by We’ve all been there: waking up in the middle of a holiday, hoping to stroll to the nearest beach or hike to a nice waterfall, but it’s hot – too hot. Or, more accurately, it’s humid: the kind of thick, wet heat where the humidity levels in the air make you feel like you’re out of breath easily. You give up on the plan and retreat to the shadowy end of the pool. Again.
Social media may look like tropical islands like paradise, but no one seems to be talking about the humidity factor. Filtered images on Instagram of couples kayaking through mangroves or clinking cocktails in the sunshine give no hint of the sweat patches, mosquito bites and frizzy hair that can be a reality for many in such places.
As a passionate lover of winter sun, I can’t hack high humidity levels anymore. Going to the beautiful Mauritius last January, I was hoping for pleasant rays – but as a cyclone brewed, the beach became stifling. There was nothing to do but sit up to my neck in the pool, or retreat to the hotel room for a break.
Meanwhile, on a romantic spring trip to Miami, my barnet grew more and more frivolous with each sultry terrace dinner and rooftop cocktail, eventually reaching comedic proportions, Sideshow Bob. Walking between bars and restaurants, our foreheads beaded with sweat, I had never felt so elegant. In Jamaica, I stopped bothering with make-up after the second time it melted right off my face.
I still love tropical landscapes, and of course there are plenty of destinations worth experiencing regardless of the weather. Many holidaymakers have no problem embracing the humidity, and if they have lived in a humid country themselves they may be used to it. Moisture is also beneficial for skin health. But I’m now actively seeking dry heat: that insanely sunny kind that warms your blood and ruffles your hair without sending you into overdrive. More like the toasty glow of a pine sauna than the watery clouds of a Turkish bath.
Those of us who hate humidity must be crazy about both time and geography. You can find a dry-ish, sunny holiday in the Caribbean or the Indian Ocean in the winter months of December to March; but then booking coincides with the busiest and most expensive months. I’m fed up of seeing a bargain September package to Barbados, then suffering through a clammy week.
Not only is it wildly humid, but the mosquitos are vicious (you might even get the trifecta of hurricanes). Choosing the right part of Australia or Mexico can decide whether you’ll be sweltering in humidity or swinging in dry wind: Perth or Adelaide and Baja California, say, rather than Queensland and the Yucatan coast.
In fact, dry heat is a winter-sun category of its own. You are looking for high places, wrapped in desert with winters cool enough to enjoy the sunshine. US sun traps such as Arizona, New Mexico and Palm Springs in California are known as dry heat havens; or you could go on to the dusty Middle East rather than the Caribbean or verdant Asia, staying in a UAE resort or seeing wadis and desert turtles in rugged Oman.
North African spots such as Morocco and Tunisia also tick the dry heat box. These are places where you can expect to be outside most of the day, charging your metaphorical solar panels without worrying about your mascara turning into Gene Simmons stage make-up circa 1976. In short: yes winter joy to them.
Where to go for deliciously dry heat
Red Sea, Egypt
January is Egypt’s driest month, which means its mild winter comes with mild, if any, hypothermia. This is where the country’s Red Sea coast comes into its own, with sunken hotel terraces, generous sunrooms and excellent snorkelling just meters from the beach. The clarity and warmth of the water here – not to mention the bright corals, manta rays and dolphins – makes it a great place to learn scuba too. El Gouna’s new Chedi resort boasts a gorgeous palm-shaded beach, smart modern rooms and a romantic spa.
Stay at: The Chedi El Gouna, which offers doubles from £185, B&B
Palm Springs, California
Deep in California’s Sonoran Desert, this glamorous, arid enclave is where big spenders go to escape the wetter parts of the state, lounging by the pool in toasty 21-25C temperatures in the middle of winter. . You can also go exploring in that breezy heat, checking out modern villas owned by the likes of Elvis and Elizabeth Taylor, viewing Native American art in the city’s largest museum and visiting Joshua Tree National Park, an hour’s drive away.
Stay at: The Modernist-style ARRIVE, with its vintage cool. Doubles from £226, one room
Ras Al-Khaimah, UAE
A step further than Dubai and more peaceful and stylish, Ras Al-Khaimah is one of the lesser-known Emirates in the UAE. Like the rest of the Gulf, its winters are comfortably warm and dry, with temperatures in the low 20s, and plenty of resorts and idyllic pools to enjoy. The luxurious new Anantara opens this winter, set on a natural white beach brush surrounded by mangrove forest – and just a 45 minute drive from Dubai.
Stay at: Anantara Mina Al Arab, which offers doubles from £343, B&B
Baja California, Mexico
A chili pepper-shaped slide of subtropical desert jutting out of northwestern Mexico, Baja California receives the twin blessings of dry heat and Pacific Ocean breeze. Daytime temperatures range from around 19-24C across January and February, with wine tasting, surfing beaches, horse riding and whale watching trips making the most of that sunshine. Most centers are clustered towards the south of the peninsula; try the Viceroy for its modern design and opportunities for outdoor safaris.
Stay at: Viceroy Los Cabos, which offers doubles from £410, one room
