Summer is quickly approaching, as evidenced by the budding leaves adorning tree branches, and an impossible number of people posting pictures from baseball stadiums to their Instagram stories. Right now is the perfect time to plan and book your summer vacation—but the process of selecting the destination can be daunting. What's in your travel budget? Do you want to bliss out on a beach? Escape the heat and see some glaciers? Add some adventure to your venture?
The process of narrowing your options can be just as daunting as trying to plan a trip with your group chat. And while I cannot force your friend who is a terminal procrastinator to actually, finally buy their plane ticket, I can help you whittle down the options of where you'll be spending your PTO days this summer.
To start, let's dive into the places that will definitely be popular this summer. Google just shared its summer travel data with Thrillist, revealing the 20 most popular destinations for travelers between June 1 and August 31, 2024, according to US-based searches on Google Flights. Here are the most popular destinations for summer travel in 2024, according to Google:
1. London
2. Paris
3. Tokyo
4. Rome
5. New York
6. Cancun
7. Orlando
8. Las Vegas
9. Seattle
10. Athens
11. Los Angeles
12. Miami
13. Barcelona
14. Dublin
15. Fort Lauderdale
16. Honolulu
17. Denver
18. Madrid
19. Boston
20. San Juan
None of these cities are too surprising; London is almost always a top 10 destination for Americans—the common language, relatively short flight, and plenty of cultural activities make it an easy choice. Plus, this summer the UK city will also be hosting American baseball teams and our pop princess, Taylor Swift. Paris will be hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics, and Tokyo has been steadily growing in popularity these last few years. The rest of the list—the beaches in Miami and Barcelona, theme parks and adult playgrounds in Orlando and Vegas, have clear mass appeal.
So, if you're looking for a place where you know you'll be catered to, and will have plenty of flight options, you can definitely use the list above as a guide. But, if you're looking to avoid the crowds and masses of tourists this summer, Thrillist has suggestions for that too. Here are just some of the places you can explore this summer:
- Consider ditching the crowded beaches and try visiting one of America's many great lake towns, where you can still delight in fun on the water.
- Avoid the crowded cities of Dublin and Madrid, by taking aninternational road trip through the countryside.
- Explore the natural and cultural beauty of Cambodia.
- Go east in Europe to avoid the Olympics crowds and UK prices, and explore ruins bars and cool neighborhoods in and around Budapest.
- Head to Glasgow for summer festivals and warm balmy weather. You can also find plenty of natural wonders, some dupes for The Traitors castle, and plenty of distilleries to stop at for a sip.
Looking to travel solo? Google data shows that the five destinations below are some of the best and most popular places for single travelers to explore this summer:
1. Bali
2. Japan
3. Acadia National Park
4. Turks and Caicos
5. Costa Rica
Looking for more travel inspiration?
If you're ready for an adventure but not sure where you'd like to go or what to do, we're on it. The best new hotels opening up around the world. The most exciting places to travel without a passport. The world's best beaches, as ranked by travel influencers. It's all here along with all the travel news you need to stay informed and inspired.
Opheli Garcia Lawler is a Senior Staff Writer at Thrillist. She holds a bachelor's and master's degree in Journalism from NYU's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. She's worked in digital media for eight years, and before working at Thrillist, she wrote for Mic, The Cut, The Fader, Vice, and other publications. Follow her on Twitter @opheligarcia and Instagram @opheligarcia.
