Rhodes next week - are we mad?

[NumberSeven7]

We’re due to go to Rhodes next Wednesday for a week. Staying in an all insclusive on the east coast with a 6 year old. Lots of pools, air conditioned rooms and on the beach. Are we mad?

People we know have just returned from Rhodes today and say it’s much hotter than is being reported in the press/on forecasts.

Will we be ok as long as we stay in the resort, by the pool and inside during the hottest parts of the day?

If you can't get a refund then you may as well, I wouldn't want to though as I like to get out and about a bit on holiday and I dislike very intense heat.

We live in France and it stayed above 40 for 4 months last summer.

Up early to do what you want - eat your main meal at lunchtime - have a long afternoon snooze/time indoors - go out in the evening and have a smaller meal - sleep with a fan on or dampen the sheets with cold water to keep cool.

We stayed here in May when not so hot, but the rooms are large and the aircon seemed modern and good. There are plenty of sunshades around the pools but unfortunately people do reserve beds early with towels, so you may have to do this to get beds with a shade. There are also beds with shades at the waterpark. If you go to Tsambika beach (which is sandy and much nicer) there are also tons of beds with shades that you can pay for.
Restaurant was air conditioned and many tables outside were under a large shade/canopy.
The staff are really lovely and will be doing everything they can to make things easier for you I'm sure. Slushies are available from all the bars to help cool you down. Have a great holiday, it's a fab hotel.

I’ve spent a lot of time working in places with extremely high temperatures and usually no air con - apply the usual sensible measures listed by everyone above and you’ll be fine.

Staying hydrated and out of the midday sun (by that I mean 11am-3pm if it’s really hot) will serve you well!

I have always been fine just staying in the shade in the middle of the day, it doesn’t necessarily mean hiding inside (although if you have air con that would be nicer!).

I’ve spent a lot of time working in places

I think this is a good point, those worried about swimming and sitting in the shade should spare a thought for those working

We were in Greece during the 2003 heatwave and we were fine. We wore sunscreen, spent time in shade and dipped in pool a lot.

It was one of most social holidays I’ve been on in years as it was still so warm at night, n one was eating ink at least 10-11pm and we were all several cold beers in by the time we sat down.

I go to Rhodes twice a year and it's hot anyway.
Like a pp I've been to Lindos when the temps have hit 45/50° due to a heatwave.
Everyone was stood in the pool with hats on just talking.
You couldn't sit on a sunbed as your skin mottled (red patches) like you were sat too close to a fire.
However, we were fine and you'll be fine, they're geared up for the heat.
Swim in the morning, take cover in the afternoon, pop back to the room to sit in the aircon, everywhere is air-conditioned even shops, you can also hire fans from local supermarkets.
It gets dark early so snack late afternoon and go for your evening meal when the sun goes down.
Don't worry about the airport, it's been renovated and your bags tend to come quicker than when in England.
We also have hand held fans, charged by USB, they are a godsend, Amazon £20.
If you've booked a coach transfer they all have aircon.

We stayed at that hotel last year and it got to 40s. It was amazing you will have a fab time. We didn't think much of kids club as they said too hot to do any activities which I found very odd in a Greek hotel..they just did coloring which my kids are too old for. We spent all our days by the pools whoch stayed lovely and cool and bar inside is air conditioned. I would have no concerns. Airport arrivals was very very quick and dont remember it being warm at all. Local bus to Rhodes Town was amazing and cheap and air Conditioned although my kids found it too hot wandering around so we sloped back to the hotel fairly quickly. You will love it enjoy!!!!

I wouldn’t go because I’d hate that level of heat. My neighbour just got back from Greece & her son had terrible heatstroke, so I’d be really careful.

”That's like saying "what's the point of going on holiday to the beautiful Welsh countryside if it rains so hard all week that you can't see any of the views". The point is that you didn't know that the weather was going to be disastrous when you booked.”

But nobody says ‘oh we always go to Wales when it’s really rainy. It’s fine. You know for a fact it’s going to rain heavily all week but just go prepared. We wear waterproof trousers, hats and wellies and stay indoors during the wettest part of each day. You can’t go properly outside for any length of time but everyone stands under the gazebo chatting. It does occur to me that everyone going to Wales on holiday multiple times per year contributes to it being so rainy in the first place but I like it so…’

They say ‘bloody Wales. Rained all the time, couldn’t go out, it was rubbish. We stayed because it was supposed to dry up but it never did.’
(no offence intended to Wales, I had a holiday like that in Fort William.)

I was wondering about waterparks. Are they not unbearable with the queueing in intense heat? We’re going to Sicily and I’m gutted that it may be ruined by the heat. It’s cost a fortune.

And just to add...my SIL is going to Rhodes for a wedding in Lindos next week - it could be worse!

We loved the kids club in the hottest hours of the day, as it was the only way to keep DD out of the swimming pool and the intense heat. They had aircon in the room. She didn't get sunburnt once!

It'll be fine. I'd get your dd a rash vest. Get up early, have early breakfast and head out. Back in the room between 12-3 for a nap/chill then back out late afternoon and a late dinner.

Think not what climate change will do for your holiday flight, but what your holiday flight will do for climate change

What is mad is booking a summer holiday somewhere known to be hot, then considering cancelling & losing all the money you have paid because of the temperature?

I'm genuinely surprised at the replies saying about requesting refunds, surely this is the chance you take when you book a holiday?

Even if that were the case, you would not die in the time it takes to walk across the tarmac to the bus and get into the airport. Unless the bus broke down, trapping you inside it for 5 hours!
Relax and enjoy your holiday! We wait long enough for them.
(and I live in inland Spain - we're fine!)

To be fair, if someone posted saying "I'm booked into a cottage in Wales next week and the forecast is terrible, should I cancel" then they would get a lot of upbeat messages saying "there's no such thing as bad weather only the wrong clothing" and tips on how to make the best of it, and "we went last year and got trench foot and the roof leaked but the kids said it was The Best Holiday Ever".

Because people want to be nice and positive and what's the alternative?

We’ve booked to go to Corfu in the third week of the summer holidays, it’s the first year we’ve had to go during the holidays (usually book May or Sep/October) and I am anxious about keeping us and our kids cool. We are only half board as we were thinking of exploring a bit during the day but now thinking we were crazy to do that. They’re 3 and 5 and so hyped to go to a water park. I have bad anxiety any way about overheating as I had horrible heatstroke when I was a child. When we booked it I guess I was just swept away by the excitement of the kids but now it’s getting closer I am worrying about it 😩🙈

I know it's even hotter than usual at the moment but Rhodes is well known for being baking hot in summer so you were a bit daft to book it at this time of year if you don't like the heat!!!

Having said that if you have air conned rooms you'll be ok. A few years ago we were in france when it was 38 degrees for days on end - no air con - and it was fairly horrific tbh. Night times were the worst. day times we mostly sat in the pool with a hat on.

I don't do well in very hot places and swore I wouldn't ever go to somewhere like Rhodes ( which can be very hot, more so than some other Greek Islands) in the middle of the summer. Yet I found myself there, a good number of years ago, in the last week in July for a free holiday as my daughter was a holiday rep there, with a Greek Boyfriend whose relative owned a Greek Travel firm, at the time. Hottest day was 45 degrees. I survived and enjoyed our holiday, but some of it was spent under shade and with plenty of water and other drinks, high factor sun-cream etc - especially in the middle of the day ( say 11am to 3pm)

I would avoid Lindos altogether if I were you. It is down a steep road to the town/village and is so sheltered that it is often so much hotter than the other tourist villages on the east coast. I got out of my Daughter's air-conditioned car and got an instant headache from the wall of heat which hit me as I got out of it.

You might not want to stay at the hotel every single day, but if you want to do any sight-seeing at all, hire an air-conditioned car? It made a huge difference that my daughter could drive us around the whole island in hers. Prasonisi, in the south, where the Aegean and the Mediterranean seas meet is the windiest place and therefore a little cooler. Our timing was great. You could literally stand with one foot in the Aegean and the other in the Mediterranean as there was still a strip of sand between them and you could feel the difference in the water temp.

I would avoid any trip to Embonas too, as that is high above sea-level in the mountains and was VERY hot the day we went

Just take GREAT care with the suncream. Daughter loves the sun and the heat, spent a number of years as a holiday rep on a number of Greek islands and never got sunburnt using Factor 20. She is currently in Kos, and got sunburnt lips and part of her tummy, using Factor 30, which surprised her

Go and have a great holiday. Just take care

I’m afraid I’d be rebooking… last year we did Spain in June and there was an unexpected 39degree heatwave. Our toddler got unwell, and for the rest of the trip we had to hide in the accommodation and then go out late in the evenings. It was enjoyable in parts but I found it all quite overwhelming! But I’m a very cautious personality!

She also was unwell when we had the 40 degree heat here too! But then again my friends children seemed to cope fine. It depends how your six year old reacts to heat?

and depends on your own tolerance for heat. To me anything above about 26 is not enjoyable!! If I was going I’d be planning to be inside in the aircon for most of the day.

It's predicted to be the hottest week in Europe or something wild isn't it? Personally I'd be rebooking, it doesn't sound fun and theres a chance services like hospitals etc will be overrun which although unlikely you'll need it I'd be considering.

We were in France in 2019 when it was high 30s to 40 degrees.

We had an air conditioned apartment but took it easier - mostly did things early or late (helped we were at a music fesival so the majority of big things we were planning were in the evening/night. Wore hats and loose clothing, took plenty of water out with us.

The only really bad day was the day we arrived (and the hottest day - about 43 degrees) and we had to get a local train from the TGV station to our destination - it was crowded and not air conditioned. It was very very unpleasant.

We also did a lot of time in public buildigns - museums, town halls, theatres etc.. not sure about other coutnries but France has a heat wave protocol where you can go and sit in air conditioned public buildings.

Mr Monkey did get mild heatstroke the second day as he did not listen to me about sitting inside the restaurant at lunch. 🙄

It might be a good idea to read up on how to treat mild heatstroke just in case.