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So, the WMO tells us to prepare for El Niño.
There is something slightly funny about the way we traditionally imagine a summer holiday.
For decades, the perfect summer vacation seemed to mean exactly the same thing: intense sunshine, a hot beach, a swimsuit, and temperatures high enough to make you grateful for air conditioning.
But what if you don’t actually want that?
What if your ideal summer holiday involves walking around a beautiful city without feeling like you are melting, sleeping under a blanket at night, hiking through green landscapes, or sitting outside with a cup of coffee while wearing a light sweater?
That is where coolcation travel comes in.
A coolcation is essentially a summer vacation somewhere with a cooler climate. Instead of chasing the hottest destination you can find, you deliberately choose somewhere more comfortable — and often discover that cooler weather makes it possible to enjoy a completely different kind of holiday.
Northern Europe, mountain regions, coastal areas, and destinations with mild summer climates can all work beautifully for this kind of trip.
And you don’t necessarily have to travel to the other side of the world. Sometimes the best coolcation is simply a destination you would never have considered for a traditional summer holiday.
Why Coolcations Are Becoming More Appealing
One reason coolcations make sense is comfort.
Very hot weather can be wonderful when you are sitting beside a swimming pool doing absolutely nothing. But if your idea of a holiday involves museums, sightseeing, walking, hiking, cycling, local markets, or exploring neighborhoods, extreme heat can make all of those things considerably harder.
You wake up excited to explore the city, step outside, and discover that it is already thirty-five degrees. Suddenly the museum with air conditioning sounds more attractive than the beautiful walking route you had planned.
A cooler destination changes the equation.
You can spend more time outdoors, move around more easily, and often see more of the place instead of organizing your entire day around avoiding the hottest hours.
There is also something appealing about the atmosphere of a summer destination that isn’t entirely dominated by heat and beaches.
A coolcation can feel slower, greener, and a little more adventurous.
1. Choose the Climate Before Choosing the Destination
When planning a coolcation, it can be tempting to start with a list of famous destinations and then look at their weather.
I would do the opposite.
First decide what kind of summer climate you actually want.
Do you want mild temperatures around 20–25°C? Would you prefer somewhere genuinely cool, where you might need a jacket in the evening? Are you comfortable with rain if it means avoiding extreme heat?
These details matter because “cool” means different things to different travelers.
For one person, a summer temperature of 25°C is perfect. For another, the entire point of a coolcation is finding somewhere closer to 15–20°C.
Once you know your preferred temperature range, it becomes much easier to narrow down destinations.
2. Look North — But Don’t Stop There
Northern Europe is an obvious place to start looking for cooler summer destinations, but it isn’t the only option.
Mountain regions can offer pleasant summer temperatures even when lowland cities are experiencing heatwaves. Coastal areas may also feel significantly more comfortable because of sea breezes.
And then there are destinations where the weather simply tends to be mild rather than extremely hot.
Think about the type of landscape you want as well. A coolcation doesn’t have to mean a remote cabin in the mountains. It could be a stylish European city, a coastal village, a national park, or a combination of several places.
The climate is only one part of the experience.
3. Don’t Ignore the Shoulder Season
One of the easiest ways to make a summer trip more comfortable is to question whether you actually need to travel during the traditional peak period.
Late August and early September can sometimes offer a very different experience from July or early August, depending on the destination.
You may encounter fewer crowds, slightly lower prices, and more comfortable temperatures.
This is especially useful if you enjoy sightseeing rather than simply lying on a beach.
There is something wonderfully liberating about visiting a beautiful place when you don’t have to compete with thousands of other tourists for every table, viewpoint, or museum entrance.
Of course, weather varies from year to year, so check historical climate information and current forecasts rather than assuming that September automatically means cool weather.
4. Think About What You Want to Do There
This may sound obvious, but it is one of the most important parts of planning a coolcation.
Don’t choose the destination first and then try to invent activities.
Think about the kind of holiday you actually want.
If you love hiking, look for mountain or countryside destinations. If you prefer culture, look for cities with museums, galleries, architecture, food markets, and historic neighborhoods. If you want nature without strenuous activity, consider lakes, forests, scenic train routes, or coastal walks.
The advantage of cooler weather is that many activities become easier to enjoy.
A long walking day can be pleasant rather than exhausting. You can spend hours exploring a city without constantly searching for shade. Even something as simple as sitting outside at a café can become part of the experience rather than a battle against the heat.
5. Pack for Layers, Not Just “Summer Clothes”
Packing for a coolcation requires a slightly different mindset.
If you’re accustomed to summer travel, your suitcase may be full of shorts, sandals, dresses, and lightweight tops.
Those things may still be useful, but layers become much more important.
A light sweater, cardigan, overshirt, waterproof jacket, comfortable walking shoes, and a small umbrella can be much more valuable than an extra swimsuit.
The trick is to think about flexibility.
Summer weather can change quickly, particularly in mountainous or northern destinations. You may leave your hotel in sunshine and return several hours later in rain and wind.
Being prepared doesn’t mean taking half your wardrobe. A few versatile layers can make a surprisingly big difference.
6. Make the Weather Part of the Experience
One of the best things about choosing a cooler destination is learning not to treat every cloudy day as a failed holiday.
If you go somewhere expecting perfect sunshine every day, rain can feel like a disaster.
If you deliberately choose a destination where changeable weather is part of the landscape, it becomes easier to embrace.
A rainy afternoon can be a reason to visit a museum, find a cozy café, browse a bookshop, or simply slow down.
And when the clouds finally clear, going outside can feel even more special.
Travel doesn’t have to mean constantly chasing perfect conditions.
Sometimes the atmosphere created by imperfect weather is part of what makes a place memorable.
7. Look Beyond the Famous Tourist Spots
Cooler destinations can still be extremely popular, especially during the summer months.
So don’t assume that choosing a northern or mountainous destination automatically means avoiding crowds.
Instead, research what lies beyond the obvious attractions.
A famous capital city might be busy, but a smaller town a short train ride away could offer a completely different experience. A popular national park may have one overcrowded trail while another nearby route is peaceful.
This is where a little research can make your trip much better.
Look at local tourism websites, recent traveler reviews, transportation maps, and hiking or walking routes. Sometimes the most memorable part of a trip is the place you almost didn’t include in the itinerary.
8. Leave Some Empty Space in Your Itinerary
This is particularly important for a coolcation.
When you’re traveling somewhere interesting, it is easy to create an enormous list of things you want to see.
But if your holiday is supposed to feel refreshing, you don’t necessarily want every hour scheduled.
Leave room for wandering.
Have breakfast without immediately checking the clock. Walk down a street because it looks interesting. Sit in a park. Stop at a café. Take the scenic route back to your accommodation.
Some of the best travel memories are not the things you carefully researched beforehand.
They are the small discoveries that happen because you had enough time to notice them.
9. Consider a Nature-and-City Combination
If you’re not sure whether you want an active nature holiday or a cultural city break, why choose only one?
A combination can make a coolcation much more interesting.
You could spend a few days exploring a city and then move somewhere quieter for hiking, swimming, cycling, or simply enjoying nature.
This also gives you a practical advantage: if the weather isn’t perfect, you have different types of activities available.
A museum-filled city day works when it rains. A scenic hike works when the sun comes out.
Instead of building your entire trip around one particular type of weather, you’re giving yourself options.
10. Don’t Forget That the Point Is to Feel Better
It is easy to turn travel planning into another form of productivity.
You start looking at destinations, comparing hotels, checking flights, reading guides, creating spreadsheets, and building the perfect itinerary.
Eventually, planning the holiday becomes almost as exhausting as having one.
A coolcation doesn’t have to be perfect.
The whole idea is partly about choosing a different kind of summer experience — one where comfort matters more than following the traditional idea of what a summer holiday is supposed to look like.
Maybe you want long walks instead of crowded beaches. Maybe you want a book and a café instead of a pool. Maybe you want mountains, forests, museums, local food, or simply a place where you can sleep comfortably at night.
That’s a perfectly good vacation.
What Makes a Coolcation Worth Trying?
The appeal of coolcation travel isn’t really about avoiding summer.
It’s about redefining what summer can look like.
There is nothing wrong with loving hot weather and spending two weeks beside the sea. But if you’ve ever returned from a summer holiday feeling more exhausted than rested, it might be worth trying something different.
A cooler destination can give you the freedom to explore without constantly checking the temperature. It can make walking, sightseeing, hiking, and spending time outdoors more enjoyable. And because the trip isn’t built entirely around sunshine, you may find yourself paying more attention to the place itself.
The architecture. The food. The landscape. The people. The small streets you wouldn’t have noticed if you were rushing from one attraction to another.
Perhaps that’s the most appealing part of a coolcation.
You aren’t necessarily traveling less.
You’re simply traveling at a temperature that lets you actually enjoy it.
Planning Your Own Coolcation
If you’re considering a cooler summer escape, start small.
Choose the climate you would genuinely enjoy, then look for destinations that match it. Think about what you want to do once you arrive, rather than choosing somewhere simply because it appears on a list of “cool summer destinations.”
Check the weather, but don’t expect perfection. Pack layers, leave some empty space in your itinerary, and give yourself permission to change plans.
And most importantly, don’t feel that your vacation has to look like somebody else’s idea of summer.
A holiday can be a beach.
It can also be a mountain trail, a rainy afternoon in a Scandinavian café, a quiet European town, or a long walk through a cool forest.
Sometimes getting away from the heat is exactly what makes summer feel like a holiday again.
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