10 holidays in Europe for people who hate the heat
If recent years are anything to go by, this won't be the last of it. It looks likely that we are in for another long, scorching summer in Europe. Fine, if you like your holidays hot. But if you'd prefer to seek out a cooler corner of the continent, where to go?
The obvious answer is to head north to explore the scenic shores and lakes of Scandinavia, the glacial landscapes of Iceland or the intriguing Baltic cities. The alternative is to head high, perhaps to the Spanish Picos or the French Alps, where there'll be plenty of high-altitude sunshine but none of the enervating heat and humidity.
Whether you are looking for an active, cultural or fly-and-flop break, here's a selection of ten great ways to avoid the worst of the heat in Europe this summer.
Lifts serving the Grande Motte glacier, which rises to a lofty 11,995ft above the mountain resort of Tignes, stay open for summer skiing until July 20. Lower down, in the resort, peak temperatures hover at around 17C and among the cooling activities are kayaking, paddle boarding and visits to the Acroland water park, where adults and children aged 10 years and over can plunge down slides into the icy lake water below.
Peak Retreats (023 9283 9310) offers a seven-night stay in Le Nevada, Tignes Val Claret, from £317, self-catering, based on four staying in a two-bedroom apartment, including ferry crossing for car and passengers, departing July 12.
The lakes, rivers and forests of eastern Finland offer a vast playground for active families who want a sunny outdoor holiday without excessive heat. Temperatures rise to a pleasant 21C in child-friendly lakeside resorts, which lie within a two-hour drive of Helsinki and offer canoeing, swimming, paddle boarding, fishing and local trails.
Discover the World (01737 428 406) offers a five-night Taste of Finnish Lakeland from £525, including car rental. Excludes flights to Helsinki, based on two adults and two children under 12 years. Departures until September.
Zealand, Denmark's largest island, offers peaceful backroads and uncrowded cycle paths, long hours of daylight and gentle sunshine. Relaxing itineraries loop through shady woodland, past sandy beaches and scenic fjords, and through small fishing villages, with a foray into the coastal city of Roskilde.
Freedom Treks (01273 977961) offer a seven-night, self-guided Zealand Bike Tour from £1,033, including luggage transfer, maps and route information. Excludes bike hire (£86 for a hybrid with pannier; £205 for an E-bike), flights to Copenhagen and rail transfers. Departs weekly through July and August.
The Côte d'Azur can see summer temperatures nudge 30C or more in July and August, but northern France enjoys a more temperate 20 to 22C. Hop across the Channel to stay near the sandy beaches of Normandy, the a chance to tour the wartime sights, sample the seafood and explore the rocky island of Mont-Saint-Michel.
Brittany Ferries (0330 162 5457) offers seven nights at four-star Hotel Le Grand Hard-Domaine Utah Beach from £1,266, self-drive, including return Portsmouth to Caen ferry crossing, departing August 5.
While temperatures sizzle in the Costas, the mountainous areas near the Cantabrian coast of northern Spain offer a welcome refuge from the summer heat. The Picos de Europa are best explored on foot with a network of well-marked paths through peaceful rural backwaters, the medieval town of Potes and the bucolic Valdeón valley.
Pura Aventura (01273 676712) offers an eight-night, self-guided Rural Life and Mountain Hikes tour from £1,650, including four lunches, six dinners and luggage transfers. Excludes travel to Bilbao. Departures throughout July and August.
In the nothern Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, temperatures barely reach 7C in July and August and nights can dip to 2C. These islands are home to walruses, whales and polar bears, which gather in the fjords near the capital Longyearbyen. Try dog-sledding on wheels for views of the glacier at Nordenskiöldbreen.
Regent Holidays (01174 537640; regent-holidays.co.uk) offers a five-night Svalbard Summer Break from £1,750, including four excursions. Departures throughout July and August.
Iceland's summer season is as short as it is cool. July and August see temperatures barely reaching 13C, but the long days (up to 20 hours of daylight), make this an ideal season to explore its unique inland and coastal scenery. From spectacular waterfalls to spouting geysers and from black-sand beaches to naturally heated lagoons, it's the perfect antidote to the muggy Mediterranean.
Trailfinders (020 7368 1317) offers a seven-night Southern Iceland's Geysers, Glaciers and Waterfalls package from £1,899, including car hire and entrance to the Blue Lagoon, departing August 25.
A Baltic Sea cruise is a great alternative to the sultry Mediterranean in the summer months, and although you can expect plenty of sunny days, you may also need to pack a jumper for cooler days. Highlights include shore excursions to see the mix of medieval and modern architecture in the region's cities, and the variety of coastal scenery.
MSC Cruises (020 3426 3010) offers a seven-night Baltics and Scandinavia Cruise on MSC Poesia, from £2,559, full board, including children's clubs, on-board entertainment and excursions to Klaipeda in Lithuania, the Latvian capital of Riga, Stockholm and Copenhagen, based on an interior cabin. Excludes flights to Hamburg and transfers to the embarkation point at Warnemünde. Departures on July 27 and August 10.
Snow-covered peaks and glaciers, which circle the Upper Engadine Valley in south-east Switzerland, provide an alluring backdrop to bucolic mountain pastures and larch woodlands, where mild conditions are ideal for a huge variety of alpine flowers. Spring comes late to this region and in July you can still expect to see orchids, primroses, glacier jasmine and foxgloves at their best.
Naturetrek (01962 733051; naturetrek.co.uk) offers a seven-night Switzerland - Alpine Flowers of the Upper Engadine from £2,595, full board, departing July 2 and 9.
The clear, azure-blue seawater and sandy beaches on this far-flung Norwegian island may look reminiscent of the Caribbean, but the temperatures are quite a contrast. Averaging around 15C in summer, its scenic landscapes of moorland and mountains offer a range of spectacular walking terrain, with comfortable accommodation in small fishing villages and long hours of daylight.
Inntravel (01653 617000) offers a seven-night Hike Senja - An Arctic Island from £2,510, half board, including car hire and walking notes. Excludes flights. Departures throughout July and August.
Prices quoted are per person including breakfast, transfers and flights, unless otherwise stated, and are subject to availability.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fast Company
2 hours ago
- Fast Company
Healthcare docs are the unsung hero of travel season: An estate planning expert and seasoned traveler weighs in
If you've ever felt that jolt of anxiety mid-flight—the kind that hits during unexpected turbulence—you're not alone. I've logged more than 350 flights since founding Trust & Will, and even as a seasoned traveler, there are still moments that shake me. It turns out, I'm not the only one who thinks about mortality somewhere over 30,000 feet. Since launching our estate planning platform in 2017, we've consistently seen a spike in new members and updates to plans right before major holidays and travel weekends. Every July, without fail, we get messages from parents on their way to Europe, newlyweds prepping for a honeymoon, or college grads heading out on post-grad adventures, many of whom start or finish their estate plan in the final hours before boarding. Why? Because travel is a trigger. Not just for excitement, but for reflection—and a little fear. THE OVERLOOKED MVP OF YOUR ESTATE PLAN When most people think about estate planning, they picture a will. Maybe a trust. Maybe funeral wishes. But one of the most important sets of documents often gets overlooked—especially by younger people: healthcare documents. These include your HIPAA authorization, medical power of attorney, and living will (also known as an advance healthcare directive). Collectively, they determine who can speak on your behalf, access your medical info, and make decisions if you're unable to. In other words: They're the playbook for your care when the unexpected happens. DESIGN MEETS INTENTION An estate plan should be frictionless, intuitive, and human. The same design principles that guide app UX or airline check-in flows apply here. The process of choosing a healthcare proxy or outlining medical preferences should feel approachable, not anxiety-inducing. That's why we spent years developing a guided experience that walks people through decisions in plain language. Whether you're sitting at a gate or on a layover, your documents are a tap away and ready to be shared if you're ever in an emergency, especially in rural or international areas where access to care is different. We've heard real stories: A hiking injury in Maui where a traveler needed emergency airlift and care coordination. A solo trip to Europe where a college student got sick and had no legal guardian anymore, but hadn't yet appointed a healthcare agent. These aren't just hypotheticals; they're avoidable moments of chaos if the right documents are in place. QUICK TIPS BEFORE YOUR NEXT TRIP Whether you're a frequent flyer or just headed out for summer vacation, here are three things to do before your next takeoff: Name A Healthcare Proxy: Who do you trust to speak on your behalf if you're unconscious or unable to communicate? This isn't just for the elderly—it's crucial for everyone over 18. Store Your Documents Digitally: Paper is great until you leave it in a hotel drawer. Keep digital copies of your estate and health documents in a secure vault or cloud platform that you can access and share from anywhere. Talk To Your Travel Companions: It might feel awkward, but telling your spouse, partner, or travel buddy where your documents are stored and what your wishes are can make a huge difference in an emergency. A DIFFERENT KIND OF TRAVEL CHECKLIST In the same way you wouldn't travel without your ID or passport, your estate plan—especially your healthcare documents—deserves a spot on your checklist. We spend a lot of time planning our vacations. Booking the right hotel. Earning points for upgrades. Picking restaurants. But the true peace of mind? It doesn't come from TSA PreCheck or an airport lounge. It comes from knowing that if something were to happen, your family isn't left scrambling for answers. That kind of planning? It's the ultimate design of care.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Safestay enters franchise agreement with Sycomore Entwicklungen
Safestay has signed its first franchise agreement as part of its growth strategy, focusing on capital-light expansion. The franchise agreement was signed with hostel owner Sycomore Entwicklungen to operate under the Safestay brand and systems. The agreement encompasses two hostels in the Austrian alpine resort of Kitzbühel. With effect from 1 September 2025, the agreement will initially last for five years, with an option to extend for an additional five years. The two properties, currently known as Roomie Alps Design Hostel Kitzbühel and Guesthouse Johanna hotel, will be rebranded as Safestay Kitzbühel Centre and Safestay Kitzbühel Alpine, respectively. Together, these two properties will offer 70 beds in Kitzbühel and are located near ski lifts and other local amenities. Based on the terms and conditions, Safestay will receive guaranteed fixed annual payments and performance-based fees, including commissions for direct bookings via its own platform. The rebranding process will adhere to Safestay's brand standards and to be executed by Sycomore. The franchise model allows Safestay to expand with reduced capital requirements, leveraging its international brand and marketing reach. Both the Safestay Kitzbühel Centre and Safestay Kitzbühel Alpine will be incorporated into Safestay's sales and marketing platform, allowing them to leverage the company's operational expertise and IT infrastructure. Sycomore will be able to access support services such as HR, recruitment, and yield management via Safestay's commercial hub in Warsaw, Poland. This integration aims to increase direct bookings and reduce reliance on online travel agents. Safestay chairman Larry Lipman commented: "Our first franchise agreement is an exciting opportunity for Safestay as we continue to execute against our ambitions to double the size of our portfolio over the medium term. 'Whilst we continue to see significant white space for Safestay in a great number of European city centres, we are excited to take Safestay to a much sought-after alpine resort and introduce the brand to different travellers and new customers. 'These two sites have great potential and will benefit from our leading brand and well-invested infrastructure. We look forward to demonstrating the attractiveness of the franchise model and exploring further similar opportunities for growth.' Sycomore Entwicklungen managing director Nikolaus Kramhaller added: 'Our properties are in excellent locations and will benefit from Safestay's brand and operational expertise as we elevate our offering at Safestay Kitzbühel Centre and Safestay Kitzbühel Alpine. 'This opportunity will allow us to utilise Safestay's established infrastructure and proven systems, while also providing Safestay with an excellent opportunity to expand. It is a strategic win-win that will enhance our guest experience while strengthening Safestay's presence in one of Europe's most desirable mountain destinations." Safestay's collection includes 20 hostels and one hotel, providing travellers with a choice of private and shared accommodations in key destination cities across the UK, Spain, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Slovakia. "Safestay enters franchise agreement with Sycomore Entwicklungen" was originally created and published by Hotel Management Network, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CNN
3 hours ago
- CNN
‘They don't want the rabble anymore:' Why Europe is rising up against mass tourism
As protestors have taken to the streets across Spain, disrupted a billionaire's wedding in Venice, and even caused a shutdown of the Louvre in the shape of a staff mutiny about overcrowding, Noel Josephides has been watching with one phrase on his mind: I told you so. 'I could have told you that would happen 10 years ago,' he says. 'And I said so. I said, 'This is going to get out of control.'' Josephides is the longstanding chairman of Sunvil, a UK-based tour operator that has been sending comfortably-off Brits on vacation since 1970. He's also a former chairman of ABTA and AITO, both UK travel industry bodies, which makes him one of the big beasts of European tourism. And he says he saw Europe's current overtourism meltdown coming. 'I said there'll be enormous problems going forward,' he recalls of a speech he delivered to the ABTA annual convention, held in Dubrovnik, in 2013. He delivered that warning as the sharing economy — spearheaded in travel by Airbnb — was mushrooming across Europe. His concern, however, was not just short-term rentals. What he saw coming was a perfect storm: rapidly expanding budget airlines working in tandem with proliferating short-term rentals to create vast new vacation capacity, driving down prices and ushering in a new era of large-scale budget travel. Of course, as a tour operator, Josephides works in direct competition with short-term rentals and the independent travel-planning that budget airlines encourage. Yet today, he seems like a Cassandra figure — he foresaw the chaos, but no one acted. Now his worst fears have come to pass. 'The local populations are quite right,' he says about the spiraling protests. 'It's out of control. I'm on the side of the protestors, even though it affects my business.' The situation in Europe this summer is a far cry from the empty streets and clear waters of the summer of 2020. During the pandemic, many destinations vowed to reinvent tourism for the better. But once travel restrictions were lifted, things quickly reverted to the old ways — and in many cases got worse, thanks to what came to be known as 'revenge travel.' For some locals, the memory of lockdown has taken on a halcyon glow. 'I remember walking in the streets very close to Las Ramblas and hearing birds singing and church bells,' says Maite Domingo Alegre, who lives in Barcelona. 'I'd never realized the bells tolled. But I never get to hear them anymore. Tourism has brought so much noise it's unbelievable.' An English teacher and associate professor at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Domingo Alegre lives in the city's historic center near the cathedral and works near Las Ramblas. She says her city has changed beyond recognition. 'We've always had tourism, and mass tourism, but over the last 10 to 15 years this has changed dramatically,' she says. 'It's not seasonal anymore, it's 365 days a year. And the visitors are much more than the number of inhabitants.' Crowded streets are one thing; the knock-on effects, she says, are worse. 'Most of the shops — even food shops, clothes shops, restaurants, everything in the center — is basically addressed to tourists,' she says. 'Prices have gone up. Airbnb basically evicted many locals. Most of my friends have fled the neighborhood because they can't afford to live there anymore.' The pandemic, she adds, intensified the problem, attracting remote workers from across Europe. 'They don't really mingle with the locals. They're not interested in Catalan or even Spanish culture. They think it's cheaper, and they have nice food and cheap drinks, so most bars and restaurants are also thought of for them.' In Venice, it's the same story. The local pop musician Ornello's latest video shows him dressed as an astronaut, wading through the summer crowds. In his real-life identity, Alessio Centenaro, he feels equally out of place in his hometown. 'I'm a cyclist and on Sundays I take my bike from Piazzale Roma (Venice's road terminus). I'm going out and I'm going against all the tourists arriving on the island and I feel like I'm a salmon going against the flow. Sometimes when you're surrounded by tourists, with hundreds all around you, you feel like you're the foreigner.' Venice has always been a city of tourists, he adds, but it also once had a sizable resident population. 'There are 48,000 people officially, but nobody says what's the percentage of old people. I'd say it's perhaps 70% over 70. If they will live another 15 years, what will happen then?' For the past five decades, Josephides has watched destinations go from charming to overcrowded. The trajectory, he says, is nearly always the same. First a boutique tour operator like Sunvil identifies a little-visited destination that seems perfect for its clients — people in search of a vacation where they won't be surrounded by other vacationers. It'll add that destination to its books, usually chartering a weekly flight to get clients there initially. And so the first few seasons will be a halcyon period of relatively few visitors. They enjoy the peace and quiet; the residents enjoy the money they inject into the local economy. But then word will spread. A budget airline — because it's low-cost carriers, not legacy ones, who invest in lesser-known places — will start operating to the destination. The following year, its rivals follow suit, eager not to miss out. What if Jet2 knows something we don't? Suddenly, there's a surfeit of planes going to the destination, and to fill them airlines slash fares, meaning that the budget market becomes the 'volume market,' as Josephides puts it. Accommodation strains to keep pace with the growing number of visitors, prompting locals to invest in short-term rentals. Soon, that 'secret' destination is swamped — not just by the early, more affluent pioneers, but by that volume market, who fly in on the budget airlines, stay in an Airbnb and generally spend less locally. So the first wave moves on to a new place, and the cycle begins again. Josephides earmarks the Greek island of Samos as one of the next destinations to go through this cycle. This year there is one direct weekly flight from the UK, he says. 'Next year TUI (a German travel company) have Thursday and Sunday. Jet2 have put on four flights: two Manchester, one Birmingham and one Stansted. So wait to see Ryanair and easyJet pile in.' The mass market players, he says, 'move in like a vacuum cleaner. The nature of the island will change but local governments do not understand what will happen until it is too late.' Even established hot spots can be victims of their own popularity. Airports on the Greek islands of Corfu and Crete, Josephides notes, are inundated with flights. 'The volume market won't go to destinations that aren't known, so you get this bottleneck of cheap flights fueling the likes of Airbnb. The local population are quite right — it's out of control.' An Airbnb spokesperson said in a statement: 'Airbnb offers a different way to travel that better spreads guests and benefits to more communities. The fact is that overtourism is getting worse in cities where Airbnb is heavily restricted: in Amsterdam or Barcelona, the introduction of stringent restrictions on short term rentals have coincided with a steep increase in guest nights driven by hotels, and a surge in accommodation prices for travelers. Cities that want to have a significant impact on overtourism should embrace tourism that supports families and communities.' They added that 59% of 'guest nights' sold in the EU on Airbnb in 2024 are in destinations outside cities, while their research published in June shows that the majority of tourists still choose hotels. VRBO, another major short-term rental provider, did not respond to a request for comment. Pedro Homar knows this pressure well. As tourism director for Visit Palma, he's caught between visitors behaving badly in the Spanish city, and residents demanding action. 'We need to ensure that tourism is a sustainable industry, not just from an environmental point of view but also from a social and economic point of view,' he says. 'Our economy depends on tourism, so we either make sure we're physically sustainable or we will not have a future.' Since the pandemic, Palma has stopped promoting itself outright. Instead, it runs 'image campaigns' to shape perceptions — even running ads to call out antisocial behavior in certain resorts. In 2022, the city capped cruise ship arrivals at three a day, even though the port can handle six (Barcelona has followed suit, announcing in July that it will close two of its seven cruise terminals from 2026). It banned short-term rental apartments and Airbnbs in city-center residential buildings and has set a cap of 12,000 hotel beds: for a new hotel to open, another must close. Palma has also built up a 50-million-euro ($58 million) fund to buy and remove outdated hotels from circulation — typically cheaper properties that tend to attract budget tourists. 'It's a way of taking out of the market all these obsolete and old hotels that are no longer competitive and not the kind of product that we want for the destination,' Homar says. Palma's approach raises a question: Who has the 'right' to travel? Some destinations have long used high costs to deter mass tourism. Bhutan charges a $100-a-day 'sustainable development fund' fee. A gorilla-trekking permit in Rwanda costs $1,500 per person. Even Venice's 10-euro day-tripper fee has drawn criticism from locals for selling the city to the wealthy. Homar argues that destinations should have the right to choose their visitors, likening it to deciding whom to invite to dinner. 'I really do believe that as mature destinations, we have the right to choose the tourists that we want, and don't want,' he says. 'We want tourists that respect our personality, our way of living, our traditions. 'If you are thinking of coming over without a respectful point of view, we say, respectfully, we don't need you.' Josephides is blunter. 'They don't want the rabble anymore,' he says. 'It sounds awful to say so, and everyone's entitled to a holiday, but the numbers just keep growing. The whole thing is out of control. I can understand the democratization but it's up to the destination if they want clients without any money,' he adds. 'I'd like to drive a Ferrari, but I can't afford it.' For now, he says, most European destinations seem focused on capping numbers rather than pricing out budget travelers entirely. Restoring the goodwill of residents is just as important as tackling the crowds. 'A city where residents are not satisfied is a city that doesn't work,' says Ruben Santopietro, CEO of Visit Italy, a marketing company for various destinations across the country. 'It loses its identity completely. Residents feel excluded and neighborhoods become touristic.' Born in Naples, which saw protests over lack of housing and growing short-term rental numbers in March, Santopietro has watched his hometown surge in popularity — and housing prices — over the past decade. He warns that if growth continues unchecked, 'in five years, 50% of the città d'arte (Italian cities of culture) will become inaccessible.' Rome, Florence and Naples, he says, are already 'suffocated by tourism' almost to the point of no return. Visitors, he adds, actually want locals around. 'Venice belongs to the Venetians. If locals aren't there, they won't go. Putting residents at the center of tourism models is the only way to preserve our cities from becoming open-air museums.' Homar agrees, echoing the same phrase — 'putting residents at the center of the tourist strategy' — when talking about Palma's new five-year plan, adopted in 2023. Some hotels the city buys will be replaced with green spaces or converted to housing. In November, Palma will launch free cultural activities for locals — organ recitals, children's days in the old atelier of artist Joan Miró, theater concerts organized by Spanish national radio stations, guided architectural walks around the city — to 'uplift the sense of belonging and the pride of being a citizen.' 'All these initiatives will be in spaces that residents for some reason believe are just for tourists,' he says. 'We're seeing that the sense of belonging that residents used to have about being in Palma, they were slowly losing that and we need to change that dynamic.' Redistributing visitors can also help. The problem in Italy, Santopietro says, isn't that the country can't handle the numbers — it's that everyone goes to the same places. This summer, his agency launched a campaign, 'The 99% of Italy,' encouraging travelers to visit lesser-known destinations from Genoa to Tropea (some of which were their clients, but not all). 'We used social media platforms as they have created these imbalances,' he says, adding that they expect tangible results in the long term, as regional marketing campaigns take longer to take effect. Santopietro says that even in the busiest destinations, steps can be taken to disperse visitors. He suggests incentives — for example, discounted tickets to Rome's Colosseum for those who've already visited the ancient coastal town of Ostia Antica. In the short term, protests are likely to spread, says Estrella Diaz Sanchez, associate professor of marketing at Spain's University of Castilla-La Mancha. 'Some locals are frustrated about the number of tourists they receive, but I think the main factor is skyrocketing rents, driven by short-term holiday lets, pushing locals out of the housing markets,' she says. 'The solution isn't to reject tourism; it's to make it more inclusive and respectful.' Even Josephides, the tourism industry doomsayer, thinks recovery is possible. He points to Estoril, on the Lisbon coast, which in the 1970s was a mass-market destination. Authorities decided to push it upmarket, and succeeded. 'You can recover, but it takes time,' he says. 'It's much easier for a destination to control its growth rather than repair it afterwards.' Sign up for Unlocking the World, CNN Travel's weekly newsletter. Get news about destinations, plus the latest in aviation, food and drink, and where to stay.
