Recs for summer beach holidays in Europe where the temp is not crazy!

[Electrotrinco]

Teen DCs really want a beach holiday in Europe next year. I tend to book either long haul or uk as I can’t stand very hot temps. I can go to 30 degrees before I lose the will.

any suggestions for places in Europe or near that aren’t horrifically hot?

Norway, Sweden, Denmark

Brittany, Normandy.

agree Denmark can be lovely.

scandinavians do have a habit of sunbathing and swimming nude which you may want to be aware of.

Northern half of France. Coastal areas of Normandy, Brittany, Vendee don't generally get too hot. You do run the risk of rain though. The weather is usually more reliable the further South you go. We go to the southernmost part of Brittany most years and have nearly always had good weather with temperatures averaging around 23-26 degrees. It's not reliable though, I've had a scorching week in Normandy and two weeks of rain in the Vendée. The problem is that the places with more reliable dry weather are often the places where heatwaves are more likely to hit.

The Canary islands might also work as they tend to have more consistent warm weather throughout the year with less likelihood of extremes of heat (although not geographically Europe).

Netherlands has great beaches.

Jersey.

Alpine lakes have ‘beaches’ too. If you want them for swimming.

Jersey beaches are gorgeous.

Canaries are probably your best bet for guaranteed sunshine but moderate temperatures. Anywhere else could be cool or wet for a beach holiday, eg Northern Spain. It wasn’t too hot but it rained a lot when we were there in August.

We just got back from Lanzarote and the weather was perfect. We've avoided European beach holidays for quite a few years as we like being active and just find it too much when it gets above 30. Lanzarote dud get to around 30 but there's a constant breeze which helps, and we all found it the ideal temperature for being in the pool, but not too hot for long walks, tennis etc. The nights weren't excessively hot either.

Cote d'Opale in France, Costa Verde in Spain.

Portugal. We went mid July and you definitely have a breeze and around high twenties, maybe 30 but you don’t really feel it.

Atlantic coast of Spain, less typical touristy though, lots of Spaniards and Germans.

A friend always went to Canaries, again, more wind.

The Baltic coast of Germany or Poland.
Also the Netherlands.

Fuerteventura, specifically Correlejo

We have found Biarritz/San Sebastian a good beach combo but with interesting towns and a good breeze for when it’s warm.

Atlantic coast of Spain, less typical touristy though, lots of Spaniards and Germans.

It was 35 whilst we were there in August.

Lots of Spanish people (of course), very few from the UK and hardly anyone from Germany either. A couple of Dutch families.

Thanks all. These are great suggestions

The only downside of the atlantic is colder sea, I imagine

We may have been lucky then.

things must have changed, we met lots of German families around Chiclana.

Western France!🇫🇷

I am a total wuss about the cold but have always managed to swim in the Atlantic off France in the summer.

North of France and Belgian coast have beautiful beaches. I also think Brittany is lovely and like Cornwall without the crowds.

We went to Bilbao and Sebastian in late August 2024, we went for 6 nights over the UK bank holiday weekend and it was between 23 and 30 the whole time. In August 2025 it hit 30 degrees only 6 times, in 2024 it only happened twice. Both years if hit 40 on one random day. Anyway perfect temperature, sea was bareable at 21/22 degrees and the main beach is a beautifully still, calm semi-circle, ideal for swimming. We also did Porto in the school summer holidays, stayed at beach side Espinho. Temperatures in the city was around 25 degrees, and similar at the beach, this year it hit 30 on 4 occasions in August and last year it only happened once. The sea is colder though, 18/19 degrees and the waves are bigger, they have barriers for shelters. As others have said neither of these are stereotypical resorts, more frequented by local tourists, which I quite like.

Cornwall, Devon, Isle of Wight

Echoing the pp that said Portugal, we went to Lagos in aug and I needed a cardigan in the evenings, quite a cool breeze. The sea was indeed freezing though!

🤣 the teens will be made up with that as their summer beach holiday

Italian Lakes
Bavaria