The best destinations in Europe for an active “coolcation” have been revealed, with France’s Mont Blanc region taking first place.
In new research from SportsCover Direct, the sports travel insurance provider analysed 30 of Europe’s most popular adventure destinations, ranking each on average summer temperature and humidity, hiking and cycling trail density, and travel time from the UK.
Following another summer of record-breaking temperatures across Europe, online searches for coolcations have risen 74% year-on-year, with 65% of holidaymakers now saying they’d rather avoid travelling during the hottest time of year.
But, rather than giving up on travel altogether, many are simply choosing to visit somewhere cooler instead, and for a growing number, it’s not just about swapping sunloungers for shade, but staying active outdoors, favouring locations perfect for walking, hiking and cycling adventures over scenic beach breaks.
Top destinations for an active coolcation
How the destinations ranked according to the research:
- 1 Mont Blanc Region, French Alps – 73.7
- 2 Åre & Jämtland Mountains, Sweden Nordics – 65.1
- 3 Scottish Highlands, Scotland, UK – 60.9
- 4 Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park, Wales, UK – 58.0
- 5 Austrian Tyrol, Alps – 57.6
- 6 French Pyrenees, France – 53.9
- 7 Lofoten Islands, Norway – 53.1
- 8 Hohe Tauern National Park, Austria Alps – 51.1
- 9 Valais, Switzerland Alps – 49.0
- 10 Connemara, Ireland – 47.2
The Alps dominate the rankings, claiming four of Europe’s top 10 active coolcation destinations, including France’s Mont Blanc region (1st), Austrian Tyrol (5th), Hohe Tauern National Park (8th), and Switzerland’s Valais (9th).
Google searches for “Alpine summer” are up 222% worldwide year-on-year, with its trail access and comfortable travel time making the Alps hard to beat.
Mont Blanc’s hub of Chamonix has 217 hiking and cycling trails per 100km², making it among the densest adventure networks of any destination analysed, and is reachable from London in under three hours via Geneva. Austrian Tyrol offers a similarly strong trail density (178 per 100km²) with an almost identical travel time of 170 minutes.
By contrast, only two Nordic destinations made the top 10, Sweden’s Åre & Jämtland Mountains in second place, and Norway’s Lofoten Islands in seventh.
Nordic destinations also run consistently more humid than their Alpine counterparts, with Lofoten averaging 82% humidity in August compared to Mont Blanc and Valais at 74%, making similar temperatures feel less comfortable in reality.
UK and Ireland also top contenders
The UK and Ireland also came out as top contenders for a coolcation this year, with the Scottish Highlands ranking third overall, Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park in Wales placing fourth and Connemara in Ireland placing 10th.
Both the Scottish Highlands and Snowdonia benefit from a rare combination of comfortable temperatures, dense trail networks and unbeatable accessibility. The Scottish Highlands recorded an average August temperature of 13.6C alongside 211 hiking and cycling trails per 100km² and, with no flight required, they can be reached from London in as little as 177 minutes, faster than almost every other destination in the top 10. Snowdonia offers an even higher trail density at 228 per 100km², rivalling the Alps’ best connected hubs.
Chris Trotman, head of sales and underwriting at SportsCover Direct, said: “What our research shows is that an active coolcation doesn’t mean compromising. Some of the best hiking and cycling in Europe is found in destinations that are cooler, quieter and, in many cases, easier to reach than the Mediterranean hotspots people more traditionally choose for their holidays.
“Destinations like the Scottish Highlands and Snowdonia ranked so highly not just because of the weather, but because travellers can be out on the trails within a few hours of leaving home, rather than losing a day of their trip to travel. That’s a real shift in how people are planning active holidays, showing that they’re prioritising time spent doing the activity itself, not just reaching a beautiful location.”
Image: Lac Blanc in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, Haute-Savoie, France (Credit: Ornan Heywood/Unsplash)