The heat is relentless. This summer feels like a punishment, not a vacation. It is not just New York or Chicago baking under the sun. Crowds make the air heavier. More people means more bodies pressing against you, adding their own warmth to the already sweltering cities.
Numbers don’t lie. June 23 saw the all-time record for TSA scans. Nearly 3 million people got screened in a single day. Eight of the ten busiest travel days in history happened in the last month alone. Then the World Cup hits. Major North American cities were already packed, now they are choking.
Escape across the Atlantic? Don’t bother. Europe is melting. June was its hottest since records started. Paris hit 111 degrees Fahrenheit. Twice—around the 21st and again late month—heatwaves paralyzed European airports. Thousands of flights grounded. One after another.
July isn’t even half over. The Team at TPG is on the road, dealing with the chaos. Here is how they stay human while the world turns up the thermostat.
Water is non-negotiable
You land. Drop bags. Head out. Two hours later. No water in the system. At 100 degrees, this isn’t just uncomfortable, it’s dangerous.
Pack a bottle. Not a single-use plastic tube from a gas station. Ellie Nan Storck, TPG’s hotels editor, uses a collapsible soft flask in her backpack. It squashes flat. No rigid bulk. It cost her $22. After a few refills on the Vegas Strip, where bottles sell for five bucks apiece, it pays for itself.
Electrolytes matter too. Sweat strips more than H2O. Replenishing salts keeps you standing.
Flights are dehydrators. Annie Black, TPG’s social media manager, says airplanes suck moisture right out of your lungs. It is worse than people think. Start drinking water before you board. Step off the jetway without feeling like a raisin.
“I knew they were dry, but didn’t realize just how dry.”
Hide in plain sight
Heat and crowds get manageable when you step out of the way. Credit card perks help here.
Ellie Storck and Nick Ewent, the editor-in-chief, attended the Miami Grand Prix. Hot. Sweaty. But their Amex Platinum cards got them into an American Express lounge. Free lunch. Cold water. Air conditioning. They rested there while the sun beat down outside.
Check your card benefits before the big games, concerts, or conferences. Louges are sanctuaries. Quiet. Cool. Empty compared to the concourse.
Clear membership helps too. Expedited lines at airports. But also at stadiums. I used it to enter Yankee Stadium recently. Saved twenty minutes. Twenty minutes spent standing in the shade, not the sun.
Carry the right gear
The battery-operated neck fan. Once, this was tourist cliché. Now it is essential survival. Ben Smithson, senior writer, was skeptical until he went to a comedy show.
The venue was old. Historic. No air conditioning. Fans pulled out their gadgets. Ben placed his on the back of his seat. Air blew into his face. It made the show bearable. Several other people did the same.
Colin Hogan, senior newsletter editor, prefers a migraine mask on trains and planes. He bought it for headaches but uses it for cooling now. It chills his entire head. Blocks visual noise. Also makes him look ridiculous enough that people avoid conversation. He calls that a win.
Rachel Craft, another writer, packs bandages. Simple. Cheap. Heat and sweat increase friction. Friction creates blisters. One bad blister can ruin a day of sightseeing. Bandages prevent the walk-of-damage.
Check for AC
It sounds obvious. Check for air conditioning. Until it fails.
Madison Blancaflor says trekking through a heatwave with luggage, arriving at your hotel, and finding the AC broken is hell. Pure torture.
Verify it before booking. Hotel sites list it. OTAs list it. Airbnb and VRBO note it in the amenities. Check those boxes. Especially if heading to Europe. The assumption of cooling air can be wrong there.
Run to winter
If it gets too much, go somewhere colder. The planet is big. Seasons are flipped in the other hemisphere.
Gene Sloan, cruise lead, spent his summer in Australia. July there is winter. Sydney was pleasant. Temperatures in the 50s. Highs of 60 or 70. Bliss. He left the heat behind entirely.
My wife and I went to Nova Scotia recently. Second visit. Our favorite July destination now. Mild air. Highs in the mid-70s. Almost no crowds. Not even in Lunenburg, which should be packed.
Patagonia, South Africa, New Zealand. All viable escape routes from the summer bake. Scandinavia works too.
Bottom line? Planning saves your sanity. Hydrate. Use your perks. Verify the AC. If nothing works, go south of the equator. Or just wait. The summer won’t end. It never does until it does.
