'Cooler' summer holidays

[blueshoes]

We are not keen on searing heat in summer so looking for holiday destinations around mid-August which don't exceed 30 degrees, ideally 25 degrees or under.

Our budget for 2 adults and 2 teens (16 and 19) is 3-5K for 1-2 weeks. We enjoy inexpensive good food in AirBnB city locations. Not really into resort/poolside or AI-type deals. Fave holidays in the past are to Porto, Rome and Valencia.

We are looking at Prague, Bruges, Munich, Berlin, Dubronik and Zagreb. Scandinavian countries would probably be too pricey.

Any thoughts of those cities or other places?

Dubrovnik is wonderful but will be hot then. Prague would be my choice or Krakow

Copenhagen or Amsterdam?

You could combine Dubrovnik and Sarajevo/ Mostar?

Zagreb was ok but Sarajevo is incredible - absolutely fascinating, really good value and it was really chilly in July. Honestly one of the most interesting places I have ever been.

Other options - Slovenia?

The alps

What do you like to see and do on a holiday?

Prague is full of history and day trips to the ossary or Cesky Krumlov are worth looking into

Bruges is very pretty, but touristy. More of a day trip, 2 days max IMO. I did a day trip from Brussels when on a work conference. I loved Brussels for the various museums and easy to get around, but many others don't like it.

Berlin was also easy to get around, felt safe and had amazing museums

Thanks for all the suggestions!

@CC4712 we like museums, parks, amazing buildings (just googled ossary, wow). An easy to get around city is good, ideally staying in a medieval or similar-type quarter (like Trastavere in Rome) with lots of shops and restaurants nearby and venture out on public transport to sights. A bicycle-friendly place would be fun. The first week we tend to crash a bit to decompress from work but can be more active in the second. That said, we tend to do maybe 3 big sights per week, as quite slothful on holidays.

@BumbleNova you piqued my interest. What did you like about Sarajevo?

I found Stockholm a great city and not too expensive if you don't mind not having a luxury hotel. Lots to do there.

Tallin is very beautiful.

Stay in Sopot and head to Gadansk, Gdynia and Malbork Castle.

@blueshoes so much history - everything from medieval bits of the city to the very immediate Bosnian war in the 90s. I was backpacking and found myself on a tour of the city with a local who had survived the siege. We walked around the city with him, he showed us the sniper positions and the winter Olympics installations that had been deliberately destroyed. It was fascinating and terrifying in equal measure. You can also go to the spot where archduke Ferdinand was shot and sparked WW1.

It's small so easy to navigate. Tourists are still a novelty. The food is good too!

A few years ago we went to Dubrovnik in August. It was 40 degrees for at least 4 of the 10 day holiday. Definitely mid- high 30s the rest of the time

August is the hottest month in Poland

@BumbleNova Sarajevo sounds like a gem. So much history mixed with trauma from the past.

@peterpepe I guess I will take Dubronik off my list.

Will explore the other suggestions. Nice to get ideas for places I have not considered before.

Most of the places you’ve suggested would be pretty hot then. I would definitely see if there’s anything you could do to make Scandinavia/the Nordic countries viable - Finland is fascinating and not as eye-wateringly expensive as, say, Norway, from memory. You could also combine it with Estonia.

Or you could look at going from Tallinn to Vilnius via Latvia. 3 mini city breaks in one, loads to see, and you could incorporate some coast or lake time to cool off if that worked for you (Jurmala in Latvia is nice, and I’ve always wanted to go to the Curonian Spit in Lithuania).

All three cities have some brilliant museums covering their 20th century past if history is something that attracts you - as well as good food.

Berlin is great, full of culture and history, and you’ve got lakes and forests around. We’ve driven a few times across Germany, through the Black Forest, via Nuremberg and Munich to the Tyrol. So beautiful and interesting. Kids loved it even when younger.

another idea is the Baltic Coast. We’ve also driven there (from south east UK), via NL and Germany. It’s cooler in the summer, some lovely islands, super-interesting history. Last winter DH and I went to Riga and Tallinn, both wonderful cities, and I’d love to go to the Estonian coast in the summer. Easy ferry to Helsinki from Tallinn. And amazing food in Estonia.

The Azores
Madeira
Northern Spain

Central Europe gets extremely hot in summer as do all Mediterranean countries.

I was in Dubrovnik in late July/early August last year. It's absolutely stunning but it was very hot, high 30s/40ish every day. Also went to Bosnia and it was absolutely baking, iirc it was 43 degrees in Mostar when we were there. What about Iceland? It's expensive but so beautiful and there are loads of camping options there in the summer.

www.google.com/amp/s/sarajevotimes.com/incredible-fifty-degrees-celsius-measured-in-mostar/

Not sure if your budget is total or just travel/accommodation, but have a look at a BA package to Helsinki - £901 for 2 weeks at the Hilton, 9 - 23 August, I appreciate you prefer AirBnB, but worth looking maybe! We went there last year and whilst it wasn't exactly cheap, neither was it extortionate, and a fantastic place to visit.

Prague, Munich and also Berlin can all be incredibly hot in August. Bruges should be better but is tiny - could be one stop on a larger Benelux itinerary. Antwerp, Ghent, then go on to Zeeland? Or really anywhere on the North Sea and Baltic coasts. The Hague has its own beach and great beach restaurants, plenty to do and a lot less tourists than A'dam. Also easily accessible from the UK.

Don’t even think about Berlin in August if you want to get away from the heat. Not only is it over 35 degrees a lot of the time, it’s a nasty, sticky heat and often stays at over 20 degrees overnight so there’s no respite. And because it’s set up to deal with extreme cold rather than rather extreme heat, there’s no infrastructure to alleviate the problem: very little air conditioning, no tradition of a siesta. The one good thing we do have here is plenty of lakes and open-air swimming pools. But it‘s still not pleasant. And I don’t think anywhere in central Europe will be much better.
We went to Norway in August a few years back, the temperature was perfect.

Center parcs in netherlands (loads of activities for all ages and cheaper than uk) followed by weekend in Amsterdam.

Berlin is roasting in August!

Did you consider Dublin?

A bit worried about the heat in some of these places. Was also considering Vienna but that is probably too hot as well.

I just realised that Finland and Estonia are somewhat close to Russia.

Any thoughts on Iceland, say Reykjavík?

We swithered between Iceland and Jersey for the same reasons as you - don't like it too hot - and opted for Jersey in the end as it will be warmer than UK, but hopefully not infeasibly so and there appears to be things to see and do.
iceland would be great, but is expensive.

Haarlem or Leiden are but a short train ride from Amsterdam and the cost of accommodation is a lot less. Both have local interesting museums too, and you can get easily to The Hague too.