June is a joy. She greets you with lavender in Provence and sunflowers in Bourgogne. She brings orchids to Hungary’s Visegrád and Italy’s Dolomites. June graces us with long-lasting rays of light on the summer solstice making Norway, Sweden and Denmark some of our best places to travel in June. June is kind to travellers too, greeting them with warmth while not crowding them out, especially in tourism honeypots such as the Cotswolds in England, or Lake Garda in Italy. On World Oceans Day she looks over our precious coasts and, on World Environment Day, she celebrates the big beautiful picture. In short, June’s a keeper.
Visegrád Mountains, Hungary
The Visegrád Mountains are in the southernmost part of the Inner Western Carpathians and make for some superb early summer saunters, on this walking holiday. Your walking adventure is made pretty straightforward too, by staying in one hotel throughout, in the town of Visegrád, which has a stunning location on a bend on the River Danube, with views across the mountains. This makes for easy transfers to the region’s natural heritage highlights, including Danube–Ipoly National Park, the Visegrád Mountains’ neighbouring Pilis Mountains, and former Spartacus Hunting Trail, now one of the country’s famous hiking routes.
June is a perfect month, as the mountain terrain has warmed up, and also we don’t offer holidays during July and August, as temperatures start to soar. In June, average highs are around 26C, with only 23% chance of rain, on average. You get plenty of shade in the mountains’ beech and oak forests which are in full growth, where you also find lily of the valley, columbine and violets blooming in early June. The meadows are orchid-heaven at this time of year too.
Walk with Pride
As June is Pride month in many countries around the world, you could combine walking holidays that either start or end during Lisbon or Dublin Pride, both of which celebrate Pride in style. You can add to Lisbon’s colourful celebrations by walking around Pena Palace at Sintra and within its surrounding mountains over eight days, and all just 23km from the capital. Or combine Barcelona Pride with one of many Catalonian adventures that start near Barcelona, and take you into some landscapes that encapsulate an aesthetic hedonism.
In Ireland, Wicklow Mountains National Park is also just 23km from Dublin city centre. A vast open bogland, with rounded bronze-coloured peaks, you can walk in some of the country’s wildest spots, with vistas of heath, waterfalls and long winding roads for miles around including out to sea, as the national park overlooks the east coast. The Wicklow Way dips in and out of the national park for 132km, visiting some of its most magnificent natural heritage highlights, such as Glendalough and Powerscourt Waterfall, Glenmalure Valley and the stretched-out saddles at Mullacor, White Hill and Djouce Mountain.
Cotswolds, England
Walk the wilder spots of the ‘wolds’, meaning gentle hill in ancient English, or wander through some of their prettiest market towns and villages on a Cotswoldian circuit starting and ending in Bath. In June, you get in before schools and colleges close for the bigger summer break and so they are still relatively quiet. Whichever way you choose to walk in the Cotswolds, it doesn’t get more quintessentially English than these spots. The iconic honey-coloured architecture, flower-filled meadows and fecund summer markets are just some of the big Os that make up the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Cotswolds Way is the perfect way to seek out pastoral perfection, covering an undulating and undeniably charming 163km. Some of which are also covered in lavender in June, particularly at Snowshill and Broadway.
Mjølkevegen Cycle Trail in Norway
Mjølkevegen is a superb 250km cycling trail through some of Norway’s finest natural heritage, including Jotunheimen National Park. Translated as the Milky Way after the dairy farms scattered across this Valdres region, it’s enveloped by the Jotunheimen Mountains. Starting in the north at Lemonsjøen, you head south as far as Kamben on an exhilarating trail with a mix of climbs, downhills and wide-open stretches, surrounded by impressive peaks and lakelands. You can do it over eight days or take on a shorter northern or southern section, each six days long and both opening for travel in the second half of June. So you can get in before the schools break for summer, as well as making the most of the long days.
Provence at its prettiest
Provence is almost greedy in its gorgeousness, and yet it just keeps giving. From walking trails through ancient Luberon villages, to cycling tours in both Provence and the Camargue, this region that stretches from the Alps to the Mediterranean has been immortalised by greats such as Cezanne and Van Gogh. Like the bliss of Cezanne’s bathers to the iconic sunflowers of Van Gogh, Provence is positively blooming in June. It’s also perfect for bathing. Toast Provence’s fine natural heritage by cycling and walking alongside its vineyards or bring your summer walking season to a spectacular start in the Verdon Gorge. You have the choice to take on Verdon on a short or longer break. It’s also worth noting that, from 15 June to 15 September, access to Verdon Gorge can be restricted by the local authority if the risk of forest fire is high, so it’s worth getting there before the temperatures start to soar.
Lake Garda, Italy
We have chosen Lake Garda as one of our TNA specials holiday destinations because, although the lake is world-renowned, the hiking trails around it are much less so. In June, you’re getting in ahead of the tourism crowds but then again, our Lake Garda walking holidays take you away from daytrippers anyway. This Lake Garda holiday, for example, takes you to trails in and around Valle dei Laghi as well as Lakes Toblino and Molveno, and a walk up to the summit of Mount Ranzo (1,835m). On our North Lake Garda holiday, highlights include the Strada del Ponale and the forested Sentiero Busatte Tempesta, both dramatic and historic paths with panoramic views of the lake and mountains. And last but not least, is our South Lake Garda holiday, where you spend three nights in the lakefront town of Peschiera del Garda, and a finale in Verona. In June, one of the other advantages is that the lakes have heated up a bit, and keen swimmers can enjoy average water temperatures of around 21C.
A bouquet of beauty in the Dolomites
The Dolomites are a photographers’ dream in June. You still get some snow on the peaks, there’s a flush of summer wildflowers, from anemones to orchids, and the light keeps you on your toes shimmering between light seasonal showers. The Dolomites are also a butterfly hotspot and botanists’ favourite, so swot up on your fritillaries and skippers before you go. Walking tours of the Dolomites vary from elevated trekking along the Alta Via 1, with holidays only starting in June, to leisurely paced walks through lower valleys and pastures, or being lifted up to the likes of Dolomieu Panoramic Trail by cable car.
Corfu before it closes
It doesn’t actually close of course, but we don’t run the complete Corfu Trail holiday in July and August, so that you can ramble without roasting. One of the best walking trails in the Ionian Islands, it’s a 200km adventure into the heart of the archipelago’s second largest island, you can do the whole thing in two weeks, reading its most famous resident’s work, Gerald Durrell, along the way. You can also visit his beloved home area at Kalami, one of our most popular trips, particularly with solo travellers and which, again, we keep closed off in the shade while it sizzles.
Try Kosovo this summer
Our Kosovo tours only open from June, and we think it’s a great time to embark on the Peaks of the Balkans or Via Dinarica Trails. Kosovo is a country where you’ll meet the warmest people walking in the likes of Bjeshkët e Nemuna (Accursed Mountains) National Park, or enjoying cafe life in medieval, and now very multicultural towns and cities like Prizren. It also has abundant sunshine and consequently, cups overflowing with wine. You can even explore the Rahovec Valley wine region on this Kosovo hiking holiday. Gëzuar (cheers) Kosovo!
For more joyful June jaunts, see all our walking and cycling holidays available during this month. As the seas are also starting to warm up in the UK and Europe, you may enjoy our blog on our Best coastal walking tours, as well as our blogs on Walking holidays to combine with city breaks and Idyllic island cycling holidays.
