Where to travel in July: five places at their best

Kenya: when the migration reaches the Mara

The great migration of wildebeest and zebra moves in a loop between Tanzania's Serengeti and Kenya's Masai Mara. From around July, a large part of it often crosses into the Mara and can stay into the autumn. The open grassland fills with animals, and at the Mara River the famous crossings sometimes happen – chaotic, dusty, frightening and entirely unpredictable.

The rains drive the migration, not the calendar. In some years the herds arrive earlier, in others later, and a crossing can take hours of waiting, or not happen while you're there. So it's worth choosing a journey that works without it: a few days in a private Laikipia conservancy, then the Mara, then the Indian Ocean coast, which in July is usually dry and breezy rather than humid.

July and August are the Mara's busiest weeks. Small camps and conservancy lodges that limit vehicle numbers are often booked well ahead.

Indonesia: dry season across the islands

Across much of Indonesia – Java, Bali, Flores and Komodo – July falls in the dry season. Skies are often clear, humidity lower than in the northern winter, and the sea between Flores and Komodo is usually calm enough to make island-hopping by boat a pleasure. It's a good time for volcanoes too: sunrise at Bromo, the crater at Ijen, rice terraces without the downpours.

The flip side is that Bali is very busy in July, especially the south coast and Ubud. We'd suggest spending your Bali nights somewhere quieter, such as the Sidemen valley or the north-east, and giving more of the trip to Java and Flores. Raja Ampat, usually at its best from about October to April, is one to save for another time.

Canada: the mountain trails that open only in summer

Summer in the Canadian Rockies is short, and July is its heart. Many higher trails are usually clear of snow only from July, lakes such as Moraine and Louise have thawed into their improbable blue-green, and the Icefields Parkway between Banff and Jasper is at its fullest. The days are long, with time for a proper walk and a long evening too.

It's also the parks' busiest stretch. Access or shuttle arrangements apply at the most popular spots, and rooms in Banff, Jasper and at Lake Louise go early. We'd suggest spending part of the trip further out – in smaller valleys, or on Vancouver Island, where the Tofino coast is often cooler and calmer in July.

Finland: lakes and islands close to home

Not every July journey needs to be long-haul. Finland in July is a northern summer Lithuanians know well, only lighter and quieter: the maze of the Saimaa lakes, wooden saunas on the shore, berries in the forest, and evenings when the sun is in no hurry to set. In the Turku archipelago you can move between islands by ferry and bicycle, and Helsinki spends the summer outdoors, by the sea.

It's a short, easy journey that suits a week, or even a long weekend when a long flight doesn't appeal. July is also when Finns take their own holidays, so the best-loved lakeside cottages fill up, and further north the mosquitoes can be a nuisance.

Georgia: Svaneti on foot

Tbilisi can be hot in July, but high in the Caucasus summer has only just begun. In Svaneti – a region of medieval defensive towers and four-thousand-metre peaks – the high trails between Mestia and Ushguli usually become passable around July and stay so into September. The meadows are full of flowers, family guesthouses are open in the villages, and dinner with Svan salt and kubdari feels like a reward after a long day.

It's one of the few genuine mountain journeys you can reach from Lithuania without a long-haul flight or a big time difference. Mountain weather is changeable even in summer, so a spare day is worth building in, with a few days in the Kakheti vineyards at either end.

If you're weighing up a July journey, start with what you want that a Lithuanian summer can't give you. Wildlife? Mountains? A tropical sea? Tell us what excites you, and we'll explore the possibilities from there.