Dreaming of summer holidays - without the heat

[FcukBreastCancer]

Hi all. As the name suggests I'm currently having cancer treatment. I need a holiday to look forward too.

Love Greece and the med, but too hot in August.

Want to avoid too.much rain and midges!

Been to San Sebastian, Bilbao, Norway, Iceland

Consider Iceland again but I might be tired still and it's a road trip type place

Maybe Sweden?
Menorca - too hot still?

Kids are 9 and 12. Older one loves nature like her parents. Youngest will need some other activities to keep happy e..g zip lines, chance of water sports, swim, ride.

We are not keen on ferries, especially if rough and non optional.

Decent budget, but not silly money.

South Africa on my list,but probably a bit far.

Should I just go to Scotland. Not been since a child.

Went to Finland last year with very low expectations- ended up one of our best ever holidays.

Thank you both
Looks like Finland also on the list

The Île de Ré

Netherlands is a great option! We enjoyed a holiday there recently with 5 nights in center parcs and 2 nights at the Efteling theme park. Lots of holiday park options, if that suits you, or obviously the option to rent a house/apartment somewhere. We have friends who did time on the Dutch coast then did Efteling. We liked Center Parcs as way cheaper than the U.K., plus lots of stuff to do before you’ve even paid for any activities.

Yes - good roads and not too busy. Much easier than Germany or Austria. Hope you have a wonderful time wherever you go.

Want to avoid too.much rain and midges!

Maybe Sweden?

Unless you prefer man eating mosquitos to midges, I would avoid Sweden like the plague.

Looks like Finland also on the list

See my comment about Sweden.

I wouldn’t suggest the Alps in summer or Slovenia if you don’t want heat. It’s 30-35+ at ours in Austria most days in summer. And we aren’t far from Slovenia. The lakes are lovely, but they aren’t ‘ not hot’.
It’s only a bit cooler if you stay really high up the mountain ( but then your no where near lakes for water sports).

It was hot 30+ most days we visited Slovenia also.

from google:

• Heatwave Duration: June 2025 was one of the hottest in recorded history, featuring a 19-day heatwave with temperatures consistently over 30 °C in some areas.
• Red Warning: The highest heat warning level (red) was issued for parts of Carinthia, including Klagenfurt, Villach, Wolfsberg, and Völkermarkt, specifically around July 3, 2025, with temperatures reaching up to 38 °C.

It was -14 outside this week ( we have had -22 a few years ago), so Southern Austrian/ Slovenia often varies over 50 degrees between winter and summer.

TBF we did go before mosquito season

It was calm, but it's the sea so goodness knows what it could be like. I suspect it's usually pretty calm as a lot of the sailing is around the coast and fjords. Sailing into the pack ice was other worldly, and beautiful. If you suffer from sickness I suspect that it might be a high cost risk.

If you want to avoid rain and midges then avoid Scotland, particularly the west coast and islands!

Oh maybe this would work.
I've been going round in circles looking at places I know are too hot (slovinia and Croatia) or too many insects (Scotland and Scandi).

Will they tolerate my awful French? I guess Google translate should take away the fear.

Yes maybe. My daughter is very prone to allergic reactions and has awful skin. Everything always eats her and usually it's not as simple as slapping on bite cream. Often doctors/ hospital etc

Do you have to go in August?
As it opens up a lot more areas if you could go the May half term instead. Ie Croatia and Slovenia would be much milder then ( and cheaper!)

For August I would go to Denmark.

You could stay somewhere lovely with pool, kids outdoor activities and pop into Copenhagen centre at the end of holiday for 2 days ( 1 overnight) for a bit of city, museums, LEGO etc if your feeling up to it.

That’s where one of my party ended up last time I was in Sweden, due to mosquito bites.

Edit: The towns and cities were no problem, just the countryside. Endless trees and lakes, the perfect breeding ground.

Its a good idea. I was gutted to miss a work trip there due to my treatment.
Just looked at accommodation and better value than expected (especially compared to lle de re where you have to frequently hire bedding etc). Lots of swanky apartments

Lovely but still very hot potentially.

Ah I see, we have never taken ours out of school before but this January we have been to Florida. Beautiful weather and didn’t cost too much because of the time of year.

Spoken to dh and he's definitely keen on Copenhagen. Let's hope Trump doesn't start ww3 with the peaceful Danes.

Thanks for all your help. It's definitely made me evaluate whats best for our family. If it was just me I would choose Ile de re. But I mentioned it to dd and she's worried on bikes (asd, dyspraxic). So sadly it probably isn't ideal atm.

Are you worried about strong sun after having radiotherapy treatment? I went to Italy last June 3-4 weeks after finishing my treatment and just made sure I was wearing factor 50, plus a T shirt which covered my chest, I also got a tankini top which zipped right up for swimming. Then I stayed out of the sun as much as I could.

(If this isn’t relevant for you, then just ignore !)

@ABeerInTheSunshineMakesMeHappy no not that. Last holiday abroad was Greece and so hot we couldn't really explore much.
I keep the boobs covered.

I really rate Noordwijk in the Netherlands, beautiful beaches lovely beach clubs, Tulips, windmills, walking, close to Amsterdam for museums etc. I have been here many many times over the years and would recommend. https://www.noordwijk.info/en/discover-noordwijk/plan-your-visit/about-noordwijk/noordwijkerhout,

Very few midges in Shetland and Orkney. In Shetland if you're lucky you can see whales and orcas without getting on a boat. Wonderful places full of history and nature and honesty cake fridges. If you don't like the weather, wait ten minutes it'll change 🙂