WELCOME to August. Forecast? Sweaty. Times like these call for a contingency plan. And while you could beg your friends who planned ahead for couch space in their beach house, or fight with everyone else in Cobble Hill over the last Zipcar, how about just ditching on New York entirely and heading somewhere cooler — or, at the very least, slightly less humid? Here are eight such places to get you motivated to think beyond the Jersey Shore.
#1 SWIMMING ON THE EDGE
Zambia
CLICK HERE FOR A VIDEO OF DEVIL’S HOLE AT VICTORIA FALLS
Victoria Falls. Highest in the world, making Niagara and Iguazu seem a little, well, petite. A spot up top called Devil’s Pool, right at the lip of the 360 foot drop, is perhaps the world’s ultimate swimming hole. You hop in a boat and head out to the very island where explorer David Livingstone explored this World Wonder, hike for a few minutes, then jump in, allowing the current to sweep you to the edge — the very edge, no kidding. A half-circle of guides stands between you and the lip of rock that keeps this fun excursion from turning into a tragic disaster. Yes, you can go right to the edge and look over. No, you should not knock the guides off balance. It is considered poor form.
GO Excursions can be booked through Tongabezi Lodge from about $60; tongabezi.com
#2 TAKE IT OFF
Mexico
Ever feel the urge to strip down while walking through Midtown on a 90 degree day? Maybe it’s time to bare it all. Somewhere you won’t be brought up on charges as a sex pervert. And if you’re thinking all nudist resorts are cheesy 70s-era swinger movies come to life, you should take a look at spiffy Hidden Beach on Mexico’s Riviera Maya, a classy joint where guests are expected to behave in a civilized fashion at all times. The hotel sets the tone with a stylish look and things like champagne at check in and yoga classes; their extensive network of pools encourages days on end of doing nothing — in the buff, of course; the private-ish beach invites strolling au naturel.
GO “Like” the resort on Facebook and receive 6 nights for the price of 5; rates are all-inclusive and start in the low $200s; hiddenbeachresort.com
#3 DUE NORTH
The Adirondacks
It never seems to really matter how hot it gets down here in the city. Up in the Adirondacks, someone is wearing a sweater. Last week on a day when temperatures soared over 90 in Manhattan, Lake Placid was chilling out at a sexy 69. You can feel the change in the air as you head north from Albany on the Northway; not only does it cool down, it also seems like it’s about 50 percent easier and more pleasurable to breathe. By the time you pull off the road at Exit 30, you feel a whole lot further away from Manhattan than the four-plus hours it took to get here. Whatever you do is from here is up to you, but right about now, just being in the Adirondacks and not somewhere else is more than enough doing of anything.
GO Check in to the Whiteface Lodge and send the kids off to the resort’s top-notch Kamp Kanu (weekends only, for ages 8-14). Rates are steep but worth it; a current special starts at $516 including full breakfast and all taxes and fees, plus resort credits of $50-$300, depending on length of stay (thewhitefacelodge.com).
#4 GO SKIING
Chile
Grab your winter coat and head for the airport — its time for a little ski trip. Yes, you’ll have to go a little further than Colorado at this time of year, but it’s always worth the trek to Chile, where the season’s in full swing and you can be up on the slopes within a couple of hours of landing in Santiago. Just a short drive out of town, the outstanding Valle Nevado resort isn’t for the timid — think tough runs, crazy storms that can strand you up there for days and lots of challenging off-piste opportunities, plus South America’s top terrain park. Then again, it also functions well as a resort, with good restaurants and bars and plenty of activities. Also: Sitting by the fireplace sipping on pisco sours and looking out at the snow in the middle of August? Kind of worth the trip.
GO North American residents who fly to Santiago on LAN Airlines (lan.com) will be eligible for discounts of up to 20 percent of your stay at the resort; for details, check out vallenevado.com.
#5 WET, WET, WET (AND WET)
Orlando
Who’s for a day at the water park? If you’re asking that question in Orlando, next you have to ask, which one? Which of the four outstanding parks — Disney’s Blizzard Beach & Typhoon Lagoon, the crowd-pleasing Wet ‘n Wild or Sea World’s upstart but worthy Aquatica — to choose from. Actually, choosing isn’t the thing. Where to start is the real question. The answer: Blizzard Beach, the ski resort-themed park that puts to rest any claims that Disney doesn’t know how to scare the crap out of its guests. (See: Summit Plummet, the 12-story, faster-than-lighting water slide — the tallest, fastest and longest in the world.) Each park has merit, and in the middle of a Florida summer, you shouldn’t have too much trouble convincing your crew to give them all a spin. Butter beers in Harry Potter land can wait.
GO visitorlando.com
#6 HIT THE ARCTIC
Scandinavia
Need to really go off the grid? Head into the wild white yonder of Svalbard, a 20,000 square mile archipelago of many glaciers including the massive Monacobreen, high up in the Arctic Circle, above Scandinavia. This northernmost land mass is the best place on the planet to view polar bears in their natural habitat, a land where the sun never sets in summer. Weather varies on each expedition — as high as the 60s, as low as the 30s — but the scenery doesn’t; prepare yourself for the staggering sight of the sheer Alkefjellet’s cliffs at Kapp Fanshawe in the Hinlopen Strait, where horizontal gray layers of sedimentary rock, shale and sandstone soar to the sky. The astounding 300 million year old refuge provides a safe haven from predators for hundreds of thousands of nattering sea birds that nest here in summer, literally covering the rock face from top to bottom. Your ticket to ride is Lindblad Expeditions’ 81-cabin Explorer, featuring typical cruise comforts such as a fitness room and a cocktail bar; a partnership with National Geographic means perks like magazine photographers on board every voyage to help you take better pictures.
GO Learn more about upcoming cruises at expeditions.com; a 7-night Svalbard itinerary for next summer starts at $8,240 including the flight from New York to Oslo.
#7 SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM
Columbus, OH
Ohio loves ice cream. And while there’s real comfort in, say, the chunky raspberry chocolate chip from local legend Graeter’s, born in Cincinnati but available all over the state, these days it’s the mom-and-pop artisans that are stealing the show. For example, Jeni Bauer of the outstanding Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, otherwise known as the first place you stop when visiting Columbus in the summer time. Expanding from a one-off in the city’s historic North Market to a mini-empire with locations all over, we say start at the shop in the city’s agelessly beautiful German Village quarter, with its cobblestone streets and beautifully restored brick homes dating back about a century. Get some of the golden ale & apricot, or the strawberry buttermilk, or the cherry lambic sorbet, or the bourbon buttered pecan, then stroll through nearby Schiller Park and soak up the vibe and realize that for a moment there, you kind of thought that it might be fun to pack it all in and move to Ohio.
GO experiencecolumbus.com
#8 DRY OFF
San Diego
You’ve got to love it down here at the end of the line — the rest of the country is either in the deep freeze or the oven, Los Angeles is sliding into the sea, San Francisco’s hiding out in the fog, Orange County is burning down. In San Diego? Why, it’s 75 and sunny, of course. Okay, so the hills up above town get a little burn-y from time to time, but by and large, America’s Finest City can always rely on some of America’s Most Inoffensive Weather. And at times such as August in New York City, there’s a lot to be said for that. Pick a hotel, pick a beach, eat some fish tacos, take surfing lessons — rinse, repeat.
GO Stay at the elegant Rancho Valencia resort up in the hills — just minutes from the beach at Torrey Pines State Park — and nobody will know where to find you. Even locals have a hard time placing this classic hideaway, a member of the prestigious Relais & Chateaux network that’s managed by the same folks who brought the world the famous Auberge du Soleil resort in the Napa Valley. You pay more, but you get more (from $577 in August, ranchovalencia.com).
With additional reporting by Marion Fox and Yvette Cardozo