The Med Is Sweltering - Here's Why More of Our Clients Are Booking Norway Instead

If you've had the news on at all this July, you'll have seen the pictures: wildfire smoke drifting over Rhodes, the Acropolis closing its gates at midday, temperature warnings out of Seville and Sicily that would have seemed almost unthinkable a decade ago. For a lot of our clients booking their big summer trip, the Mediterranean they grew up with - long lazy lunches, an afternoon by the pool, a wander round the old town in the early evening - is starting to come with an asterisk.

It's Not About Giving Up on the Med

None of this means Greece, Spain or Italy are off the table - they're still some of the loveliest places on earth, and millions of us will have a brilliant time there this summer. It just means the smart move for a lot of clients now is timing: pushing a Med holiday to May, June, September or even October, when the light is just as good and the thermometer is a lot kinder. If July and August are the only weeks that work for you, though, it's worth genuinely considering something different this year.

Why the 'Coolcation' Is Having a Moment

It's become a proper trend, and not without reason. Norway's fjords sit somewhere around fifteen to twenty degrees in high summer, which after a run of scorching headlines starts to sound less like a compromise and more like the whole point of the holiday. Cunard, P&O Cruises, MSC, Celebrity and Viking all run fjord and Scandinavian itineraries out of the UK across summer, gliding past waterfalls and glaciers with a coffee in hand rather than a fan pointed at your face. Iceland, the Baltic capitals and Scotland's own west coast are getting the same second look.

For clients who fancy going further afield, Alaska plays the same trick on a grander scale - glaciers, wildlife, properly fresh air, and a cruise season that runs right through the very months we're all trying to escape from back home.

What I'd Actually Tell You If You Called Me Today

• If you're set on the Med this year, book sightseeing and excursions for first thing in the morning, choose a hotel with proper air conditioning, and check for any current heat or wildfire advisories before you fly.

• If you're flexible, take a serious look at a fjords, Baltic or Iceland cruise from the UK - the scenery rivals anything the Med can offer, and you'll actually want to be out on deck all day.

• If you're planning next year's big Mediterranean trip already, book it for May, June or late September - better weather, thinner crowds, and often better prices too.

• Whatever you choose, get proper travel insurance sorted early - it matters more in a summer like this one than most.

There's no wrong answer here - some of our clients will always choose the Med, heat and all, and I don't blame them. But if you've been eyeing the forecast and wondering whether there's a better way to spend your fortnight this year, give me a call. I've got a few fjords in mind that might just change your mind about what a summer holiday should feel like.