dance has become a mainstay of this U.S. city, thanks in large part to the Encinias family, whose materfamilias, Clarita, taught classes at a studio from the 1950s. Her daughter Eva became a university professor and founded the National Institute of Flamenco here in the early 1980s.
Take workshops at the university, or catch more than a dozen different dance companies from around the world in performance, like the Ballet Flamenco de Andalucia.
Where to stay: Arrive Albuquerque
The months-old, 137-room property, a reimagining of the onetime Hotel Blue on Route 66, is one of developer Avi Brosh’s Palisociety hotels and has its signature quirky style. Look for the oversize exterior mural by local artist Nani Chacon.
Insider tip
Arrive’s sales director Tabitha Stallworth recommends two local restaurants. Head to local landmark El Modelo Mexican Foods, she says, and ask for the secret menu item, green chili brisket stuffed sopapilla, and don’t miss huevos rancheros at Barelas Coffee House: “the traditional New Mexico breakfast, made with hand-pressed, scratch-made tortillas.”
Hobart is Tasmania’s capital and most populous city.
Photo by Nico Smit/Unsplash
6. Hobart, Tasmania
June is great for: stripping down for a polar dip.
Multimillionaire art collector David Walsh turbocharged tourism to his native Tasmania when he opened the Museum of Old and New Art, a 10,000-square-foot, custom-built museum.
As a follow-up, Walsh helped fund the eccentric but appealing festival Dark Mofo, showcasing the arts scene and the superb produce that characterizes the island. It took a break in 2024 but is returning this year, from June 5 to 15, plus the signature grand finale on June 21, the Nude Solstice Swim at sunrise. Just don’t forget it’s midwinter there, so brace yourself before taking the plunge.
Where to stay: The Tasman
This four-year-old waterfront hotel is one of several new upscale accommodations to arrive in the island’s once low-key capital. The 152 rooms are arranged around several buildings bolted together, including an art deco one from the 1940s and a neo-Georgian 1840s structure.
Insider tip
Inspired by the clean water and air of the island state, local perfumer Craig Andrade has created a signature scent that’s the best take-home keepsake, says local tourism consultant Julie Earle-Levine. Sold at the Raconteur, the Tasmanian Scent includes signature local trees like Huon and King Billy pine, plus an unmistakable, if unlikely, scent, she says, “in a nod to Tasmania’s agricultural heritage: apple.”
Cape Breton Island’s connection with Scotland goes back more than two centuries.
Photo by Vadim.Petrov/Shutterstock
7. Cape Breton Island, Canada
June is great for: tartan, reels, and learning a little Gaelic.
It’s year 12 of KitchenFest! (or Féis a’ Chidsin! in Gaelic) This Nova Scotian island’s celebration of its Gaelic culture is the closest thing you can get to a trip to Scotland without crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
Visit from June 27 through July 5, and you can immerse yourself in square dancing as well as a céilidh (social gathering) or two, all to the soundtrack of bagpipes and fiddles. There are pub nights at local venues like the Red Shoe Pub, with live music, as well as cultural demonstrations. Take the chance to pick up a few words of Gaelic as you listen to stories and songs during a milling frolic, the traditional confab where locals would gather to work on fabrics and pass the time, campfire-style.
Where to stay: Cabot Cape Breton
Come for the property’s three spectacular golf courses, whether Cabot Links on the oceanfront, or Cabot Cliffs with its rolling fairways, and even the Nest, a par-3, 10-hole short course right at the highest point of the property. (It’s also the best bet for a rollicking family night out under stadium lights, perhaps with a beer or two.)
Insider tip
Pick up sea glass from the local beaches, says Cabot Cape Breton’s GM, Kendall Clancy, or take home Cape Breton Tartan, in the form of a blanket or scarf. The colorway was devised by local artist Elizabeth Grant in the 1950s in yet another nod to the Scottish roots of so many locals.
According to the 2025 World Happiness Report, Finland is the happiest country in the world.
Photo by ArtBBNV/Shutterstock
8. Helsinki, Finland
June is great for: an alfresco, all-free art extravaganza.
The third edition of the Helsinki Biennial kicks off a summer-long stint on June 8, as it transforms the Finnish capital into an outdoor art gallery filled with contemporary work, with free-to-see installations from Vallisaari Island to the Helsinki Art Museum and, this year, also in Esplanadi Park.
The theme for2025 is “Shelter: Below and Beyond, Becoming and Belonging” and has been curated by Spanish art historian Blanca de la Torre, as well as Helsinki-based Kati Kivinen. Expect to see three dozen or so artists, with almost half the pieces newly commissioned site-specific works. Headlining names include large-scale Danish Icelandic sculptor Olafur Eliasson and Brazilian artist Ernesto, known for his unsettling, organic knitted pieces.
Where to stay: Hotel St. George
Right in the heart of the city, overlooking Old Church Park, this art-crammed hotel—look for Ai Wei Wei’s cubist White Dragon sculpture in the lobby, among almost 400 other works—is housed in a restored historic building dating back to the 1840s.
Insider tip
No visit to the capital is complete without a pitstop at the store dedicated to Tove Jansson’s creations, Moomin Shop Esplanadi, says Visit Finland’s Sari Hey. The first book in the series, The Moomins and the Great Flood, was published in 1945, so Jansson’s avatars turn 80 this year. “It’s a treasure chest for cute Moomin souvenirs,” says Hey. “Moomin mugs are especially loved by locals.”
Located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, Greenland is easier to reach.
Photo by Carsten Snejberg
9. Greenland
June is great for: a new, easy way to reach a far-flung spot.
United Airlines launches a brand-new route on June 14, which unlocks access for Americans to this huge Arctic island more easily than ever before. There are now twice-weekly, nonstop flights from Newark to the new international airport in Nuuk, which takes around 4.5 hours.
In June you can start to see humpback, fin, and minke whales along the coast, as well as the summer solstice, or National Day. It commemorates the day in 2009 when the island nation gained independence from Denmark. Expect to see lots of red and white flags fluttering on poles around the country, as well as cultural programming such as concerts and rallies.
Where to stay: Camp Kiattua
The six-tent camp about 50 miles from the capital and accessible only by boat or helicopter is an ideal base to explore the wilderness, whether you’re paddleboarding between icebergs or spearfishing. Try some craft beer from a Nuuk-base brewery, as well as wine from vineyards back in Denmark.
Insider tip
Bring home soapstone carvings, recommends luxury travel outfitter Black Tomato’s Sunil Metcalfe, who’s just launched an itinerary focused on the island to coincide with the new air route. “This soft, smooth stone has been used by Greenlandic artisans for centuries to create everyday tools like utensils and lamps,” he says. “Today, you can find them in the form of handmade jewelry, art, or intricate sculptures.”
St. Kitts is known for its rain forests and sunny beaches.
Courtesy of St Kitt’s Tourism Authority
10. St. Kitts
June is great for: a Caribbean music festival like no other.
For three days, June 26–28, the larger island of this two-island nation will rock out with the 27th edition of its eclectic, namesake music festival. It’s expressly intended to offer a buffet of genre-spanning performers. There’s something to appeal to almost anyone, from soca and hip hop to R&B or reggae.
Among this year’s confirmed acts: a duo of top-tier dancehall acts, Jamaican superstar Shenseea (featured on Ye’s “Pure Souls”) or Vybz Kartel, returning to the stage after an extended hiatus of almost a decade, as well as Oscar-winning soul singer Jennifer Hudson.
Where to stay: St. Kitts Marriott Resort & the Royal Beach Casino
The 393-room resort sits right on the beach in Frigate Bay on the Atlantic side of the island. It has its own 26-acre site with three standalone outdoor pools and seven restaurants, plus the 18-hole Royal St. Kitts Golf Club by Thomas McBroom.
Insider tip
Drive through the lush countryside of the northernmost stretch of this 68-square mile island to Arthur’s restaurant, says the resort’s Shariena Mills, to grab a sundowner while you watch the waves of the Atlantic crash into the Caribbean. “You see the local fishermen bringing in the catch of the day from the sea,” she says.
The Nelson Mandela Museum opened in 2000.
Photo by Ian Dagnall / Alamy Stock Photo
11. Wild Coast, South Africa
June is great for: diving into whale watching, up close.
We’ve already told you about this lesser-visited corner of South Africa, and why it’s such a worthwhile detour. Sure, it’s an adventure to reach, requiring a domestic flight from one of the international hubs and then a drive around mostly dirt roads. But it’s worth the effort. In Mthatha, you can visit the Nelson Mandela Museum, which honors the locally born freedom fighter.
There’s an extra reason to make the effort this month because it’s when the sardine run begins. Every year, during June and July, billions of these fish migrate up the coast, and in so doing, attract a plethora of spectacle-worthy predators, like dusky sharks and Bryde’s whales. Several operators, including Offshore Africa, can help plan diving trips so you can literally immerse yourself in the action.
Where to stay: Bulungula Eco-Lodge
This property is owned and managed by Nqileni village, a Xhosa community, and guests can stay in a traditional cylindrical hut or rondavel. Local residents will offer everything from drumming lessons to cultural tours.
Insider tip
Sandy Cunningham of travel specialist Uncharted grew up going to the region, which she calls “wild and remote and unbelievably beautiful, and definitely an area for the intrepid explorer.” Hike in the forests of the Cintsa, surf the coast (if you’re a pro; there are major riptides), and tackle the 40-mile coastal hike, Strandloper Trail.
Nashville is the capital of Tennessee and is known for its connection to country music.
Photo by Chad Morehead/Unsplash
12. Nashville, Tennessee
June is great for: diverse events to pique anyone’s interests.
Take your pick this month in Music City, where the calendar’s jam-packed with events that tout Nashville’s chart-topping credentials. The CMA Fest June 5–8 is a four-day celebration of the genre synonymous with this city, featuring artists such as Jason Aldean to Kelsea Ballerini.
But there’s more coming, including a trio of FIFA Club World Cup matches at Geodis Park starting on June 20, pitting teams from around the world against each other (Argentinian and New Zealand teams are among those rostered to play in Nashville). All that, plus Nashville Pride from June 28 to 29.
Where to stay: Noelle
Originally, this was the art deco–era Noel Place, an early Music City hotel downtown before it was reborn eight years ago as this 222-room boutique hotel. Don’t miss the Keep Shop boutique on site, which stocks pieces by local artists and designers.
Insider tip
Go to the 12South neighborhood, says Noelle’s GM Ben Thiele, which “perfectly encapsulates Nashville’s evolution” at spots like the Henry (leisurely brunching), Edley’s (classic Southern barbecue), and Jeni’s (small-batch ice cream). Finish with a snifter at the East Nashville outpost of New York’s award-hogging cocktail bar Attaboy. “There’s no menu—just tell the bartenders what you like and let them work their magic.”
This article was originally published in 2024 and most recently updated on April 14, 2025, with current information.
