How to use this site
A short guide to getting around.
Cool Weather Compass is part travel journal, part booking desk. Here's how the pages fit together — and how to actually book, compare, and pack from what you read.
1. Browsing destinations
Every photo of a city on this site is a link. On the homepage or the Destinations page, click any picture, city name, or card to open the full guide for that place. Guides include what to do, where to stay, and hand-picked hotel and tour links.
Tip: if your cursor turns into a pointer when you hover an image or headline, it's clickable. On phones, just tap.
2. Filters & the interactive map
Open Destinations and you'll see filters at the top:
- Search — type a city, country, or region.
- Best month — narrow to trips ideal in, say, September.
- Walk score — drag the slider up for the most walkable cities.
- Safety and Sort by — reorder the list.
- Summer heat escapes only — cities that stay under 80°F in May–Sep.
The map below the filters updates live. Colored dots are neighborhoods, scaled by walkability. Click a dot to see a local note.
3. Booking hotels & tours
Inside a destination guide, scroll to the Where to stay and What to book sections. Each pick has a button that opens the hotel or tour operator in a new tab so you don't lose your place here.
- Hotel buttons go to Booking.com.
- Tour buttons go to GetYourGuide.
- All links open in a new tab — close it to come back to the guide.
4. Gear, eSIMs & cruises
- Gear: filter by use case (city, hiking, winter sports) and price tier (budget, mid, premium). Click any item to buy on Amazon.
- eSIMs: side-by-side comparison of the four most frequently installed by seasoned travelers. Buy the plan the night before your flight.
- Cruises: filter by style (small-ship, expedition, river) and region. Partner buttons link directly to the cruise line or booking platform.
5. Heat prep at home
Not traveling? The Heat Prep page is a buyer's guide for staying cool where you already live — ACs, fans, cooling towels, water filtration, and foods that lower body temperature. Anchor links at the top jump to each category.
6. How we make money
Most outbound buttons on this site are affiliate links. If you book through them we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We may also offer direct travel services or classes in the future.
Full details on the disclosure page.