looking for mild heat late august

[PopGoesTheWeaz]

I'm drawing a complete blank on where to go for our august holiday (leaving it a bit late, I know). Either driving (10 hours or so max) or short cheap flight and a self -catering gites/villa. I just want somewhere to chill with my family (DS6 and DS8) have some nice food. Honestly, if we have a pool and the weather is right (20+) then we can just hang out in the pool and read and swim. We like hiking and last year stayed in a bit of Italy where there were lots of places to walk to and go wild swimming which we all loved. We live in London so getting away from loads of people is a big priority.

I'm currently looking at Languedoc and Provence but wonder if I've missed something closer.

What about the Vendee. If you don't want to do beach every day then stay inland near Fontenay le Comte.

If you only want mild heat then Provence in August probably isn't for you.

I had discounted Vendee as I was worried it would be jam packed with British/MN holiday makers but hadn't thought to look inland, so will check out Fontenay le Comte.

I suppose my other concern was that it all seemed a bit flat and bland whereas I really like the stunning landscape of Gorge du Verdon and basically anything with mountains hitting water.

Do you think it will be too hot? That is what common sense tells me and then when I look up the average temperatures for August and September it seems to only be 25 in Provence. I suppose that could be averaging in cooler nigthtime temperatures?

My interest was also piqued by the Juras mountains but I know nothing about it or where to start looking evening.

The Languedoc and Provence will both be boiling in summer (30 degrees plus). I'd head to the mountains if you like mild temps. Jura would be beautiful - as would Swiss Alps, Austria, etc.

Madeira?
Wonderful levada hiking, good quality self catering accom mostly with pools, generally good restaurants with interesting regional fish dishes.
3.5hr flight.

It depends on where you look, but somewhere like le Luc for example has average max temps of 31+

The Vendee is not packed with British holiday makers - but it is very flat.

If you like mountains what about Chamonix?

A work colleague went to Slovenia in summer and loved the mountains. Malta will be boiling in august. I'd look at the Swiss alps too.

Watching with interest, as know very little about France and thinking of Jura in August too. Or maybe Annecy

The Vendee can be very variable weather-wise. We've had times when it's rained a lot & last time it was scorching - too hot to cycle or walk.

But north Vendee is more rolling hills type countryside, whereas the south is flatter.

Can I ask where in Italy you have been? I've always assumed it would be too hot for us in summer.

Not typical, but how about Germany?

Reliably warm in summer, they have nice lakes throughout the country, wine-growing regions, lovely spas.

Never overlook Germany!

I came here to say Slovenia too!
Lake Bled and Lake Bohinj should tick your boxes and there's plenty of walking space around as well.

Provence will definitely be too hot, it's horrible in the summer.

Germany has potential.

Decorhate - Italy has lots of mountains if you want a lower temperature in August. Where did you go wild swimming OP?

I third Slovenia. Went to the Julian Alps last summer and it was gorgeous. Really un-touristy - lots of walkers - and lovely wild swimming in Lake Bohinj. The country is clean and green and peaceful, and the capital - Ljubljana - is beautiful.

I've been thinking of Slovenia but assumed it would also be too hot in the summer

Definitely not too hot. I don't mean that in a negative way - it was generally like a lovely summer's day in Britain (although there were a couple of proper downpours too!) Remember we were up in the Alps though, so altitude helped!

That sounds ideal for us! Did you organise the holiday independently or via travel agent?

I'm afraid we went with Thomson: I like to know someone else is thinking of things for me. One thing I will say is that it was much less like a "package holiday" than usual. So we got transfers organised for us, and we were aware there was a rep somewhere in the area, but the day trips we went on were run by local Slovenian guides who were incredibly interesting and knowledgeable. I think we saw our Thomson rep about twice over the fortnight. I think the fact that Slovenia is not a typical Brit tourist destination helped too - no catering to British tastes in bars and cafes - eat Slovenian food and drink Slovenian wine!

Also the staying in a ski village in the summer helped, as the other holiday-makers were hikers - it was all very peaceful. Bled - half an hour down the road - was more lively because the lake attracts more tourists. But I like the peace! We would go to Bled and then like coming away from it at the end of the day!

I can definitely recommend Germany. Southern Germany is normally more weather-proof with the area around Bodensee/Lake Constance the best. Saying that we were there 3 years ago and had a week of rain and 17 degrees after one week of 25 plus.

You also have the lakes around Munich, medium mountain size in Frankonia north of Nurenberg with lots of hiking possibilities if you don't want to go totally alpine.

Palatine next to the French border is also lovely for hiking (and it is a great wine region, like Franconia as well). You can drive in around 7-8 hours there.

A bit further and you need an overnight stay is the Baltic coast. Either north of Hamburg the lakes around Eutin/Ploen or the beach resorts of Timmendorfer Strand and north of it or Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, island of Ruegen.

We have been several times in August there and normally have lovely weather with the odd days of bad weather thrown in. But DH and I are Germans, we go also to keep DD's German skills up and running, so for us it is like a UK holiday, we don't go there for sun proof weather.

You may have left it quite late though, we normally book in Autumn for the next year Summer, the German as well like to do things way in advance.

Another area worth checking is Austria, lots of large lakes used as beach resorts.

Definitely recommend Lake Bled. I was there in mid summer and the temperature was great - swimming in the lake but could still hike and cycle. Beautiful scenery.

Pretty much anywhere in France in late August can be very hot. Already it is in the 30s where we live and last year in August it was mid/late 30s. Brittany by the sea might be cooler or Normandy. I recommend mountains - the alps etc or Austria, Bavaria. Stay in a ski resort as others have suggested. Italian lakes? Further south is usually 30s in August.

Thanks TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross

Very helpful. Did you hire a car? I quite like the idea of not but unsure if that is practical

We did hire a car - there were no car hire places in Kranjska Gora so we had to get the bus down to Bled to pick it up. It was really handy to have and quite straightforward to drive in Slovenia, especially driving down to Ljubljana - once you get on the major roads, it's very quick. The speed limits were confusing at first but the local guide told us that when you pass a sign with the name of the village on it, the speed limit (50km/h) is in force from that moment until you pass the sign with the name crossed out as you leave the village! And you need a vignette to travel on motorways and expressways but our car hire company provided this.

We stayed here but no pool on site - we went down to Bled to swim in the lake or up to one of the hotels in Kranjska Gora where you could pay to use their pool like you would a public pool. Something to bear in mind if you like to swim a lot on holiday; we did miss it.

Ancienchateau I'm in Brittany near the coast - it's 30 here today and forecast for 35 early next week It was like this most of last summer too. too bad for me because I can't stand it

OK cancel the Brittany recommendation jenpetronus it's the same here and I've just seen the forecast for next week too. I don't enjoy it either at my age.

Thanks again. That's very helpful. Impatient that I will probably have to wait till next year to go now!

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I have thought a lot of about germany in the past, but just in an abstract way so any specific towns or villages to look at would be great).

We do want some restaurants where we can get dinner which is why I had previously ruled out Bled - didn't want something too sleepy, but perhaps I should look again? Have travelled to Montenegro which is similar in that it doesn't cater to British or American tourists as #1 aim end did really enjoy that aspect of it so it sounds like this might be similar.

Our wild swimming was just in streams and rivers in Tuscany. We wouldn't have necessarily known about it but the house we stayed in was owned by people who randomly had very similiar interests to ours and had included a booklet with helpful walks.

Provence is definitely out - maybe one easter holiday?

Have to say, looking at Vendee, especially North and I was feeling much more inspired than I did previously but now came back to the thread after a weekend away and see I have a lot more research to do.

Interesting about Brittany but I'm not sure the weather is that reliable. It is after all 30 degrees here in London, but I wouldn't expect it to be like that if I were to visit over the summer. In my experience, the weather in Brittany has been similar to the South of England and when it is lovely, it really is one of the prettiest places on earth. But I lived their for a year (granted, it was inland) and there was a lot of grey rain.

Thanks for all of the suggestions though guys! Unfortunately my options are expanding rather than narrowing!