Lisa, we share a house in teh South West of France and have been in a mega heat wave in August, and huddling for warmth at the sme time of year. Who knows?

lisadrew,

I really think you need to double check whether you wouldn't face a greater chance of being rained out on the "green" side of Spain and much of nearby France on the Atlantic. I'm a huge fan of San Sebastian in Spain's basque coast, but I've been told it can get dumped on with lots of rain all through the year, although August is probably the safest bet.

How old is your daughter? Are there any other considerations or wishes for the vacation beyond avoiding humidity and getting in lots of beach time?

For instance, lisadrew, here is the chart for Genoa (which is where I live) and you can see that it has low humidity in August, average temp of 78 F, and 2 inches of rain. Like I said, the Ligurian sun can be strong, so it can feel quite hot in the sun, but otherwise ...

http://www.weather2travel.com/climat...tination=genoa

I stayed on the coast near bordeaux a few years ago it was very humid

Seems there's no sure bet and weather will depend a bit on luck.
Interesting as I posted the same Q on the US site (although not really planning to travel that far this summer) and the unanimous answer for a non humid beach destination in Aug was Southern California - in particular San Diego. As always more to debate in Europe!

Zeppole - We'll be travelling with a 3 year old and an 8 month old, but I always hesitate to mention that as you start getting steered towards family resorts with kids clubs etc - which is not our thing. As far as poss we'd like to stay in a living breathing town (if you know what I mean) but on or near the coast. We just like exploring - oh and food! - would prefer wandering local supermarkets or food markets to fancy restaurants. Definitely checking out Liguria.. I'm thrilled that it might have milder climate in Aug as we're always drawn to Italy.. Thanks again for the tips

My answer for US would be San Diego too. You might check into points between Nice and Menton (near the Italian border) for more precisely that kind of climate.

Since we only have a sea here, not an ocean, the local weather can include some passing, unexpected squalls -- but that's not the same as being socked in with humidity, which is not the norm. It can happen, but even a bus ride up to the nearest hilltop for a walk can cut the humidity.

Along the coast south of Genova, easily reached by train, are some nice, mainly flat car-free places for small kids with easy, wave-free beaches and boat rides are Camogli (has pebbly beach), Sestri Levante (gorgeous kid friendly sand beaches, slightly higher chance of humidity but closer to scenic, full-of-staircases Cinque Terre) and Santa Margherita Ligure.

None of these places are family resorts. I don't think Italians believe in them much, although there are sometimes simple campgrounds by the beach. Most of the time families pile into multi-bed hotel rooms and everybody goes to the outdoor restaurants, and plays on the promenade, or kicks around a ball in the piazzas hanging over the sea.

Here's Camogli with kids in winter:

http://z.about.com/d/goitaly/1/0/G/5...ds-playing.jpg

http://www.immobiliarecasaserena.com.../sestri/01.jpg

http://media.thomson.co.uk/asset/lpp/v00/366/205.jpg

Hit the button too soon:

The last two pix are Sestri Levante and Santa Margherita Ligure respectively. Only the first pic is Camogli.

Thanks for the tips on family-friendly places - to avoid :-)

Happy to do it! Liguria is mainly a very family friendly place, and it does get painful to see obviously uncomfortable middle-aged and older tourists, often British, obviously wishing they weren't encountering so many lively Italian children and large families in restaurants and cafes, where all the adults, including the waitstaff, are doting on them. Babies in particular get passed around, and I watched one British woman one time just about go nuts, muttering about germs to her equally disapproving companion.

The resorts of Portofino and Rapallo tend to be more suited for people looking to escape children. Sestri Levante is great for people looking to escape foreign tourists!

hi lisa,

well, I think I could guarentee that you would be able to cope with the heat in Cornwall, but I couldn't promise you sun either. but we must get a decent summer sometime soon.

I was also thinking Belgian coast, [fabulous long beaches] or northern France or germany. costa verde can be wet [but so can anywhere north-facing].

we went to iceland last summer. losts to see and do but no beaches to speak of. and there was a heat-wave which was very humid at night, believe it or not.

and zeppole's point about northern places not usually having a/c is a good one. we went to the italian lakes in August about 4 years ago. it was very hot in the day but not humid and at night our rooms had a/c so we slept fine. there are a few beaches, loads of swimming pools and lots to see and enjoy.

happy planning,

regards, ann

zeppole, since you live "nearby", what is the humidity situation on the coast of France, between Nice and Cannes, or farther west?

And lisadrew, what type of accommodations are you looking for?

I ask both because several years ago we stayed in a lovely (but 3* at best) hotel (the lovely part was the gardens, grounds, pool and location)in Juans Les Pins that was not dedicated to families, but certainly there were children there. The crowd was mixed -- us (from the US, with older kids), several groups of women from England and the US, a family from Norway, a family with younger teens from Germany, etc. Let me know if you want more info (and again, I don't recall humidity, but wthat could be my fading memory, rather than the reality).

The further you go beyond Nice (toward Marseilles), the more your chances of losing the loveliest weather, I think.

I prefer the Italian Riviera to the French Riviera, but that's about culture, not weather, and I tend to think the Italian Riviera is cheaper, but I could be wrong about that.

But it is true that the infrastructure of those places is much more organized for higher-end tourism in the summer season, and it attracts more foreigners en masse, all along that area (from Monaco to St Tropez), whereas on the Italian Riviera, they foreigners tend to knot up in a few places (Portofino, Cinque Terre) and otherwise, it's Italians, and apart from romantic couples, Italians tend to travel with their entire family, babes to grandparents.

Thanks again zeppole ! ekscrunchy, if you see this, what's your take on children in Liguria - did you find them very noticeable ?

I let her answer as to whether she noticed the baby at Nonna Nina (considered the best restaurant in my town), but I just want to add that if you want to come to Liguria but avoid a lot of children, come when Italian school is in session (which is when eks was here).

Do note though that in Camogli, the largest elementary school is right at the lungomare (beachfront promenade). Even during schooltimes, parents picking up children from school head straight for where the cafes and piazzas look over beachfront and the kids play until sunset:

http://z.about.com/d/goitaly/1/0/G/5...ds-playing.jpg

Right now, we still have the carousel up in the heart of the scenic centro, so even more kids:

http://z.about.com/d/goitaly/1/0/E/5...el-picture.jpg

This is a very family friendly town so, despite the low-Italian birth rate (or maybe because of it), kids are doted upon in all the cafes and restaurants and public places, so come at your own risk!

Perhaps not the place for us, then :-) Shame as I thought it sounded great in ekscrunchy's trip report.

We always travel outwith school holidays, but have noticed beaches getting rowdy in the later afternoon (and perhaps all Friday afternoon ?) elsewhere.

"Rowdy" would be a strange word to apply to Camogli. Teenagers in Liguria with new motorini to show off tend to congregate in cheaper towns for one thing, and bigger towns. But even then, Italian teens rarely get rowdy. There's no binge drinking culture here, except what's been imported to Rome.

Camogli is for families and a place for a romantic date. But I did want to emphasize that when families come, they bring tots, babies, smaller children into the best restaurants, bars and cafes. Some people are unused to that, or don't like it. In Portofino you really don't see that, because it's an expensive tourist town.

PS: One of the things I plan to do, now that I've seen the Fodor's Italy guide for 2009, is suggest to them that they include more information about family travel in Liguria, because I think the absence of motor traffic, and the beaches, make it great place for families to stop by. So it could get worse if you really are trying to avoid families and kids.

Up above lisadrew mentioned that she sometimes doesn't mention the age of her kids because then people recommend "family resorts." Italians don't believe in those. They don't segregate family life out of the heart of town -- or anywhere. You find kids standing behind the counters in stores, in the bars, on the fishing docks, everywhere.

By 'rowdy' I meant children being noisy.

P.S. And I have been travelling to Italy quite frequently for 20 years - I am well aware they don't believe in separate family resorts. Some places do attract more families than others, than. And I've learned things like avoiding beaches at weekends or late afternoon if I want to be quiet. I was particularly interested to hear about Camoglie as it's somewhere i was considering, but if it attracts a lot of children i won't go there.

So that was just my original point, really - these recommendations are useful as a guide for good places to take children - and good places to avoid for the rest of us.

Well, it's more the case that a lot of children live here, and it's a small town, rather than it attracts a lot of children (like say, the Miribilandia amusement park area around Rimini). The town is close to Genova, urban families head here on a sunny weekend day, as well as couples, or even just groups of friends looking for sun and a lunch by the sea, and some swimming or sun tanning. They come with their pets, their grandmothers, the new baby, etc. But during the week, it's mainly just the local folks. Some are kids.

Sestri Levante probably has a few more attractions for kids in summer (little boats you can rent) and an absolutely waveless, pure sand beach, so that "attracts" people with very, very small kids.

As for noise, if you can hear anything over the sound of Italians talking, your ears are better than mine.