Don’t you just love to travel with hundreds and thousands of your best friends? Isn’t it so much fun having to fight for parking spots, be constantly bumping against sweaty arms, the stench of body odor permeating your hair? Don’t you enjoy paying a premium for flights, accommodations or activities?
No? Yeah, me neither.
There’s nothing fun about serpentining through crowds and gobs of people, only to wind up having to Photoshop other people out of your photos.
When I worked at Disneyland, I paid attention to the Park attendance trends: busy days vs. not-so-busy days. What time did people arrive/leave? How long did they stick around? Were they locals or the obvious tourists? I didn’t understand why I was paying attention so closely, but I get it now.
After I left Disney and started traveling, I realized that my desired travel times coincided with the not-so-busy days I experienced as a Cast Member: February and late-September/early-October.
As I became more involved with the travel community and started considering myself a savvy traveler, I understood these times to be the off-season or shoulder-season. I now try to book my trips during the off-season when I can (weddings and other extenuating circumstances aside).
Here are my 3 reasons why I travel during the off-season…and maybe why you should too!
#1: Cost
Did you know that airline prices tend to be cheaper during the off-season? Crazy how a lot of those airline flash sales tend to occur during a lesser-traveled time, right?
I’ve always managed to find better deals on flights, accommodations, and excursions during lesser-traveled months: February, early-March, late-September, October. Weird. And a winner in my book. Who wouldn’t want to save hundreds of dollars?
My theory – airlines and hotels have to lower their prices during the off-season, shoulder-season, whatever you want to call it, to entice travelers to get out and have adventures during the “less-desirable” times of the year.
To this day, I’ve only experienced open seats next to me on flights during the off-season…which is reason enough to continue traveling during the off-season!
#2: Crowds
Summer, Spring Break, and holidays are popular travel seasons: kids are out of school, people visit long-distance relatives, and days tend to be longer (well, in the summer).
Seriously, one of the reasons I stayed away from going into teaching was because of this: I didn’t want my vacation days to be restricted to summer and spring break. With every. other. teacher.
Imagine the aggressive hand clap emoji between those last 3 words.
I remember touring the Neuschwanstein Castle via tour company with some friends. And while I am still not 100% pro-tour company, this time it was a blessing to do so.
We sat in our lovely tour bus, passing the almost mile-long (I kid you not!) line to get entry tickets in to the Castle.
Woah.
I couldn’t believe it…at first. Then, I remembered it was prime summer travel season (late July/early August) and we arrived in the early afternoon.
This is called Peak Travel Time, and a time which I usually try to avoid.
If you’re claustrophobic, off-season travel is the way to go. But if you enjoy being herded around like cattle, travel when you want.
#3: Temperate weather
Nothing is worse than walking around a new destination while you’re freezing. Or extremely sweaty. Not knowing how much further you have to go, where the closest relief to your suffering lies, or even if that relief will come upon reaching said destination.
When I was in Germany for my study abroad program during the middle of the summer, I was awakened every morning around 5am to the heat of the sun in my non-air-conditioned room.
Traveling anywhere was a guaranteed sweat bath.
It was gross, as Germany was experiencing record-breaking temperatures that particular summer.
There were times when it was uncomfortable, yes. But I didn’t let it ruin my time. Now, given the choice, I prefer not traveling in the middle of the summer, record-breaking temperatures or not.
My most recent adventure to Europe was in late-September, and I couldn’t believe the difference it made. Once again I was in Eastern Europe, Romania to be precise, but instead of sweating from dawn until 2 months had passed, I experienced more moderate temperatures.
Fall breezes.
Cooler temperatures.
It was still beautiful. It was still Europe. I still had the time of my life. But I chose the timing for a reason – off-season weather!
Of course, we can’t always control when we’re able to travel. Sometimes our work, family, life dictates when we can venture out and that’s okay. Believe me, I’ve been there. But given the choice, I will always opt to travel during the off-season!
Do you prefer to travel in the off-season as well? Or do you just go whenever you like? Does it make a difference in your opinion?
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