Travelling to Italy, massive heatwave

[MaraScottie]

Hi,
So I'm due to fly to Italy next week and there is an awful heatwave throughout the country. We're staying in a Eurocamp park for 10 nights, and temperatures are forecast in the region of 35-40 degrees. I've got 2 kids going with me and to be honest I'm terrified of those temperatures.

Is this going to be the most unenjoyable holiday ever?

I live in Spain where we’ve experienced 40+ recently, and our summer temps are regularly in the mid 40s. It’s completely dealable with as long as you’re sensible - get out into the pool in the morning then get inside for midday (have lunch, have a siesta), then venture back out after about 5-6pm. Eat at Mediterranean times. If you’re white British then get the highest sunscreen you can, I see so many absolutely bright red tourists and it can’t be comfortable. Don’t do any major walking around in the central hours of the day, heat makes you very tired. By night time the temps come down enough for you to sit out for dinner, and as long as there’s a/c in your accommodation (or ceiling fans) you’ll be able to sleep comfortably enough. 35-40 isn’t hellish, it’s what we live with from June-Oct here, it’ll be fine.

Are you in a tent. We only managed the 40 degrees in Spain recently as we had air con. I dont know what I would have done without it.

Well there were warnings all over the news, bus stops, billboards and even parks were shut in Madrid due to the extreme temperatures so not that 'dealable'

Thanks for that GirlInTheDryShirt, appreciate it.

We've a couple of days booked in Rome too, I think we'll have to reassess our expectations there and just cut out anything in the middle of the day. Eek.

No, we're in a mobile with Aircon, thankfully!

Uff Rome in a heatwave isn’t fun at all, any city (ie Madrid like the poster above mentioned) isn’t a good idea because the buildings radiate heat and it gets trapped. But if you’re just at a Eurocamp type place it’s fine because you have the pool and your room/cabin to retreat to. I’d perhaps rethink the days in Rome because it’s a lot of walking around in sweltering heat, and if you’re not used to it you’ll struggle a bit.

Rome is full of cool shady churches and art galleries. And gelato shops. Depending on the age of the kids it will either be easy to stay cool and they'll be interested, or easy and they might get slightly bored.

Oh you'll be fine then, we managed to do some sight seeing in those temps the other week, not as much as I would have liked but there you go

We were in Retiro park, it was roasting in the sunny bits but there was shady trees, as we left in late afternoon the police were closing it due to the extreme temps!!!

We would get out for 9 or 10, get back for 2 and then go out for dinner at about 8.

It's only really one full day (2 nights) in Rome - kids are 7 and 9 and really excited. We've no other option as car hire is already arranged and our hotel is booked.

We do have a Colosseum tour booked on the 2nd morning - it's only an hour at 10am but could be hellish if it's already mid thirties by then.

I actually found that cramped small streets were cooler (walking on the shady side) than being out in the big squares even under trees. And shops were a god send. And buses, anywhere with air con. A nice shady cafe.

I remember going to Venice in similar temperatures. We ended up paying €15 each to go into an art gallery we didn't really want to go to just because it had air conditioning. If we hadn't spent that money I think we may have killed each other! 😂

Haha @bigbluebus

These heatwave seem to be more and more commonplace. It's scary. So many elderly and vulnerable will die too. I feel guilty moaning about my summer holiday!

As others have said behave like the locals, don't be out in the sun in the midday heat, have a long leisurely lunch, siesta, relax. Wear loose comfortable and preferably natural fibre clothing and comfortable shoes, drink plenty of water, those spray cans of water that you can spray on your face are useful as are hand held fans. Take it slow, don't rush and I'm sure you will cope with sightseeing/shopping.

The air conditioning will be a Godsend, you will be able to sleep comfortably.

Enjoy your holiday, I'm sure you all will.

Avoid the sun 11-4pm. Definitely lower expectations around what you can do in that time. Reading and sleeping in the shade definitely order of the day.

Climate change is really messing with Southern European summers 😔

Siesta! Remember only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noon day sun.

We did our honeymoon in Italy in 40 degrees everyday - as someone who does not do heat I would say you do get used to it a bit. Small streets, shade and covered arcades are your friends - no open spaces. We decided to go for a walk to an ancient monument through a park, marriage was nearly over before it began.

Make sure you know the opening times for everything, go early or late - quite often things are shut in the middle of the day, the Italians aren't daft.

Long lunch, plan for a siesta, keep windows and curtains shut, late dinner - totally normal to see everyone emerge with their kids at 9pm.

If you have some portable mini umbrellas, take them with you, OP (or buy some there).

They're great for keeping the sun off when you need to.

Yep, we live in those temperatures and not somewhere like the UAE where everything is set up brilliantly (it's 42 today, we will be inside until about 5.30pm). Locals here will go to the beach at 7.30 am and come home at 9.30 or 10 am. Does the pool in the campsite have shade or an inside pool? Is there a kids club or art room? If you can face it get up and go to the pool very early (like 7) so at least they have burned off some energy.

Have a massive siesta, download some films on a tablet for the afternoon and let the kids stay up until you go to bed. Take some things like colouring and magazines. We almost treat it like a rainy day in the UK. DD has a friend coming over today and we're doing cake decorating and painting, not playing out!

You'll probably be ok for the Colesseum, mornings are better as it hasn't started to bake, and there will be some shady bits. Just plan to sit in a cold cafe afterwards. Park the car in the shade and cover the steering wheel with a towel (I usually leave my windows open a crack as well but it's low crime here). Be careful of the seat belt buckles too.

Also have a look for things like soft play or trampolining near where you are staying. They're a godsend when it's burning hot outside. Enjoy the evenings, head out for an ice cream and play when the sun has dipped.

You need to shift to a southern European mindset, move slow, stay in with the shutters down.

Colosseum will probably be fine as you have booked it so avoiding the queue, and the tour is all inside the shady corridors and underground bits - it was a good call!

If there are other things you want to do I would book everything in advance. The last thing you want to be doing is standing in a long queue snaking across a burning hot piazza.

Our first trip to Venice was like that - er, no suddenly don't want to go to St Marks, no not there either. Or there. Quick lets get out to an island where there might be a breeze.

You have air con, it won't be unbearable by any stretch of the imagination. Get up early and use the pool, stay out of the sun 11-4 and use hats and high factor sun screen.

You need to shift to a southern European mindset, move slow, stay in with the shutters down

This definitely

Actually the temperatures are higher around 4 and 5, they start going down around 7ish. The peak of the day seemed to be around 5ish. It was unbearable.

We got back from Italy yesterday, it was 32-35 most days.

We would have massively struggled at night without aircon but daytimes we're ok between 8am-2pm.

We planned our days around getting out early and being back in the accommodation by 2 every day, as 3-6pm was roasting. Then cold showers and out for dinner after 6pm.

I have to be in southern France in early July and I’m slightly dreading it, weather-wise. Not a holiday, occupation related, so I won’t be able to hide away. I’m really not a fan of extreme heat and it’s years since I’ve needed the sort of clothes that will be needed. All the thick jersey and heavy denim in UK shops online looks laughable when I compare the current temperatures in my local city to the 90 degrees expected during my trip.

Another thread is talking about how elegant Southern European residents look in their everyday wardrobes compared to visiting English in holiday clothes. But there’s no way I could spend as much on clothes I’ll be wearing for two weeks as I do on my usual clothes. It’s a puzzle.

I've just got back from Rome and it was very hot but not unmanageable. We visited the coliseum at 4pm and it was perfect, plenty of shade.

I wore a white hat and a neck fan to keep cool qnd stopped for a drink in the shade very often. It's s lot of walking so just make sure you take breaks and take it slow. I had a fab time.

Well in the middle of Spain they didnt dress in the sort of clothes English people would wear in the heat, they were smartly dressed, some in jackets, lots of polyester looking dresses for the mature lady, lots of those older women's sandals with the heel strap and a slight heel. Not a bead of sweat on any of them. Men in shirts, long trousers, some in jackets if they were business men, proper smart shoes. No shorts.
Me in the lightest linen you could find, sweating like a pig, bright red face, drenched hair, comfy trainers with my ankles like footballs.

We live in southern France. Last week was hell on earth,,this week is relatively cool and tempartures will rise next week but not scarily so.
We are decamping for the summer to Ireland.