Roy Hodgson flies out to Brazil on Tuesday for the World Cup draw, admitting he is dreading the possibility of his England team being asked to play in the stifling conditions of Manaus in the Amazon rainforest.

The conditions in the city, where the humidity in June can reach 99%, are so extreme Hodgson says it is more of a concern for him than if England are drawn against Argentina, Brazil or any of the other tournament favourites.

Average daily temperatures in Manaus are around 26.5C, with the pitch-side heat in the Arena Amazônia liable to be much higher, and it would mean a 5,600-mile round trip from the team's base in Rio de Janeiro. "The venues worry me more than the opponents," Hodgson said. "I think there's definitely going to be climatic conditions which will be problematic for [all the] teams but not least the northern European sides.

"The tropical nature of Manaus is the problem. I'm not an expert on the venue but I'm just mouthing what everybody has been saying to me. Manaus is the place ideally to avoid and Porto Alegre is the place ideally to get. Manaus will be a difficult venue for everyone, including the Argentinians, Chileans and Colombians, but for northern European players it will be a little bit harder. You have a better chance if you get one of the venues where the climate is kinder."

Hodgson has previous experience of trying to combat sweltering conditions when he led Switzerland to the 1994 World Cup in the USA and they had to play their final group game in a Californian heatwave, losing 2-0 to Colombia.

"Our first games were difficult enough in Detroit because it was the indoor arena and that was tough but that game in Palo Alto was particularly hard because we kicked off at 11.30am and the sun was right above our heads. It was something like 40-41C and I've got to say our players struggled more than the Colombians. Everyone found it hard but we really did struggle. So you can't deny that problem [in Manaus] but whatever happens it won't be an excuse."

Hodgson will stop off in Rio with the FA's chairman, Greg Dyke, and general secretary, Alex Horne, before the draw, which takes place in Costa do Sauípe on Friday, to visit England's team hotel, the Royal Tulip in front of São Conrado beach in Rio, after abandoning their original base on Copacabana beach because of Fifa's plans to hold a fan-zone directly opposite.

"It's tricky but it's all to do with Fifa," Hodgson said. "We didn't have choices to speak of. We were shown two hotels and the local organising committee tells us: 'Which one do you want?' A lot of the good hotels in Rio are already taken up by Fifa, so there's not much more we can do."

Hodgson intends to give his players a week off at the end of the Premier League season, from 11 May, and has discussed the idea of a training camp somewhere warm in Europe before England's farewell game at Wembley on 28 May. That would be followed by a 10-day trip to the United States, featuring a game in Boston or New York and another in Miami. However, their schedule is complicated by the possibility of English teams reaching the Europa League final on 14 May or the Champions League final 10 days later.

"We are thinking about Florida simply because acclimatisation is going to be a major factor," Hodgson said. "It doesn't matter where we play – Porto Alegre or Manaus – it will be hot, so there is no point going up into the mountains where the air is fresh and clear. That might be more pleasant but it's not going to prepare us."

England will be unseeded in the draw but Hodgson said he had not spent too long looking at the possible opponents. "All the discussion about the different teams and their strengths is based on speculation … but we don't know. We don't know how good Argentina are. We would all think 'Blimey, Argentina are strong', but we don't know that. They might be no stronger than Chile. We will hope for our best but it is like Forrest Gump and his box of chocolates. We will open it up, see what we get."