Travel question of the day: Simon Calder on where to go in August

Have a travel question that needs answering? Ask our expert Simon Calder

The Sacred Temple of the Tooth Relic, Kandy (Getty)

Q My boyfriend and I have two weeks in August for a holiday - not ideal, I know. He wants to go to Cuba, I want to go to Sri Lanka. Which one of us is right?

Name withheld

A Neither. Sorry to be blunt, but August is pretty much the worst time to be on either island. Cuba is at its hottest and most humid in August, with frequent rain and occasional storms. Parts of Sri Lanka are perfectly bearable in August, because it has two complementary monsoons - one from the south-west, the other from the north-east. The south-west monsoon runs May-September. You could easily avoid its worst effects by going to the north-east of Sri Lanka - but in my view, most of the island’s places of interest are in the south-west quadrant. The capital, Colombo, the beaches of the south-west and the city of Galle are all worth visiting, as are the hill towns of Kandy and Nuwara Eliya.

To make things worse, the fact that August is peak holiday month for many countries that supply tourists to both islands means you can also pay top whack for a less-than-ideal holiday. So postpone your discussion until you can holiday in November or February, perfect months in both.

For a lovely August island holiday, look no further than the Azores.

Every day, our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder