Featured image: Bergen is the gateway to Norway’s stunning fjords / Photo from Envato

Six places to enjoy a coolcation 

by JourneyWoman Staff

With temperatures rising around the world, we asked our well-travelled travel writers to recommend some of their favourite places for solo women to stay cool in July and August. While there are hundreds of destinations we could recommend from our travels, these are ones we’ve travelled to recently (or live in). Not only do they offer cooler temperatures to escape the heat but more sunlight, making for longer days.

Where are you planning to stay cool this summer? Let us know some of your recommendations in the comments below. (If you need inspiration, check our “Less-travelled places” section.)

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Places to stay cool this summer

1. Bergen, Norway, Recommended by Carolyn Ray

Bergen is Norway’s second-largest city, framed by seven mountains and iconic fjords. In July, the average temperature is 17 degrees Celcius/mid-70s Fahrenheit during the day, while daylight lasts 16-18 hours per day.

While you can fly to Bergen, it’s even more relaxing to take the Oslo-Bergen train, from Oslo, which winds through panaromic vistas and fjords. You won’t want to miss Bryggen, the old wharf of Bergen, known for its colourful and crooked wooden houses. The history of Bryggen goes back to the year 1070, shortly after the Viking Age, when it became an important Nordic trading hub. Twice, in 1702 and 1955, Bryggen burned down and was rebuilt. Today, this vibrant area is a UNESCO World Heritage site, with quaint shops, cafes and museums.

In 2015, Bergen became a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the area of gastronomy. Make sure to visit the historic Enhjørningen Fiskerestaurant (The Unicorn Fish Restaurant), Bryggen’s oldest restaurant, which serves local cuisine like whale carpaccio, fresh scallops and other and pressed cod (persetorsk). Other restaurants include Bergenhus Fish Market and Bar Amundsen, named after Polar explorer Roald Amundsen, near the train station. I also did a “Norway in a Nutshell” tour that runs all year, going through the fjords and the Flåm and the Flåm railway. It’s a unique experience not to be missed!

The Bergen Card offers free transit on buses and free or discounted admission to museums and attractions, events or sightseeing tours. A 24-hour card is 480 NOK/USD$45, and gives you a 50 per cent discount at the wheelchair accessible Bergen Museum, which has archaeological displays of clothing and homes discovered after the fire in 1955. For a panoramic view of Bergen, take the Floibanen funicular to the top of Mount Fløyen. There’s a spectacular view of the city, a Troll Forest and nature trails. There are two restaurants at the top, The Fløirestaurant (perfect for a coffee break) and the Schou, which requires a dinner reservation.

Where to stay: If you’re planning to join a Hurtigruten cruise, Bergen has many hotels that are within walking distance of the port. Recommended ones include the Grand Hotel Terminus, Clarion Bergen, Moxy Bergen, Hotel Skosteredet, Scandic Byparken, Thon Bristol, Scandic Bergen City and Hotel Norge. Check booking.com for good rates.

Make it a longer trip: From Bergen, take Hurtigruten’s Coastal Express from Hurtigruten for less than $2,000 in July or August. Book it here!

 2. St. John’s, Newfoundland, recommended by Kathy Buckworth

Newfoundland is unlike any other province in Canada. The average high temperature in both July and August is 20 degrees Celcius/ 60 degrees Farhenheit, so it never gets very hot. With 29,000 kilometres of coastline (including Labrador), boasting the most eastern part of North America at Cape Spear, the topography is constantly changing, and with it the adventures and activities you can do. “Newfoundland is one province, but two lands”, said our tour guide Larry. The population in Newfoundland and Labrador is sparse; only 150,000 in St. John’s (the capital city), with a total population of less than 500,000 in Newfoundland, and only 28,000 in Labrador.

Downtown St. John’s is home to many restaurants, pubs, and shops. It is also adjacent to the area of St John’s which is often featured on postcards and travel brochures; the Jelly Bean Row houses. These row houses are brightly coloured and line the surprisingly hilly streets just north of the main strip of downtown St. John’s.

According to Larry, the tradition came from using the leftover paint from the fishermen’s dories (fishing boats). Today, you are allowed to pick the colour, but the city has approval to make sure there aren’t two houses of similar colour in a row. And colourful describes most of the people we met, their storytelling and friendliness matched only by the pride they have in their home province. After all, you often hear people refer to themselves as Newfoundlanders, but when’s the last time you heard someone say they were an Ontarian?

Meet the locals: McCarthy’s Party: Day tours in and around the St. John’s area. A City Tour includes Cape Spear, Signal Hill, Quidi Vidi, Petty Cove, and a quick spin down the main street of St John’s. Guide Larry was fantastic.

Where to stay:  Edge Of The Avalon Inn (Trepassy): Host Carol Ann Devereaux runs the inn, which has newly renovated rooms, a great restaurant, and Earhart’s Pub, a great spot to catch up with Carol Ann and other locals.

Make it a longer trip: This part of Canada is road trip heaven, so spend time in the area enjoying the views and national parks. Find a rental car here.

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3. Killarney, Ireland, recommended by Carolyn Ray

With an average summer high of 18 degrees Celcius, Ireland offers long days, mild weather, summer festivities and short nights.  There are many charming villages to visit in the Emerald Isle, but of all the places I visited as part of a self-guided trip with Brendan Vacations, it in July 2024, Killarney is one that stands out.  There are lively institutions with local music like Murphy’s and J.M. Reidy’s, and it’s an easy train ride from Dublin.

From Killarney, it’s an easy day trip to the Dingle Peninsula. I rented a car from Budget and wound my way around the Dingle Peninsula for the day, visiting archaeological sites like Cashel Murphy, a prehistoric settlement dating back to 3200 B.C., about 15 km from Dingle Town. There’s something magical about the clouds on the Dingle Peninsula; it’s a day I won’t easily forget. On my another day in Killarney, I joined Wild Kerry Day Tours to see the Ring of Kerry, Ballintleave Commons (a Kerry Bog Village that shows how workers cultivated the peat for fuel in bygone days) and saw sheepdog champion Tom Sullivan. Find local tours here.

Where to stay: The Arbutus in Killarney, a charming Victorian-era home with a pub downstairs, is a short walk from the train station.

Make it a longer trip: Brendan Vacations offered self-guided tours in Scotland and Ireland. Use Code ATVLJOURNEY150 for savings and exclusive perks** (see terms below). Book here.

4. Finger Lakes, New York, Recommended by Karen Gershowitz

Stretching north from New York City along the Hudson River, the Hudson Valley offers a string of small towns that are easy to navigate and fun to explore. Even in the summer, temperatures vary through the day with cool mornings and evenings and daytime highs in the 70s and 80s.

If you’re into art, history or nature, you will find lots to do. Hudson is walkable, stylish and known for antique shops, art galleries, and restaurants. It’s roughly a two-hour drive or train ride from Manhattan. Close by is Art Omi, a 120-acre sculpture park. A short distance south is Cold Spring, a picture-perfect river town. In the summer, there are concerts in the riverside gazebo. Nearby is Garrison, which offers an open-air summer Shakespeare festival. Art lovers shouldn’t miss the DIA:Beacon, a sprawling contemporary art museum or the Storm King Art Center, one of the most extraordinary open-air museums in the world.

For history lovers, the Hudson Valley is dotted with historic estates and homes that provide a glimpse into America’s grand architectural and social history. Tour West Point, the Vanderbilt Mansion, visit the home of Franklin D. Roosevelt, or stroll through Olana, the hilltop Persian-inspired estate of 19th-century painter Frederic Church. For foodies, the nearby Culinary Institute of America (CIA) offers several student-run restaurants where you can sample everything from elegant French fare to casual global street food. If you have time, sign up for a cooking demo or a one-day class.

Where to stay: Stay in Hunter, New York, at Bluebird Hotels Hunter Lodge, a boutique hotel with a modern take on a 70s-inspired ski lodge, located in the heart of the Catskills.

Make it a longer trip: Head up to Montreal, Quebec and join a guided trip visiting Ottawa, including its Parliament buildings and Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site — then feast on locally farmed and foraged foods for dinner at the renowned restaurant Play, Food & Wine. In Quebec City, stay at the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, which overlooks the St. Lawrence River. Find more trips to Canada here.

5. Nairobi, Kenya, Recommended by Rupi Mangat

Straddling the Equator with Mount Kenya showing off its snow-capped peaks, Kenya boasts everything from the desert to savannah grasslands that are home to the big cats. Until a decade ago, Nairobi was dubbed the ‘Green City in the Sun’. The green has been replaced by skyscrapers and buildings due to a rapidly growing population. It has the most perfect climate in the world, averaging 22 degrees centigrade almost throughout the year. July to September is the dry season, which also coincides with the Great Migration of wildebeest and zebra.

You can see lions, leopards and cheetahs in a day, plus the megaherbivores like rhinos and elephants in wildlife areas like the world-famous Maasai Mara. Combine this with a beach safari boasting powder white beaches and fantastic ocean creatures, or island hop to Lamu, with its vibrant Swahili history.

Within Kenya, Kenya Railways has the standard gauge railway with scheduled train services between Nairobi and Mombasa, the coastal city 500 km south-east of Nairobi. Buses try to be on schedule, and one can catch one to any part of the city. The cheapest taxi is the 14-seater matatu, mostly carelessly driven.

Where to stay: From the very exclusive like the Giraffe Manor Hotel to the sophisticated historical like the Fairmont, the Norfolk, and Karen Blixen Coffee Garden and Cottages to the urban Kempinski Villa Rosa, you also have the ones in Nairobi National Park like the Nairobi Tented Camp and the more affordable Tamarind Tree that is close to Wilson Airport from where all local flights on the safari circuit operate.

Make it a longer trip: Travel from Kenya to Tanzania with Far Horizons on an extraordinary 16-day archaeological journey along the Swahili Coast from June 27- July 12, 2025. Learn more here. Find more trips to Kenya here.

6. Valparaiso, Chile, recommended by Carolyn Ray

Located on the west coast of Chile, the Historic Quarter of the Seaport City of Valparaíso is included on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, including its ‘elevators’ on the steep hillsides. In July, it’s winter in South America, so temperatures in Valparaíso are 16-17 degrees (in the mid-50sF).

According to UNESCO, Valparaíso was populated and influenced by people from around the world, saying “The urban fabric and cultural identity of Valparaíso are thus distinguished by a diversity that sets it apart from other Latin American cities. From an urban perspective, the result of this challenging geography, modernizing impulse and intercultural dialogue is a fully original American city with the stamp of the late 19th century upon it.”Many of the homes are built with recycled corrugated steel exteriors (from ships) to resist fire. There are art galleries, boutique hotels and coffee shops.

Where to stay: Hotel Casa Higueras is a boutique hotel located in the heart of Cerro Alegre, close to the Baburizza Palace. Mar Alegre is the restaurant of the hotel, one of the most renowned in the city. Drinking Chilean wine on its terrace while watching the sun set on the bay is the perfect panorama to end the day.

Make it a longer trip: Journey with Juanita Philips Luxe Travel in August and travel through Peru and Chile (get an exclusive discount of USD$500 discount per guest). Find more trips to Chile here.

** Terms and Conditions of ATVLJOURNEY150 – Book a trip of 7+ days and get $150 off. The booking total must be greater than $2500. Must pay a $200 deposit, and this offer applies to new bookings only; not applicable to previous bookings. Not combinable with select promotions or travel agent bookings. *Restrictions apply.

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