Which is honestly a very fair question here because a lot of people have dream places they want to visit, but they can only visit those places during the summer because most people are only ever able to take off in the summer (be it due to their kids, they work at a school, or some examples like that). Anyways, some people can only travel in the summer. And in some places in the summer months, it can be way too hot.
Now, you’ve got some countries that feel fine, like Norway and the UK, for example. But then other countries like Morocco, Spain, or Thailand, it’s just way too hot in the summer months. Basically, you just don’t expect all this heat and humidity, but you’re there now and need to make the most of it. So, what do you do? How can you manage this when it’s just way too hot to be outside? Well, thankfully, there’s still some things you could consider.
Ideally, Start the Day Early
Honestly, the earlier the better here, well, as long as the sun is out and it’s not dark at least. But anyway, early mornings are the closest thing to a travel hack that actually works. Most cities feel calmer, cooler, and easier before the peak heat kicks in, and attractions are often less crowded, too. Even if someone isn’t naturally a morning person, it’s worth adjusting the schedule just for the trip, because the payoff is real.
But yeah, the move is doing the most outdoorsy, walk-heavy stuff first. Just try and get that out of the way, then, like viewpoints, markets, historic streets, parks, and anything that requires being outside for a while. Then, by late morning, when the sun starts getting aggressive, the plan shifts to indoor time, lunch, a break, and slower activities.
Now, with that part said, early doesn’t have to mean miserable. Honestly, other than maybe some less sleep, it’s seriously not miserable at all. It can mean a slow breakfast, a coffee in the shade, then getting moving before the day turns sticky and draining. Oh, and there’s barely any crowds, so that’s perfect!
It’s Best to Build an Air-Con Break
But you might actually need to look into what has air conditioning. Actually, this is what surprises a lot of people, but Air-Con actually isn’t the norm everywhere. For example, in the south of Europe, like Spain and Portugal, there isn’t always air conditioning, even in northern European countries either. Some Southeast Asian countries aren’t any different here either. So, just keep this in mind while you’re planning out indoor activities and never just assume that there’s air conditioning.
Now, it can help to look into museums, galleries, aquariums, libraries, historic homes, indoor markets, shopping centres, and even cinemas can all work. Actually, even cafes can work too, but again, do research prior; sometimes they’ll even advertise that they have air conditioning (but not always). You might want to read reviews too. In Google Reviews, people will absolutely tell you if they’re sweltering in a given location.
Choose Indoor Activities that Still Feel Like a Treat
And some examples were just mentioned above, but it can help to just repeat this part again. So, it can help to find places that you’ve already been wanting to see and already been wanting to experience in the middle of the day, while it’s hot outside. Honestly, indoor activities can sometimes be even more memorable than all the stuff outside (especially when it’s blasting hot outside, too).
Like maybe you want to look into a unique themed café, like a capybara cafe in Bangkok where you can see the cute animals (just one example here), maybe you want to go to a foodhall and try a variety of foods, if you’re into theatre there might be traditional performances (plenty of options for tourists actually), maybe even a shopping mall (yes those still do exist), but you get the dea here. If you’re going to be indoors, you want to actually look forward to it. And it helps to look into where to go in advance dso you can hype yourself up more for it.
Yes, Fighting the Heat is a Losing Battle
Seriously, midday in extreme heat is not the time to power-walk across a city like it’s a personal challenge. Honestly, there’s a high chance that the locals don’t even want to deal with it either, but life goes on, and they have to. So, you’re on a trip, so you can at least treat all of this like a reset instead. Like if you wanted to, you could go back to the hotel and take a shower if you wanted. If there’s a hotel pool, well, it’s the perfect opportunity to just stop what you’re doing and enjoy it, right?
Besides, a midday break is what makes the rest of the day possible. It also helps with mental mood, because heat fatigue can make people feel snappy and overwhelmed, and that’s not exactly the holiday vibe anyone wants here, right? But you just need to stay cool, and sometimes, just being lazy at the hotel is the best thing you can do (assuming your hotel has air conditioning of course).
Save Evening and Night for the Outdoor Walking
Well, it depends on the fact if you’ll even be comfortable or not walking around at night, as some people understandably aren’t all that comfortable with that. But getting back on track here through, evenings are where hot-weather trips can suddenly feel good again. The sun is lower, the air cools a bit, and cities often feel more alive at night anyway. So it helps to plan the day like a split schedule, outdoor early, indoor midday, outdoor again later. But of course, it just depends on where. But it can be worth going out there.
Like maybe this is the chance to walk around some pretty neighbourhoods, there’s plenty of night markets that look amazing (and the fires and neon lights are amazing), there’s waterfront areas that can seriously look great too, outdoor dining (especially at markets), sunset viewpoints, and anything that feels better without the midday glare. But you get the point, and these all sound fairly fun, right?
