One of the great questions for those who like to travel is when to take your vacation. It’s a wonderfully fun conundrum for a solo individual and even more interesting when planning for friends, family, or a work or recreation group.
The Four Seasons
Summer
Some constraints wait for no person — namely school dates, exams, work obligations, deadlines, and rhythms of commerce. Summer is an answer to the former and sometimes to the latter, but keep in mind that, for this very reason, crowds will be at their most robust, as will hotel and airfare. On the other hand, if it’s the time when all can gather, those facts will be factored in. But can you put a price on the joys of summer and the memories created during this time of long days and warm, sultry evenings? This season of markets, festivals, outings, picnics, gatherings, outdoor concerts and performances, drum circles, dance events, marathons, street parties, and myriad other seasonal delights is priceless.
Fall
While Fall may bring shorter days, it also brings a more moderate climate in many regions, smaller crowds, more space, shorter lines, and cheaper fares and rates for significant travel expenses, such as hotels and airfare. However, members of Team Autumn tell you that the charm of changing leaves, the delights of comfort food, and the abundance of decorative autumn foliage combine to make fall a season worth taking off on for your next adventure.
Winter
For evangelists, for the cold, this could be your time. When the crowds head home, indoors, or to their favorite pub, café, or restaurant in the neighborhood, this could be our time to blaze a trail — through the ski slopes. Indeed, if outdoor winter adventures call to you, this could be your wheelhouse. And January and February often offer some of the year’s cheapest airfare and travel costs! As a bonus, many locals set up special entertainment events and decorations just in time for the winter holidays.
Spring
Spring can be a marvelous time to have a fling with adventure. Okay, be aware of the spring break hot spots and visit because you want to be on a Florida beach, not because you forgot that higher education funnels scholars out to the sand and season to reward them for a job well done as the seasons slip from winter to spring. Spring, as in autumn, is often referred to by those in the know as ‘shoulder weather’- a term used to describe the transitional seasons when the weather is mild and pleasant- and offers the charms of cheaper rates for travel costs, more moderate crowds, and fine, temperate weather.
Let’s Go!
So, when is the best time to travel? It’s what you prefer; as experienced travelers such as Claudette Rickett Schwartz note, the best time is the time that fits your needs and allows you to connect with yourself or, conversely, to hook up with friends and family. The season puts you in the mood to celebrate and enjoy the best times. Let the adventures begin!
