Most of the Travel Desk roll their eyes when I mention the term “coolcation”. It is, indeed, a terrible non-word that I truly hope never reaches the dictionary. Yet in these times of extreme heat, it has proved quite useful when describing the increased interest in summer holiday destinations where the temperatures aren’t in the 30s.

The term is not being used – as you may have assumed – to describe particularly chilly getaways. We’re not talking about Christmas in Lapland, snowy escapes in the Alps or a cruise around Antarctica. Indeed, the term “coolcation” is often deployed for destinations that sit in the mid-20s in the summer – basically, anywhere that isn’t completely scorching.

For as long as I can remember, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal and Turkey have been the top holiday hotspots for Brits. Until recently I would have found it hard to imagine that anything could prise us away from villas in the south of France, all-inclusives in the Algarve and beachfront hotels in Mallorca. Yet research that we ran in The Independent this week shows that many travellers are turning away from traditional Mediterranean holidays and instead searching for “coolcations” in the likes of Canada, Norway and Scotland. Travel search engine Kayak said that flight searches to cooler domestic and international destinations are climbing sharply year-on-year, including the Canadian city of Ottawa (currently 24C) and Salzburg in Austria (25C), as well as Glasgow (17C) and Aberdeen (16C) closer to home.

This doesn’t come as much of a surprise to me as we’ve been seeing this trend for several years now. The term “coolcation” entered our Travel Desk vocabulary back in 2023, and we’ve been seeing an increased interest in Scandinavian destinations for a while, as summers in the Med get increasingly hot.

However, the intensity of this year’s heat makes me feel like summer 2026 may be a turning point for many holidaymakers. Wildfires, drought, temperatures in the 40s, cruise ships stopped in their tracks by low water levels – there’s no doubt that our summer holidays are already starting to look very different. This week we’ve seen Italy place all of its major cities, stretching from Trieste in the northeast to Palermo in Sicily, under the highest heat alert, with tourists being advised to stay indoors when possible. That doesn’t sound like much of a holiday.

It seems that our Travel Desk has inadvertently already jumped on the “coolcation” bandwagon. Senior travel writer Natalie raves about Sweden’s Vrångö island; deputy travel editor Sophie is a big fan of Bodø in Norway; and travel writer Amelia was exploring Shetland in June while the rest of the team were sweltering in an early heatwave.

That being said, Natalie is off to Crete today, while Amelia will be headed to Croatia next week, and Sophie enjoyed a lovely holiday in Naxos last month – so clearly we haven’t sworn off the Mediterranean summer holiday just yet…

My summer getaway this year? Later in the month I’ll be heading to Pembrokeshire, which I’ve been reliably informed is currently 19C, breezy and drizzling. I couldn’t be happier.

Are you still holidaying in the Mediterranean? Or are you looking to cooler climes for your summer break? I’d love to hear your thoughts at annabel.grossman@independent.co.uk.

Get the Travel Insider newsletter

Travel Insider is The Independent’s twice-weekly travel newsletter, packed with insight, inspiration and trusted advice to help you explore better.

It is your guide to planning smarter journeys: from finding the best low-impact ways to get around to choosing destinations that benefit local communities.

Each Friday and Sunday, you’ll receive a curated digest of the biggest developments in travel, along with unbeatable deals, destination ideas, and expert tips on where, when and how to go.

To sign up, simply enter your email address in the box at the top of this article.

You can also head to our newsletter preference centre to sign up for the email.