There are so many things I love about travelling to hot countries. Long, sunny days, warm evenings, alfresco dinners, swimming in the sea and that lovely feeling when you step off the plane and the heat instantly hits you like a hairdrier in your face!
But there is one thing I don’t love quite so much; trying to sleep when it’s absolutely boiling!
I love the heat during the day, but when it comes to bedtime I want a cool, dark room and a comfortable bed. Unfortunately, that’s not always easy when you’re travelling somewhere hot, particularly if you’re staying in an apartment, villa or traditional hotel without powerful air conditioning.
Over the years I’ve picked up a few little tricks that make sleeping in hot countries much easier. Some are things to look for when booking your accommodation and others are simple habits that can make a surprisingly big difference once you’re there.
Here are my tips for staying cool and getting a good night’s sleep when you’re travelling somewhere hot.
Choose your accommodation carefully
If you’re travelling somewhere that regularly reaches 30°C or more (which, let’s be real, has also been the UK this summer!), air conditioning is one of those things I always check before booking.
Don’t just assume it will be included because you’re travelling somewhere hot. I’ve stayed in plenty of gorgeous apartments, villas and smaller hotels where there hasn’t been air conditioning in every room.
I also recommend checking reviews because there’s a big difference between “air conditioning” and “air conditioning that actually works”.
Guests will usually mention it if the rooms are unbearably hot or the air conditioning struggles to cool them down.
If there’s no air conditioning, look for ceiling fans, shutters and windows on different sides of the property to create a breeze.
Keep your room cool during the day
This sounds obvious, but prevention is much easier than trying to cool down a roasting hot bedroom at 11pm.
If direct sunlight streams through your bedroom windows during the afternoon, close the curtains, blinds or shutters before you head out for the day.
It can feel strange to close everything up when it’s beautiful and sunny outside, but you’re essentially creating a barrier between your room and the heat. This is particularly important with large glass doors and windows, which can quickly turn a bedroom into a greenhouse.
Don’t automatically open all the windows
My instinct when I’m hot is always to fling every window open, but this can actually make your room hotter during the day.
If it’s 35°C outside and 25°C inside, opening the windows is simply inviting all that hot air into the room. Keep windows and shutters closed while the temperature outside is hotter than inside. Once the temperature drops in the evening, open everything up and let the cooler air circulate.
If you can safely open windows on opposite sides of the room or property, even better. You’ll hopefully create a lovely cross-breeze.
Pay attention to your bedding
Bedding makes such a difference when you’re trying to sleep somewhere hot.
There’s nothing worse than climbing into a bed with thick, heavy or scratchy bedding when you’re already feeling warm and sticky.
Breathable bedding feels much more comfortable in hot weather, so natural materials such as cotton and linen are usually my preference. If you’re upgrading your bedding at home, investing in high-quality bed linens can help create that light, comfortable hotel-bed feeling without piling on lots of heavy layers.
When I’m travelling, I always appreciate hotels that use crisp, lightweight sheets rather than enormous duvets. If there’s a thick duvet on the bed, I’ll often remove it and sleep beneath the sheet instead.
Have a lukewarm shower before bed
A shower before bed is one of the quickest ways to feel more comfortable after a hot day.
The temptation is to turn the temperature as cold as possible, especially if you’ve spent the evening walking around a humid city.
But I actually prefer a cool or lukewarm shower rather than an icy one. You want to feel refreshed and comfortable rather than freezing cold for 30 seconds and then immediately feeling hot again.
It’s also a nice way to signal the end of the day. Wash off the sun cream, salt, sweat and sand, put on something light and comfortable and suddenly bedtime feels much more appealing.
Freeze your flannels
This is my favourite hack which I picked up at a hotel in Majorca. Every afternoon, the hotel staff would walk around the pool with a platter of frozen flannels and they were incredible. Just wet a few flannels and roll them up and pop them in the freezer for a few hours. They feel lovely and they’re great to instantly cool you down in the night.
Keep a bottle of cold water beside the bed
I always take water to bed when I’m somewhere hot.
If your accommodation has a fridge, pop a bottle in there during the evening so it’s nice and cold by bedtime. Even better if there’s a freezer and you’re able to part-freeze your water bottle.
I wouldn’t recommend drinking enormous amounts just before you go to sleep because you’ll inevitably spend half the night getting up for the toilet. But having cold water nearby means you can have a few sips if you wake up feeling hot or thirsty.
A reusable insulated bottle is particularly handy because your water stays cold for much longer.
Make the most of fans
Never underestimate a basic fan.
Even when a room has air conditioning, I sometimes prefer sleeping with a fan because the gentle airflow can feel more comfortable than blasting freezing air into the room all night.
If there’s a ceiling fan, make use of it. If you’re staying in an apartment or villa for a longer holiday, it might even be worth buying a small portable fan if the accommodation doesn’t provide one.
I’ve also seen people travelling with tiny rechargeable fans, which can be brilliant for hot city breaks because you can use them during the day too.
Don’t eat a huge meal immediately before bed
This is easier said than done when you’re somewhere like Spain, Italy or Greece and dinner naturally happens later than it does at home.
But I definitely notice a difference if I eat a huge, heavy meal and then immediately try to sleep in a hot room.
If possible, give yourself a little time between dinner and bedtime. Have a gentle walk, sit outside with a drink or simply relax for a while before heading to bed.
It’s one of the reasons I love the slower evening routines you naturally fall into on holiday.
Get the air conditioning temperature right
If you do have air conditioning, it’s tempting to turn it down as low as it will possibly go.
I’ve done this plenty of times and then woken up at 3am absolutely freezing.
Rather than creating an icebox, aim for a comfortable room temperature and use the sleep or night setting if your air conditioning unit has one.
Some units also have timers, which are really useful. You can cool the room before bed and then have the air conditioning switch off or reduce its intensity once you’re asleep.
Cool your pulse points
If you’re still struggling with the heat, cooling your wrists, neck or the backs of your knees can feel incredibly refreshing.
Run your wrists under cool water before getting into bed or place a cool, damp flannel on your neck for a few minutes. This is where the frozen flannel comes in handy!
You can also freeze hot water bottles if you have them available. It sounds slightly ridiculous until you’re trying to sleep during a heatwave, at which point it suddenly sounds like genius. It’s worth noting that your hot water bottle won’t last as long if you’re freezing it but it’s sometimes worth it on those hot nights!
Take an afternoon siesta
If you’re somewhere really hot, it can be worth embracing the local rhythm rather than fighting against it.
In many hot countries, there’s a reason people slow down during the hottest part of the afternoon and stay out later in the evening. If you’ve slept badly the night before, a short afternoon nap can be lovely. Close the shutters, turn on the fan and have 20 or 30 minutes before heading back out.
Just try not to sleep for three hours or you might find yourself wide awake at midnight.
Choose the coolest bedroom
This is particularly useful if you’re renting a villa or apartment where you have a choice of bedrooms.
The biggest bedroom with the gorgeous balcony and panoramic windows might look incredible in the photos, but it might also get direct afternoon sun and be unbearably hot at night.
A smaller bedroom on the shady side of the property can actually be much more comfortable. If I’m staying somewhere for a week, I’d choose a good night’s sleep over the Instagrammable bedroom every time.
Create a simple bedtime routine
One of the reasons I sometimes struggle to sleep while travelling is that everything about my routine has changed.
I’ve eaten at a different time, I’m sleeping in a different bed, I’ve probably had more wine than usual and I’ve spent the day doing far more than I would at home.
A tiny bedtime routine helps.
For me, that might be a shower, a big glass of water, a few minutes reading and then putting my phone away. It doesn’t need to be elaborate. It’s simply a little signal to your brain that the day is over.
Pack a few sleep essentials
I don’t travel with an enormous sleep kit, but there are a few tiny things that are worth having in your bag if you’re a light sleeper.
An eye mask is probably my number one, particularly during summer when mornings are bright and hotel curtains aren’t always great.
Earplugs are another easy win, especially if you’re staying somewhere lively. There’s nothing quite like discovering that your beautiful Mediterranean hotel is directly above a bar that stays open until 2am.
A lightweight pair of pyjamas, insulated water bottle and a small rechargeable fan can also be useful if you’re particularly sensitive to the heat.
Don’t let a bad night’s sleep ruin your holiday
Finally, try not to panic if you don’t sleep brilliantly.
I think we’ve all had that moment where you wake up at 4am, check the time and immediately start calculating how many hours of sleep you have left.
That calculation never helps.
If I’ve had a terrible night’s sleep while travelling, I’ll usually have a slower morning, drink plenty of water, find somewhere nice for coffee and have a short nap later if I need one.
One bad night’s sleep doesn’t need to ruin an entire trip.
And if all else fails, there’s always the ultimate hot-country sleep strategy: find a shady sun lounger beside the pool and have a little afternoon snooze.
Purely for health reasons, obviously.
