A sunny day on a Barcelona beach image source
A summer holiday is quite often described as an ‘escape to the sun’. And there is no doubt that, for most people, one of the biggest reasons why they want to go away is to spend some time in a place which enjoys lots of warm weather.
In these days of the last-minute holiday, the ability to book breaks over the internet, and the possibility of checking out long-range weather forecasts online, the prospects of being able to enjoy a break with almost guaranteed sunshine are greater than ever.
The same capability also means that it’s easy to find a resort or country where the prevailing conditions are most likely to be those which best suit any individual.
Finding the really hot holidays!
For example, if you simply want to soak up the sun no matter how high the mercury rises, you can easily research where it’s possible to find the hottest temperatures for the weeks in which you intend to go away. If, however, you want somewhere in which you’re likely to be able to do some more demanding activities – such as walking around the local shops, and exploring some of the sights in nearby locations, you can also see what time of the year is best for doing so in whatever holiday destination you choose.
At the other extreme, if your idea of the perfect holiday is to partake of a range of fun and unusual sporting activities, you’ll want to be sure that the heat won’t prevent you from doing so. Everyone is these days more aware than ever of the best conditions in which to practise the activities they enjoy the most – which is one reason why dedicated activity holidays are gaining in popularity – so they can use the mass of information at their disposal to find out which time of the year is most suited for them enjoying the sports and other pursuits which they consider integral to their holiday enjoyment.
As the summer temperatures climb, it can become less practical and enjoyable to get out and about and get involved in many strenuous or otherwise demanding activities for which the local landscape on a holiday can often be ideal.
Photo Credit: Ioan Bacivarov
What conditions best suite you?
So before deciding on your ideal holiday destination, you need to get a good idea of the conditions which are best suited for whatever you intend to do. There’s no point in filling your days with a busy itinerary of sightseeing, for example, if most of the places you will be setting out to see are outdoors, and the sun will be beating down in the middle of the day.
Probably more importantly, if you have lots of sports-led activities planned, you’ll need to make sure that the prevailing conditions give you the best likelihood of fitting in all that you intend to do.
A final important consideration when balancing the temperatures you’re likely to find at your chosen holiday destination and the amount of activities you intend to do is how the weather might affect your plans for travelling between the various points of interest you want to visit. For example, there might be a bus or train service to certain places you have earmarked in your itinerary – but if the weather is too warm and your transport doesn’t have air conditioning – or, at the other extreme, is not adequately heated and sheltered – you might find yourself with more memories of the tribulations of the journey than of the delights waiting for you at your destination.
Guest post contributed by Simon Belfield, an avid travelling who currently works for Coop Travel.
