Our travels are to a range of places whose weather feel like somewhere between a miserable summer and fall. For us some of the most important considerations are weather and cultural sensitivities.

For weather, there are a few things that matter to us: Heat, humidity, cultural norms, amount of rainfall.

We used four websites to track weather to get an idea of what to take with us. One was Holiday Weather, the other Climates to Travel, the other Weather Spark,  and the other Accu Weather. I looked at all four because they offer different information.

They are all great at delivering similar average temperatures and the highs and lows typical of the month. However, Holiday Weather also notes the amount of precipitation one can expect during the month (For example, Southeast Asia in August is basically wet). Whereas Climate to travel gives you a breakdown of the average temperature and climate by month, by region, and also advice on the best time to go as well as what you could pack. Acccu Weather is just great with up to date predictions and you can pinpoint locations. Weather Spark is more general and can help you understand the monthly averages for water temperature, the hour by hour typical breakdown of temperature through the day, by month, cloud cover, precipitation, sun, snow, and my personal favorite humidity.

We planned out what to expect in each region during the general time we planned on being there to help us with deciding what to pack and what to ship.

South East Asia:

Slated to be part of our July to August trip and we learned that average temperature in our four countries of choice (Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam) ranged from 79 degrees to 91 degrees, with an average of 21 days of precipitation. September is South East Asia’s rainiest time and you could expect to experience somewhere between miserable and oppressive humidity over 50% of the time from April to October. However, you can also enjoy 80 degree water at all times too — so trade offs.

Mongolia:

More dramatic and varies depending on where you are. It can range anywhere from negative 40 degrees to 120 degrees, with the best times to travel, according to Climate to Travel, being in September. Weather Spark noted temperatures are “kinda” normal in the capital from June to September; that also happens to be during the time it gets the most rain, but most days hover around 30% of a chance for rain. Average temperatures range from mid-70s to low 60’s from July to September; and with little to no humidity the temperature is pretty true to form. Being a Bay Area native, I’m use to summer weather requiring a jacket at some point.

Europe:

Amsterdam ranges from the 50’s to mid-60’s after August and just goes downhill from there as the months roll by. We’d likely be there sometime between September and November meaning that we just need to get a coat. September, October, and November are characterized with about 50% to 60% overcast. Let’s not talk about the water temperature 🙁

However, Spain makes up for everything. We’ll be trekking from Barcelona to Madrid and living it up with with highs from the mid- to -low – 70’s to the low 80’s.

West Africa:

When we finally make our way to West Africa and our countries of choice (Ghana, Togo, Benin, Sao Tome & Principle) we’ll be arriving during a warming up period where temperatures rise from highs of mid-70’s to high-80’s with a declining change of rain as the year comes closer to an end. Of course the new found warmth also means we’ll be living in humidity that ranges somewhere between miserable and oppressive about 100% of the time. But did you check out that water temperature? eh? eh?

Southern Africa:

South Africa & Namibia have less rain, less humidity and slight cooler temperatures. For example, I can expect warm days in Cape Town, ranging from highs of 70’s & 80’s to lows of 50’s and 60’s. Cape Town also has a nice breeze from the ocean. However, in Windhoek it’s much hotter and it’s “rainy” season is in November and December (but that still means you are looking at less than a 30% change of rain on any given day).

South America:

We are staying mostly South in Chile and Argentina; which means it’s their summer but summer there is similar to San Francisco in the cities of Santiago and Buenos Aires. Expect nice, higher temperatures with cooler nights. Santiago ranges from highs of mid-70’s to low-80’s and lows of high-40’s to high-50’s, whereas Buenos Aires may have slightly warmer days and slightly warmer nights and it’s very likely to just rain a lot and have a comfortable humidity. To me, I always prefer predictable weather to highs and lows. It’s the Bay Area Californian in me. You can take the girl out of the… never mind…

Antartica

… it’s just cold. You’ll need a special set of gear for this experience.