It’s summer, and depending on where you live, you may be cranky, hot and tired of hefty A.C.-related electric bills. It’s time to head to where the land naturally cools you, with breezes off the water and plenty of grass and trees to provide shade. Helpfully, the vacation-loving folks over at Airbnb have created a list of the top 10 trending places to relax and beat the heat. This international list contains four U.S. places, so it should be easy to book a space and turn your summer around.
One of the U.S. locations is New Shoreham, Rhode Island, also called Block Island. Here, you have an entire ocean to cool off with two manmade harbors, as well as more than 300 freshwater ponds. Dramatic cliffs have a staircase leading down to the beach at Mohegan Bluffs—and there are even rose bushes by the beach. Can we add in cute New England stone walls?
Another is Big Bear Lake in California. Here there are mild temperatures (dropping into the 40s at night!), a seven-mile lake with forest trails around it, an alpine golf course and a museum, zoo and discovery center.
Port Aransas in Texas is another stateside Airbnb choice for summer coolness. Check out beaches, nightlife, seashell gathering and a comfortable water temperature for swimming: it’s all here.
In Maine, the license plates read “Vacationland,” and in Portland, that’s especially true. In summer, there are warm days and low humidity, and it stays light long into the evening. Expect plenty of places to devour fresh-caught lobster. You'll also love kayaking and visiting the beautiful Portland Head lighthouse.
There are also several international hot spots (er, cool spots) on the list, ranging from Saquarema, Brazil to Fukuoka, Japan. In no particular order, you can check out this year's 10 trending destinations below.
Here are the top 10 places to stay cool this summer, per Airbnb:
- Saquarema, Brazil
- New Shoreham, Rhode Island
- Conil de la Frontera, Spain
- Palermo, Italy
- Hossegor, France
- Northumberland, United Kingdom
- Fukuoka, Japan
- Big Bear Lake, California
- Port Aransas, Texas
- Portland, Maine