Summer sex positions: 12 ideas made for hot weather

In summer, two lovely things happen at once. You finally find each other again — holidays, weeks with no 6 a.m. alarm, time to spare. And it's hot: bare skin, bodies on show, days that stretch on forever. All it takes is a change of method for that heat to become your best ally. Here are 12 sex positions made for hot weather — including the classics of 12 ideas made for hot weather: six tips running from the positions where air flows to the stars of the summer Kama Sutra, then six exclusive positions from our seasonal level.

Why summer works in your favour

Let's start with the good news: desire is often sharper in summer. Bare skin, visible bodies, free time, a looser rhythm, evenings that stretch out — everything feeds the urge. What heat changes is the format. Above 30 °C / 86 °F, your body already spends part of its energy cooling itself; in a heatwave, at 35 or 40 °C (95–104 °F), that effort becomes considerable, which is exactly why health authorities suggest keeping intense exertion for the cooler hours. Translation: summer calls for shorter, slower, more sensory moments. Many couples discover that this is precisely where their best surprises are hiding.

On top of that comes the gift of reunions. Plenty of couples only really meet again in July or August: after a year of passing each other in the hallway, or after several weeks apart, it takes two or three days to get reacquainted — and those two or three days are delightful if you take them for what they are. Give yourselves a game, a ritual and some slowness: it's the surest, and the most enjoyable, way back.

Part 1 — Six tips for hot days

Before we talk positions, these are the adjustments that make all the difference — and most cost no more than two minutes of preparation.

1. Choose the hour, and keep it short

Early morning and after sundown the air is breathable, and the low light is far more beautiful than full midday. The 3 p.m. siesta with the blinds down is the great summer classic. And keep it short: three brief moments across the week leave far more memories than one long session. That's the real lesson of summer — you savour rather than endure.

2. Set the scene

A fan aimed at your bodies, a thin cotton sheet (never synthetic), a mist spray from the fridge, a damp flannel — and a bottle of water within reach. Sex is physical effort: well hydrated, sensations are sharper and energy lasts. Save the rosé for the apéritif.

3. Go through water, then play the cold

A cool shower together lowers your body temperature and doubles as foreplay. Then one ice cube, one mouth, ten minutes, no objective: cold wakes up the areas heat had lulled to sleep — the nape, the wrists, the inside of the arms, the small of the back. Two precautions: water washes away water-based lubricants (go for a silicone formula) and sun oils weaken the latex in condoms.

4. Let the air flow between your bodies

This is the number-one criterion in hot weather. Anything that avoids chest-to-chest contact becomes your ally: doggy style, the edge of the bed — which the summer press nicknames "the seagull" — a standing position facing the wall where cool tiles work in your favour, or simply a chair without a padded back, placed facing the fan.

5. Leave the momentum to one of you

When one leads and the other recovers, nobody wears themselves out. Cowgirl — "the boat" in its summer version, torso tipped back and braced on the hands — and its facing-away variant, the famous breaking wave, rest entirely on that principle: the partner lying down carries no weight and blocks no airflow.

6. Save the most enveloping ones for the cooler hours

The oyster (or the shell), the seasonal star where the legs rise towards the ears, and classic missionary on bent arms are the most generous in contact of the whole summer repertoire. They have lost none of their appeal: simply give them a morning, a room with the blinds down, or the after-shower.

Part 2 — Six positions from the Summer level

Now for the positions. These come from no manual: they belong to Flam's Summer Edition, a level written for the season — slowness, lightness, bodies that never stick together. They run from the gentlest to the most intense.

7. Golden Nap

Lying on your sides, face to face; one raises a leg over the other's hip to draw them in. Slow, lazy movements, as if in the sun. This position lends itself beautifully to a "stop and go" game: you slow down every time the heat rises, which makes the pleasure last rather than cutting it short.

8. Wave

One lies behind the other, on your sides, hips aligned, without pressing chest against back: leave a centimetre of air. The undulations come and go like a wave, very slowly, and the hands stay free for caresses. This is the position for those 28 °C / 82 °F nights when you want to stay exactly where you are.

9. Sunbathing

One lies on their belly, arms at their sides; the other settles on top, belly against back, propped on the hands — which keeps the chest lifted and lets a thread of air through. You laze about more than you move. Keep it for a morning or a room with the blinds down.

10. Mirage

One is on their back, torso raised on the forearms, legs half-bent; the other kneels facing them. The one below sways their legs and sets the angle themselves. Both chests stay lifted, air passes everywhere, and the position holds for a long time without effort.

11. Sea Spray

One lies down, legs bent, knees towards the sky; the other settles with their back to them, one leg on each side of the hips, braced on their knees. The chests never touch and the one on top keeps complete control of the rhythm.

12. Sunset

One sits at the edge of the bed; the other straddles them then leans far back, head down, hands holding their partner's for balance. An intense angle, head spinning — literally. Make sure you can catch yourselves, and don't hold it too long.

Bonus — Flam's Summer Edition, 12 positions not to miss

A seasonal level that only appears in the app for around ten days after the summer solstice.

The six positions above come from a whole level written for the season: Flam's Summer Edition — heat, slowness, bodies on show. There are twelve of them, exclusive to that level, two per intensity step:

• Intensity 1 — Undertow · Golden Nap
• Intensity 2 — Wave · Sunbathing
• Intensity 3 — Mirage · Solstice
• Intensity 4 — Coral · Tide
• Intensity 5 — Sea Spray · Sunset
• Intensity 6 — Breaker · Hourglass

You already know six of them. What the other six cover, we're keeping for the moment itself: the discovery is half the pleasure, and a position you unfold for yourselves beats one that has been summarised for you. Know only that each comes with a one-sentence explanation the moment it lands, and that the intensity climbs sharply from one step to the next.

Its distinctive feature: this level is fleeting. It opens on the first Friday evening after the solstice and stays available for around ten days — two full weekends — before making way for the next edition. Which gives it a genuine taste of rarity.

Want a date that comes round more often? The Full Moon Edition opens for three nights a month, about a dozen times a year — and our article lists every date through 2027.

Summer reunions: start at the beginning

If you've spent weeks apart — travel, shared custody, distance, or simply a year of passing each other in the hallway — the first evening deserves one simple rule: expect nothing spectacular. Your bodies need to get reacquainted, and that part is lovely too.

• First evening, everything but the main event. Kissing, hands, massage, nothing else. A deliberate restriction builds desire faster than any position.
• Talk before you touch again. An hour of real conversation is worth all the foreplay. Our 50 questions to ask your partner are made for exactly that.
• Go through the game. A round of Truth or Dare or some sensual dice act as an airlock: you laugh, the awkwardness lifts, and desire comes back without anyone having to ask for it.
• Move up one notch per evening. Progression creates anticipation, and anticipation is already desire — that's the principle behind our rituals to rekindle the spark.

Changing the setting: summer's real luxury

The brain ties desire to context. That's why three nights in a hotel sometimes wake up what six months in your own bedroom couldn't. In summer, settings are everywhere: a terrace out of sight once night falls, a balcony, the cool floor of the living room, a hotel room ten minutes from home, a tent. If you want evening ideas, our 30 at-home date night ideas adapt beautifully to holiday mode.

A word on the outdoors, since everyone thinks about it: the open-air fantasy works wonderfully in a walled garden, on a sheltered terrace, under a pergola or behind the half-open shutters of a holiday rental — with fresh air, summer sounds and privacy thrown in. Worth knowing: sex in a genuinely public place (beaches and pools included) is an offence in most countries. Somewhere that's yours gives you the same thrill with complete peace of mind.

FAQ — sex, heat and heatwaves

What is the best sex position when it's hot?

The ones where air can circulate and only one partner leads the movement: doggy style, cowgirl ("the boat"), the edge of the bed ("the seagull"), a standing position. For warm nights, very slow spooning is unbeatable.

How do you have sex during a heatwave?

Three levers, in this order: the hour (early morning, late evening, or a siesta with the blinds down), the setting (a fan, thin cotton sheets, a cool shower, ice cubes) and finally the position, favouring the ones where air flows between your bodies. And savour rather than endure: in a heatwave, something short and slow is a genuine treat.

Which positions are best saved for the cooler hours?

The ones that bring both chests together and take some stamina: classic missionary on bent arms, the oyster position, or anything held for a long time. They are excellent — simply even better in the morning, after a shower, or once the sun has set.

Do couples have less sex in summer?

Rather the opposite: desire climbs, while sessions become shorter and slower. In other words, more urges in a different format — usually a more sensory one.

Does heat change your libido?

It shifts it: extreme heat invites rest, much as it lightens your appetite. Three adjustments are almost always enough to find the right momentum — move the hour, cool the room, shorten the format. The desire itself is still there.

How do you reconnect after weeks apart?

By starting with something other than sex: talking, touching with no goal, playing. A couple game works particularly well for these reunions, because it takes the job of "suggesting" away from both of you — the game does the suggesting.

In short

Heat is an excellent adviser: it pushes you towards the slow, the tactile and the sensory. Move the hour, cool the setting, choose positions where air flows — doggy style, cowgirl, the seagull, the breaking wave, slow spooning — and save the oyster for the cooler hours. In a heatwave, savour shorter, slower, closer moments. And if you're finding each other again after time apart, start with the game: it's the most enjoyable route to everything else.