Too hot to holiday? Try a coolcation instead

Having just come back from a Mediterranean holiday where not a single day was under 30°C, I have come to believe that nothing beats a coolcation. Why would you want to explore Rome while sweating buckets when you can just return and experience it during Easter or Christmas when it is much cooler?  Speaking from personal experience, I found my coolcation last year to Scandinavia a much more pleasant experience than my Mediterranean holiday. By the end of this article I am sure you will agree with me.  

I could pleasantly meander down the streets of Scandinavian towns and cities, browsing their markets, taking photos of their churches and monuments all at a leisurely pace

I feel that I severely underestimate the heat. At home, I never wear a sun cap or apply suncream, and when abroad, I continue to follow this style. If you had joined me for my holidays this year, you would have seen me marching about in the scorching hot weather trying to visit all the sites that were recommended to me by TripAdvisor. At my peak, I was walking around 10km a day. This is easily doable in cooler temperatures, but I found that due to the harsh conditions, I was having to take on lots of water; I even made a McDonald’s stop just to buy bottles of water.  I also found myself sweating buckets, meaning that as soon as I finished my travels for the day I was having to shower and change clothes. Fortunately for me, I had decided to pack mostly light-coloured clothes, so the sun did not absorb into my clothes as much. Unfortunately, light coloured clothes also show sweat rather well, as I soon discovered. So, if you were to see me on holiday this year, I would have looked as if I had gone to the beach and put my clothes on without drying myself.  And the worst thing was that I knew I was sweaty, and it was very visible, but I could do nothing about it as I could only visit the places I wanted to visit during the day, and daytime in the Mediterranean is always boiling. 

Contrast this to my Scandinavian holiday last year where temperatures hovered around the 20°C mark, and I could actually explore the locations in comfort and sometimes even in long trousers and a jacket. Now you can see why I prefer a coolcation. Last year, despite it being too cold for the beach (one of the drawbacks of a coolcation if you want a beach holiday), I was still able to fulfil my holiday wish list, which tends to be visiting the main sites in relative comfort. I could pleasantly meander down the streets of Scandinavian towns and cities, browsing their markets, taking photos of their churches and monuments all at a leisurely pace. Again, rather different to my holiday this year, where I was hunting for the closest block of shade and wishing the walk to the next attraction would just be over. 

And with temperatures in these places averaging 18°C in July and August, it truly is the epitome of a coolcation

One of the best coolcations that I really want to do, and I am sure many of you do too, are the Norwegian fjords. Not only will you see the breathtaking landscape of Norway’s west coast, but you will also get to visit these beautiful, picturesque seaside fishing towns that Norway has to offer, such as Bergen. And with temperatures in these places averaging 18°C in July and August, it truly is the epitome of a coolcation. Furthermore, with Norway experiencing a boom in tourism as people seek cooler northern destinations, now may be the best time to visit the fjords before Scandinavia becomes too ‘touristy’.  

Hopefully from reading this you can see why I prefer a coolcation. And from just glancing at the figures (over 40 million tourists visited Norway, Sweden, and Denmark in 2023), it is clear to see that it is not just me who is exploring cooler summer vacation options. Hopefully, you too will jump on this coolcation trend and visit some of these beautiful northern holiday destinations.