Where to travel in August, when all of Europe is on holiday

Namibia: clear air and waterholes

August in Namibia is the middle of a dry, cool winter. Days are usually sunny and warm, while desert nights can be properly cold – a warm layer earns its place. In Etosha National Park animals often gather at waterholes at this time of year: elephants, giraffes or zebras can sometimes be watched from one spot for hours, and a floodlit waterhole by camp becomes its own evening theatre.

The dunes of Sossusvlei and the dead trees of Deadvlei are at their best early in the morning, while the shadows are still long. The one caveat: August is very popular with European travellers, and good small lodges are limited. Self-drive or guided, it pays to plan well ahead.

Uganda: gorilla trails in the drier months

June to August is usually one of Uganda's drier stretches. In Bwindi that means a little less mud and fewer slippery slopes on the search for gorillas, and in Kibale more pleasant walks towards the chimpanzees. Rain can still fall on any day in a rainforest, so waterproofs and good boots are essential.

Gorilla permits are limited, and demand peaks in the drier months. If this is the experience that matters most, start planning with the permit, not the flight.

Brazil: the Pantanal and a desert of lagoons

Brazil's winter is a good time for two very different places. In the Pantanal wetlands, the dry season – roughly July to October – pulls water back into rivers and lagoons, and with it the birds, caimans and capybaras. In the northern Pantanal, boat trips along the rivers look for jaguars; the chances are generally better in the dry season, though nature never guarantees anything.

In the north-east, in Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, the rains leave clear freshwater lagoons between white dunes. They're usually fullest from around June to September, though it depends on that year's rainfall. Rio de Janeiro is mild and less humid in August than in its summer, which makes it an easy place to begin.

Malaysia: Borneo and the east-coast islands

Malaysia's climate is more complicated than it looks: different coasts have different rainy seasons. In August, Sabah in northern Borneo is usually dry enough for the Kinabatangan River, where boat trips look for proboscis monkeys, hornbills and, with luck, wild orangutans. Short tropical downpours happen whatever the month – it's a rainforest.

The islands off the peninsula's east coast, such as the Perhentians or Redang, are generally open and calmest from spring to September, while in late autumn and winter many close for the monsoon. So August is one of the months when a trip can combine Borneo's forest with a sea made for snorkelling.

Albania: head for the mountains, not the coast

Albania comes with a condition. In August the Ionian coast is hot and very busy, so we wouldn't call it one of the month's best choices. The Albanian Alps in the north are another matter: Theth and Valbona are reachable in summer, the high trail between them is open, and the ferry through the Komani Lake gorge is cooler than any beach.

If you want the sea too, we'd suggest saving it for September, or starting in the mountains and finishing with a few days on the coast once the biggest crowds have gone.

An August journey can be a long-haul safari or a week in Albania's mountains. Tell us how much time you have and how you'd like to spend it, and we'll explore the possibilities from there.