Unusual Summer Holidays
We’re all very discerning when it comes to booking our summer holidays. So, ever eager to surprise, we’ve scoured the planet for some things that are guaranteed to get your travel taste buds tingling.
Obviously it isn’t summer everywhere in the world, but couldn’t we always do with a few more unusual travel ideas and a bit more sunshine? So whilst your friends are packing up their beach towels, after a holiday spent doing the same old thing, you can say: I was there – I did that.
A tribal gathering
Essaouira, Morocco – The Essaouira Gnaoua Music Festival (June 22-25)
If you missed out on tickets for Glastonbury, the Gnaoua Music Festival, with its array of mystical tribal rhythms is a great alternative. And, coming hot on the heels of the Fez Sacred Music Festival, June’s a brilliant month for music in Morocco.
But the best thing of all is the festival’s glorious location: Right out on the edge of the world, Essaouira’s miles of sandy beaches were, it’s said, the inspiration behind Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Castles Made of Sand’. These days they attract a windsurfing crowd from all around the globe.
Eternal sunshine (of a spotless land)
Norway – Midnight Sun (Throughout June)
Throughout June, the atmosphere surrounding Norway’s summer solstice is truly sensational. And whilst the experience is most intense to the north, there are informal celebrations across the country.
As is the case in many parts of Scandinavia, people sit around campfires on the shores and watch the sun hovering with an eerie beauty above the horizon all night long. Looking out to sea, or across a fjord, it’s hard not to be bewitched by this magical spectacle.
Halong Bay: Paradise found?
Halong Bay, Vietnam (All year round)
There are beaches here – but not exactly in the deckchairs and ice-creams sense. Halong Bay, a 120km stretch of coastline in the Gulf of Tonkin (to the north of Hanoi), is a UNESCO listed World Heritage Site.
The area is famous for its stunning islands of rock that surge dramatically out of the sea. And with its junks, caves, a wealth of marine life, and a history of pirating, Halong Bay is Southeast Asia at its most beguiling and exotic.
Pride Week: Flying the flag for tolerance
San Francisco, USA – San Francisco Pride Week (June 23-24)
There’s absolutely nothing average about this, one of the biggest marches anywhere in the world. Although Castro and Market Street are very much the epicenter of the action, the street party extends to practically all corners of the city.
San Francisco is one of the most progressive, tolerant and friendly places in the world. During Pride Week, the city celebrates these values in an explosion of color, and fabulous floats aplenty.
Looking for more info? Read our gay travel guide to San Francisco and find a top gay hostel.
Amsterdam: Don't forget your bucket & spade.
Amsterdam, Netherlands – The Blijburg Beach (All summer)
A list of the world’s great beaches might not, generally speaking, include Amsterdam. But, just out to the east of the city, they’ve dumped a few thousand tons of sand to make a very chilled summer hangout. There are even nightly DJ sets. Only in Amsterdam could they make a beach as cool as this!
A little further from the city (a short train journey away to be exact) takes you to the beach resort of Bloemendaal aan Zee – the perfect place to spend a day unwinding from the long night before. And, with some hip little beach bars dotted along the strip of white sand, you can then start all over again!