Our latest travel adventure to Vietnam was very challenging – weather wise. Reaching maximum temperature of more than 40 degrees Celsius and 100% humidity, some days really put a damper on our family travel mood. Although we have no control of the weather, there are ways to make things a bit more comfortable when travelling in hot weather.
1. Avoid the midday sun
This is our ultimate golden rule. Have an early start to do your sightseeing and back to the hotel by midday. This way you can rest or nap in your air conditioned room. Or even better take a cold shower (bliss!). Then start exploring again closer to sunset. In places like Hoi An, the streets really comes to live at night with many shops and restaurants open until late.
2. Choose hotel with a pool
There’s nothing better than submerging in cold water on a hot day. Depending on where you’re planning to take your family travelling, Asian hotels over $100 will give you complementary buffet breakfast, massive room, awesome customer service and an outdoor pool. We find Vietnam, Thailand and some parts of China generally offers good value hotels.
3. Get your shades on
Sunnies and umbrellas are must bring items! When visiting outdoor places like temples and mountains, you won’t get much shade. So packing a small fold up umbrella inside your day bag comes in handy.
4. Stay hydrated
You can bring cold water in an insulated bottle. Or find a convenience store to buy ice cold water. Drinking warm water in hot weather is.. yuck.
5. Pack the right clothes
Don’t bother packing your jeans! Wear light colours and loose breathable fabrics, especially for those scorching days. Cotton and linen are our go to wear (Checkout our packing tips article).
6. Take lots of breaks
Have easy days – don’t cram too much (honestly you won’t have the energy). Walking and exploring in a hot place takes a toll on you physically. Take a break, get a drink or an ice cream and chill inside a cafe for an hour or two. For us nothing taste better than an iced coffee in the middle of a scorching day.
7. Bring portable mini fans
These USB charged portable mini fans are extremely handy. They are dirt cheap and surprisingly last up to 3 hours on maximum setting.
8. For the ladies: go easy on your make up
Nothing worse than having your eyeliner and mascara totally ruined from sweat. You will leave the hotel looking like a princess and look like The Joker less than an hour later. The less you have on, the better.
9. Choose your food wisely
A few times we are guilty of this mistake. We love our spicy food a bit too much. Let’s just say it was quite an experience eating spicy Vietnamese food in a non air conditioned restaurants at 40 degrees Celsius. Delicious, but the heat is amplified 100 times! But.. would we do it all over again? Definitely!
For places we have visited, Checkout our website’s travel Destinations section. We buy our travel essentials online via Ebay
Usedul tips!!
Thank you