14 Tips for Traveling During a Heat Wave

I travel to 20+ countries a year sharing my firsthand knowledge of reward travel, travel credit card deals, travel tips and more.

If you’ve watched or read the news in the last couple of days (below are some of the major headlines), then you know it’s ridiculously hot all over the world. According to CNN’s newsletter this morning, “More than 100 million people are under heat alerts across the southern US today.” Meteorologists say abnormally high temperatures from coast-to-coast are also expected this weekend and the heat isn’t letting up soon. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says there have been more than 1,900 record-high temperatures in the US so far this month. RELATED: How to Stay Safe and Conserve Energy During Extreme Heat

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Fox Business: Passengers aboard Las Vegas flight pass out while awaiting takeoff in triple-digit temperatures
FOX News: Americans should remain ‘ultra conscious’ if traveling to Europe due to serious heat wave
The New York Times: Global Heat Map: Tracking Extreme Heat Across Europe and Asia
USA Today: Extreme heat is killing more people – and the worst is yet to come
Washington Post: A brutal U.S. heat wave has surged for weeks.
Yahoo: How extreme heat is ruining many Americans’ summer plans

My family and I just returned from an epic five-week epic trip. We went to four U.S. states and seven different countries and most of the destinations were hot – including Canada. Fortunately, we missed the extreme heat by a few days in each places but we’ve experienced it many times before, including two years ago when it was 110 degrees in Palm Springs.

Over the years, I’ve learned some valuable tips on how to deal with high temperatures when traveling and I will include some expert ones below.

Here’s what we do when we travel:
-Make sure your hotel or vacation rental has air conditioning. Not all lodging does, especially in Europe.

-Check the weather. If it’s going to be really hot and you’ve pre-arranged outdoor tours, either cancel them or try and switch the times. One thing I’ve learned is that most tour operators don’t like to miss out on earning money so they will still go out in bad weather.

-Go out early in the morning or late in the evening when temperatures are cooler. If you go out early, you will also have a much better experience (and get better photos) since most tourist attractions and streets won’t be crowded.

-Drink plenty of water. A collapsible water bottle like this is easy to pack wherever you go and put away when you’re done.

-Wear loose-fitting, light-colored clothing, a hat and sunscreen. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way that you should always wear sunscreen, as well as an SPF lip balm (this one is my favorite), which I am never without now, and not just when you’re on vacation. Here’s my story.

-Walk on the shaded side of the street whenever possible.

-Pack a handheld mini fan. This is one thing I wish we had as we saw a lot of smart tourists using them while touring around Rome.

-Don’t do too much – especially with kids. We usually just do one thing in the morning and something else in the late evening but spend the afternoons indoors.

-Know the symptoms and treatment of heat stroke and heat exhaustion. Here’s WebMD’s advice.

I also found some great advice in our local newspaper, The Daily Breeze, in their article with 15 tips for staying cool. Here are three of them:

-“Eat cold foods for breakfast, like melon, yogurt or cottage cheese. Avoid high-protein foods, which require a cranked-up metabolism to burn.

-If you’re doing a lot of walking, don’t wear 100 percent cotton socks. You’ll sweat more and be likelier to get a blister.

-Run cold water on your wrists, a “pulse point,” or splash water on your face or temples, says Mother Nature Network, which also has energy-efficiency suggestions.”

In today’s Travel Industry Today, I found some pertinent information including this: “Caffeine and alcohol are no-nos. Eating smaller meals more often throughout the day can help.”

It’s definitely no fun to be traveling in extreme heat so it’s imperative you adjust your plans accordingly. If you follow the advice above, I’m sure you will have a memorable time, it just might not be what you had pictured when planning your trip. Please leave any additional suggestions I might have missed in the comments.

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