We spent part of last August in Sweden and loved it....wonderful, family friendly country. Beautiful hiking areas, tons of lakes, friendly locals (and everyone speaks English), very interesting history (castles, fishing villages,) and home of Pippi Longstocking! And the weather during August was perfect.

We have never done the Baltic cruise trip, but have many friends who have and all of them raved about it.

Mongolia. Gorgeous country, so different from the US so really an adventure. Lots of daylight (afternoon sun until 10 pm/11 pm at night), wonderful, spring like weather in August (65-70 degrees).

Anonymous wrote:I HIGHLY recommend the Dolomites in northern Italy, coupled with Salzburg or one of the lake resorts in Austria. There is a wonderful blend of Sound of Music type scenery, history (medieval villages with trail heads, funiculars, chair lifts) and it is also very laid back. Think Italian dolce vita (and cappucino) with Germanic efficiency. You could start in Bolzano and visit the surrounding villages, and then perhaps have Bad Ischl or Salzburg as a second home base.

PS I just posted in another thread, but I swear I'm not German, Italian or Austrian!

I am Italian, and would not recommend to go to the Dolomites in August. prices are through the roof, especially the week around the 15 of August and in general the first 20 days of the month, it is the most expensive time of the year, and everybody is there (in August most offices and workplaces are closed and Italians go on vacation - schools reopen not before mid September) so it may be very crowded. in the high mountain the weather may not be that good, expecially the second half of the month, and in the plain it can be very hot. Bolzano is a big town down in a large valley (almost at sea level I think) surrounded by high mountains. in August it can be very hot. I think Bressanone is much nicer ( I love the restaurant Oste Scuro, with cuisine from Tirol), Brunico and other smaller towns higher in the mountains. the best time to go would be in July I think. anyway, the area is very beautiful, so with good planning it could be a good trip, but keep in mind that August is not really the best time

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Banff (Lake Louise) and Jasper National Parks are gorgeous, but insanely crowded. So if you are looking for less crowding (you mentioned the kids are into nature) and your kids are not patient, these might be a little tough. There are great hiking opportunities, though.

I second Scotland. Nice and cool in August, tons of daylight. We are planning to go in September ourselves. I went a few years ago for a friend's wedding and loved it. Edinburgh was a delight. Tons of outdoor activities (you can hike the remains of a small volcano inside the city limits), lots of history, amazing ruins. Good stuff for kids, too - ghost tours, Edinburgh Castle, and the like. Of course it is not cheap, but really nowhere international is - even Canada, these days.

I was going to suggest the Canadian Rockies (I certainly don't remember them being more crowded than Edinburgh).

Yes but its surprisingly expensive, crowded and the food was than than exciting and expensive to go out to dinner. One week family of 4 cost us $6,000- airfare, car rental and cabins. The weather was rainy and cold but "seeing nature" really meant driving around with alot of people. Its beautiful, really truly beautiful but I would have enjoyed it more if it had cost half of what it did. If you want to get off the beaten trail then camping would be great but we had a 92 year old with us and were stuck with overpriced cabins.

Anonymous wrote:Banff (Lake Louise) and Jasper National Parks are gorgeous, but insanely crowded. So if you are looking for less crowding (you mentioned the kids are into nature) and your kids are not patient, these might be a little tough. There are great hiking opportunities, though.

I second Scotland. Nice and cool in August, tons of daylight. We are planning to go in September ourselves. I went a few years ago for a friend's wedding and loved it. Edinburgh was a delight. Tons of outdoor activities (you can hike the remains of a small volcano inside the city limits), lots of history, amazing ruins. Good stuff for kids, too - ghost tours, Edinburgh Castle, and the like. Of course it is not cheap, but really nowhere international is - even Canada, these days.

I was going to suggest the Canadian Rockies (I certainly don't remember them being more crowded than Edinburgh).

Anonymous wrote:We're going to Hungary in July for our 10
year anniversary. Temperate climate and pretty inexpensive. We are doing Budapest and Lake Balaton.

We did that a couple of summers ago and had a great time! I remember thinking "why don't more Americans come to Lake Balaton?" and then I realized it's not really all that convenient, but it is nice.

BTW we drove a fair bit in Hungary and it wasn't bad, with a GPS.

Anonymous wrote:We're going to Hungary in July for our 10
year anniversary. Temperate climate and pretty inexpensive. We are doing Budapest and Lake Balaton.

I don't know about that. We were in Hungary one August and it was steamy hot.

We're going to Hungary in July for our 10
year anniversary. Temperate climate and pretty inexpensive. We are doing Budapest and Lake Balaton.

Surprised no one has suggested the Southern hemisphere -- August is winter and off season there (except in ski places).

South Africa is gorgeous in August.

Anonymous wrote:Canada - Quebec City/Montreal, Nova Scotia, Vancouver...

I wouldn't go to Montreal this August. There's a crisis going on at the moment and there is no end in sight

I HIGHLY recommend the Dolomites in northern Italy, coupled with Salzburg or one of the lake resorts in Austria. There is a wonderful blend of Sound of Music type scenery, history (medieval villages with trail heads, funiculars, chair lifts) and it is also very laid back. Think Italian dolce vita (and cappucino) with Germanic efficiency. You could start in Bolzano and visit the surrounding villages, and then perhaps have Bad Ischl or Salzburg as a second home base.

PS I just posted in another thread, but I swear I'm not German, Italian or Austrian!

No one has mentioned Ireland. We went for our honeymoon in the middle of August exactly because we wanted to go someplace that wasn't too crowded or hot, but that wasn't shut down for vacation either. We had great weather and a nice time.

Norway or Sweden. Norway - take the train from Oslo to Finse hike the Hardangerjøkulen glacier with crampons, spend the night in the logde, rent mountain bikes and ride down the Rallarvegen. Or if you don't want to ride bikes you can take the train down to Flam. Spend the night in Flam, take the high speed boat out of Flam through the fjords to Bergen. Spend the night in Bergen and take the train back to Oslo. http://www.rallarvegen.com/index.php?m=aboutrallarvegen&lang=en

Oslo itself is also worthy of several days exploration. YES, scandavian is extremely expensive but it could be lovely weather in August.

An incredible trip. Stockholm is also lovely and worth several days visit.

Banff (Lake Louise) and Jasper National Parks are gorgeous, but insanely crowded. So if you are looking for less crowding (you mentioned the kids are into nature) and your kids are not patient, these might be a little tough. There are great hiking opportunities, though.

I second Scotland. Nice and cool in August, tons of daylight. We are planning to go in September ourselves. I went a few years ago for a friend's wedding and loved it. Edinburgh was a delight. Tons of outdoor activities (you can hike the remains of a small volcano inside the city limits), lots of history, amazing ruins. Good stuff for kids, too - ghost tours, Edinburgh Castle, and the like. Of course it is not cheap, but really nowhere international is - even Canada, these days.

South Korea or Hokkaido, Japan are both good choices in August. Lots of outdoor options in both places. In South Korea, I'd recommend Seoraksan and Odaesan National Parks, which are close to each other. Shiretoko National Park on Hokkaido is particularly beautiful, with highlights like the Kamuiwakka Falls and the Five Lakes district. I doubt that part of Hokkaido was much affected by the earthquake.

I'd also suggest Yukon Territory in Canada- Whitehorse is a good base, and Dawson City has lots of gold rush-era buildings. Pretty much any road off the Alaska Highway (particularly the Canol Road) will have good outdoor options.