by We’ve all been there: we wake up mid-vacation, hoping to stroll to the nearest beach or hike to a pretty waterfall, but it’s hot, too hot. Or, more accurately, it’s humid: the kind of thick, humid heat where the humidity levels in the air make you feel sticky and breathless. You give up on the plan and retreat to the shady end of the pool. Again.
Social media may make tropical islands seem like paradise, but no one seems to be talking about the humidity factor. Leaked Instagram images of couples kayaking through mangroves or sipping cocktails in the sun give no hint of the sweat stains, mosquito bites and frizzy hair that may be the reality for many in such places.
As a passionate winter sun lover, I can no longer stand high levels of humidity. Last January, when I headed to beautiful Mauritius, I was hoping to find some nice rays, but when a cyclone formed, the beach became sweltering. There was nothing to do but sit up to my neck in the pool or retreat to the hotel room for a rest.
Meanwhile, on a romantic spring trip to Miami, my barnet grew bigger and curlier with every sultry rooftop dinner and rooftop cocktail, eventually reaching comical Sideshow Bob proportions. Walking between bars and restaurants, my forehead beaded with sweat, I have never felt less elegant. In Jamaica, I stopped worrying about makeup after the second time it melted off my face.
I still love tropical landscapes and of course there are many destinations worth experiencing no matter the weather. Many tourists have no problem accepting humidity, and if they themselves live in a humid country, they may be used to it. Moisture is also beneficial for skin health. But now I actively seek out dry heat: that kind of wonderful, breezy sun that warms your blood and ruffles your hair without making you nervous. It’s more like the warm glow of a pine sauna than the watery clouds of a Turkish bath.
We humidity haters have to be astute in both timing and geography. You can enjoy a dry and windy holiday in the Caribbean or Indian Ocean during the winter months of December to March; but reservations also coincide with the busiest and most expensive months. I was wrong to see a cheap September package to Barbados and then suffer a wet week.
Not only is it extremely humid, but the mosquitoes are ferocious (you might even suffer the trifecta of a hurricane). Choosing the right part of Australia or Mexico can decide whether you’ll suffocate from humidity or pass out from a dry breeze: Perth or Adelaide and Baja California, for example, rather than Queensland and the Yucatan coast.
In reality, dry heat is its own category of winter sun. You’re looking for arid, desert places with winters cool enough to enjoy the sun. Sunny places in the United States, such as Arizona, New Mexico, and Palm Springs in California, are known as dry-heat havens; Or you could head to the dusty Middle East instead of the green Caribbean or Asia, lounging in a UAE resort or spotting desert wadis and tortoises in rugged Oman.
North African places like Morocco and Tunisia also fit the bill for dry heat. These are places where you can expect to be outside most of the day, charging up your metaphorical solar panels without worrying about your mascara transforming into Gene Simmons’ stage makeup circa 1976. In short: they’re the bliss of winter sunshine.
Where to go for deliciously dry heat
Red Sea, Egypt
January is Egypt’s driest month, meaning its mild winter comes with minimal, if any, humidity. This is when the country’s Red Sea coast comes into its own, with sun-drenched hotel terraces, generous sun loungers and excellent snorkelling just meters from the beach. The clarity and warmth of the water here (not to mention the brilliant corals, manta rays, and dolphins) also make it a fabulous place to learn to scuba dive. El Gouna’s new Chedi resort has a beautiful palm-shaded beach, stylish modern rooms and a romantic spa.
Stay at: The Chedi El Gouna, offering double rooms from £185, B&B
Palm Springs, California
Deep in California’s Sonoran Desert, this arid and glamorous enclave is where big spenders go to escape the state’s wetter areas, lounging poolside in balmy 21 to 25°C temperatures in full winter. You can also explore in that warm breeze, visit modernist villas owned by the likes of Elvis and Elizabeth Taylor, see Native American art at the city’s main museum, and visit Joshua Tree National Park, an hour’s drive away.
Stay in: The modernist-style ARRIVE, with its vintage-style pool. Doubles from £226, room only
Ras Al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates
A step up from Dubai and even more laid-back and elegant, 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 hovering around 20 degrees and plenty of idyllic resorts and pools to enjoy them. A new luxurious Anantara opens this winter, located on a natural stretch of white beach surrounded by mangroves, and just a 45-minute drive from Dubai.
Stay at: Anantara Mina Al Arab, offering double rooms from £343, B&B
Baja California, Mexico
Baja California, a chile-shaped strip of subtropical desert jutting out of northwestern Mexico, receives the double blessing of dry heat and Pacific breezes. Daytime temperatures of around 19-24°C extend throughout January and February, with wine tastings, surfer-friendly beaches, horse riding and whale watching excursions making the most of that sunshine. Most of the resorts are clustered towards the southern end of the peninsula; Try the Viceroy for its modernist design and opportunities for inland safaris.
Stay at: Viceroy Los Cabos, offering double rooms from £410, room only
