Coast and islands · scored for July
Cool coastal summer escapes
You can keep the sea and lose the heat. Atlantic and Nordic coasts deliver the summer holiday shape most people actually want — walking, swimming, seafood — at 15°C instead of 35°C.
Cold-water swimming is part of the appeal here; sea temperatures in these places run from about 9°C in the Arctic to 17°C in Cornwall and Brittany in late summer.
Scored for 5 nights in July, departing Lisbon (typical 29°C at home), target 12–19°C, budget €1100. Change any of it on the search.
14 escapes, ranked
- 82
Donegal
IrelandExcellent escape
Ireland's wild, underpopulated north-west shoulder.
18°C- Rain
- 48%
- Daylight
- 17h
- Crowds
- Quiet
- Est. trip
- €1,155
❄️ 11°C cooler than home - 80
Tromsø
NorwayExcellent escape
The Arctic capital: 24-hour daylight and a stubborn café culture.
15°C- Rain
- 42%
- Daylight
- 24h
- Crowds
- Moderate
- Est. trip
- €1,560
❄️ 14°C cooler than home - 80
Shetland
United KingdomExcellent escape
Treeless, windswept, and gloriously empty.
15°C- Rain
- 50%
- Daylight
- 18h
- Crowds
- Quiet
- Est. trip
- €1,485
❄️ 14°C cooler than home - 80
Kirkenes
NorwayExcellent escape
The far north-east corner where Norway meets Russia.
17°C- Rain
- 38%
- Daylight
- 24h
- Crowds
- Almost
- Est. trip
- €1,825
❄️ 12°C cooler than home - 79
Isle of Skye
United KingdomExcellent escape
Basalt, bog and weather that changes its mind hourly.
17°C- Rain
- 52%
- Daylight
- 17h
- Crowds
- Busy
- Est. trip
- €1,325
❄️ 12°C cooler than home - 79
Galway
IrelandExcellent escape
A soft, rainy, endlessly sociable Atlantic town.
19°C- Rain
- 45%
- Daylight
- 16h
- Crowds
- Moderate
- Est. trip
- €1,225
❄️ 10°C cooler than home - 79
Isle of Mull
United KingdomExcellent escape
Hebridean island with more eagles than traffic lights.
17°C- Rain
- 50%
- Daylight
- 17h
- Crowds
- Moderate
- Est. trip
- €1,460
❄️ 12°C cooler than home - 78
Bergen
NorwayExcellent escape
Seven mountains, one very wet, very handsome harbour city.
18°C- Rain
- 48%
- Daylight
- 18h
- Crowds
- Busy
- Est. trip
- €1,435
❄️ 11°C cooler than home - 77
Sognefjord
NorwaySolid escape
Europe's deepest fjord, with waterfalls falling a kilometre.
19°C- Rain
- 45%
- Daylight
- 18h
- Crowds
- Moderate
- Est. trip
- €1,420
❄️ 10°C cooler than home - 76
Lofoten
NorwaySolid escape
Granite spires dropped straight into an emerald Arctic sea.
15°C- Rain
- 40%
- Daylight
- 23h
- Crowds
- Moderate
- Est. trip
- €1,905
❄️ 14°C cooler than home - 76
Reykjavík
IcelandSolid escape
A tiny capital on the edge of a volcanic desert.
14°C- Rain
- 45%
- Daylight
- 19h
- Crowds
- Very
- Est. trip
- €1,650
❄️ 15°C cooler than home - 74
Westfjords
IcelandSolid escape
Iceland's least-visited limb, reachable only in summer.
12°C- Rain
- 45%
- Daylight
- 20h
- Crowds
- Quiet
- Est. trip
- €1,745
❄️ 17°C cooler than home - 73
Ilulissat
GreenlandSolid escape
A town parked next to the fastest-moving glacier in the north.
11°C- Rain
- 30%
- Daylight
- 24h
- Crowds
- Quiet
- Est. trip
- €2,290
❄️ 18°C cooler than home - 73
Cornwall
United KingdomSolid escape
Britain's warmest corner, which is still not warm.
20°C- Rain
- 40%
- Daylight
- 16h
- Crowds
- Very
- Est. trip
- €1,285
❄️ 9°C cooler than home
July temperatures at a glance
| Destination | Typical high | Rain | Cooler than Lisbon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donegal · Ireland | 18°C | 48% | −11°C |
| Tromsø · Norway | 15°C | 42% | −14°C |
| Shetland · United Kingdom | 15°C | 50% | −14°C |
| Kirkenes · Norway | 17°C | 38% | −12°C |
| Isle of Skye · United Kingdom | 17°C | 52% | −12°C |
| Galway · Ireland | 19°C | 45% | −10°C |
| Isle of Mull · United Kingdom | 17°C | 50% | −12°C |
| Bergen · Norway | 18°C | 48% | −11°C |
| Sognefjord · Norway | 19°C | 45% | −10°C |
| Lofoten · Norway | 15°C | 40% | −14°C |
| Reykjavík · Iceland | 14°C | 45% | −15°C |
| Westfjords · Iceland | 12°C | 45% | −17°C |
| Ilulissat · Greenland | 11°C | 30% | −18°C |
| Cornwall · United Kingdom | 20°C | 40% | −9°C |
Good to know
- Can you swim on a coolcation?
- Yes, with a tolerance for cold. Cornwall, Brittany and Bornholm are the mildest; Faroes, Iceland and northern Norway are wetsuit or sauna-and-plunge territory.
- Which coast is least crowded?
- Shetland, Donegal, the Faroes and Bornholm stay quiet even in peak season, unlike Cornwall and Lofoten.