Best Time to Travel – Shoulder Season and Sunny Weather
Best Time To Travel – Consider the Weather
I know it sounds uninspiring to plan your trip around the weather, but there are definitely better times to visit certain places. If you only have ONE opportunity to take your dream vacation, you should make every effort possible to go during their perfect weather season. There’s always a “best time to travel,” regardless of where in the world you’re going.
Weather can make or break your trip. Do your best to ensure the weather enhances your vacation instead of hampers your fun.
How do you know the best time to visit? Have a chat with Google, your best know-it-all friend.
I Avoid Summer Travel Like the Plague
Most people (especially those with kids) take vacations in July and August.
To me, July and August are the two WORST months to travel, especially if you’re visiting the Northern Hemisphere (which encompasses all of North America, Europe, Asia and the top half of Africa).
Most places in the Northern Hemisphere during July and August are super hot and the popular spots are overrun with tourists.
Can you think of a worse place to go than Disney World in July? I can’t.
If you must go on vacation in July and August, Canada, Greenland, Alaska, New Zealand, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, the Baltics and the west coast of the United States won’t be as hot . . . but they will be crowded.
Unless I find some kind of amazing travel deal, I stay home during July and August. I prefer to go during “Shoulder Season” (April-May and September-October). The weather is better, there are fewer tourists and everything is cheaper.
If you have kids or a job that requires you to vacation in the summer, I’m very sorry. Hopefully one day your circumstances change and you can also enjoy the many benefits of traveling during Shoulder Season.
Side Note: Rome
I don’t think Rome has a Shoulder Season. I’ve been to Rome many times at different seasons and it’s always overrun with people. It gets very, very hot there in the summer so try not to go in August unless you really like to sweat and also feel a stranger’s sweat on you.
Visit When the Weather is Amazing
In 2017 the Louvre (the art museum in Paris) opened a satellite Louvre in Abu Dhabi and I really wanted to go. I know that summertime in the Middle East is unpleasant, so we decided to go during their mild weather season (December to February) and planned our trip for January.
Our timing couldn’t have been better. The weather on our nine-day trip was perfect! It was 75 degrees every day with a nice light breeze.
It even rained for a few minutes when we were in Dubai, which is rare.
Our trip was incredible and the weather made it even better. We would’ve had a completely different experience if we had gone to the United Arab Emirates in the hot, hot summer and felt inclined to stay inside their many air-conditioned malls all day, every day.
Research the Best Time to Visit
There are definitely better times to visit certain places.
- Washington DC is magical in the spring during the Cherry Blossom Festival
- New England is fantastic during the fall
- There is nowhere more beautiful than Savannah in October
- Alaska is best in the summer when the sunny days don’t end
- In my home state of Utah the National Parks are best to visit in both spring and fall . . . you couldn’t drag me to Arches or Zion in the heat of the summer
- The Palace of Versailles outside of Paris is beautiful in the fall when the leaves are changing
- If an African Safari is on your list, consider visiting during their spring (which is August-September) so you can see the baby animals in the leafless trees
- Mexico is great in the winter
- San Diego is fabulous year-round
Whatever you do, do not go to New Orleans (or anywhere in the American south) in July or August.
Planning My Travel Year Around the Weather
I take three big planned trips a year and always go around the same time, during Shoulder Season . . . April 25 to May 5, ten days or so in September and a two-week girl’s trip every October.
My trips are always delightful. The weather is great and the sun stays up late.
Passion Project Solo Trip
I try to take an alone trip once a year. It’s usually for some kind of artsy passion project and I don’t want to worry about my travel pals being bored.
When traveling alone I ALWAYS make sure I’m back in my hotel room when the sun goes down. I’ve always had a great time and I’ve yet to be harassed, robbed, kidnapped or killed.
Follow this simple advice: Don’t go stupid places at stupid times.
Winter: Maybe Just Go to Mexico or Hawaii
I don’t enjoy traveling through Northern Europe, Canada or the northern parts of the United States during the winter (I don’t like to ski and I’ve spent way too much time in Jackson Hole, Sun Valley, Aspen, Fargo and Saskatoon in the winter. I’m over the cold. Gross. Brrrr).
If you have a puffy coat and don’t mind being cold, traveling for fun in the winter has a handful of benefits. To me, winter travel is mostly bad news. I don’t mind bundling up, but when the sun sets at 4:30 in the afternoon it drastically cuts into your precious site-seeing time.
Ireland in Winter
One of my best pals found a really great deal for Ireland. It was $500 per person for a week which included a villa, car rental and airfare. We scheduled our trip for late January, which had its pros and cons.
We were the only tourists in Ireland so we never had to wait in line anywhere which was awesome. But the days were very short and our site-seeing hours were very limited. We didn’t want to be out driving on the wrong side of the road, sitting on the wrong side of the car in the rain and in the dark so our touring day needed to be finished up by about 4:30.
It rained the entire time we were there and I remember feeling very damp which added to the Irish mystery (or misery, haha).
I loved our trip to Ireland. We saw a lot and never had to wait in line, but I’d love to go back when it’s not so dreary.
Summer Travel
Drink Lots of Water or Maybe Stay Home
On the flip side, I once found the World’s Best Deal on a twelve-night Mediterranean cruise . . . in June and July. The email stated that the sooner we called the better the room we’d get. Two minutes later we were the proud owners of a cruise ship suite for the unbelievable price of $600 a person. The cruise was from June 22 to July 5, it started in Venice and ended in Barcelona.
We had a great time but it was hot! So hot!
In Croatia it was so hot we walked around for a few minutes and went back on the ship and hid in our cabin until the sun went down.
In Montenegro, we wanted to climb the mountain but it seemed unsmart in the 100-degree weather. It was so muggy and we wandered around in slow motion.
Our skin was an unnatural shade of tan when we got home.
Our cruise was fun, but my memories of that trip will always be of the sticky, sweaty summer heat.
The Same Trip in the Fall Was Delightful
Three months later my BFF and I did a similar trip during Shoulder Season in October. It was a completely different experience. The weather was perfect, we climbed the mountain and ran through the fort and never broke a sweat. Our ice cream didn’t melt in our hands. Sometimes we even needed a light jacket. It was delightful.
A hot and muggy environment is made even more unbearable if you’re visiting a site that’s built on cobblestones or bricks. These materials hold in the heat and then radiate it back at you, making the hot days feel even hotter.
I loved wandering around Angkor Wat, Cambodia, but it was so hot and humid and the heat radiating off the old temples made it very sweaty.
Being way too hot or way too cold can influence the overall feel and subsequent memories of your trip. If you can, try and plan your trip when the weather is mild. I prefer donning a light jacket over sweating to death.
Festivals and Other Events
As you research your vacation, be sure to include a search for big events or festivals planned in the area. Depending on the event or festival you might find yourself wanting to attend it, or you might want to avoid the area.
While touring the south of Spain, we planned to spend a couple of days in Seville. When I went to book the hotel I discovered everything within 50 miles was sold out, which was very odd. Up to that point, all of our hotels had been cheaper than usual.
After digging around a bit I discovered that Seville was hosting their biggest festival of the year.
We abandoned that plan and headed to Ronda instead.
No Vacancy?!? What?!?!?
Community events can make your trip more magical, or wreak havoc on your travel plans. Do your research at home to avoid unexpected surprises.
Big festivals, sporting events, film festivals, concerts, conventions or trade shows will temporarily inflate the price of hotels in the area. If you decide to stay in the town where the festival is, be prepared for it to cost a lot extra and for the area to be crowded.
If you happen to find yourself in an area holding a celebration, I encourage you to check it out. Live like a local, try the food and buy the trinkets. You’ll leave having a better understanding of the culture, the traditions and you might make a new friend or two.
Take the time to research the best time of year to travel to your dream destination. If you can travel during Shoulder Season you’ll be grateful for the gorgeous weather and smaller crowds.
It’s okay to be a bit like Goldilocks, don’t go when it’s too hot or too cold. Your trip will be better if the weather is just right.
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The Art of Travel (TAOT) ~ Written by Kylie, a huge thanks to Alex for the awesome photos.
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