Round Table: Off-Season or On?
Join our round table discussion and let us know your thoughts, strategies, and ideas.
Image: austin.
Budget travel gurus often promote off-season travel as the ultimate bargain. After all, a three star hotel in Rome costs only 70 euros in February, a steep discount from their 120 euro summer price tag.
However, off-season travel can come at a price, leaving you with limited options and bad weather to contend with. The money you save on hotels in the height of Hawaii's rainy season won't make the sun shine. And a trip to the beach in the dead of winter may let you avoid the crowds, but you may discover your favorite summer haunts boarded up like a ghost town.
But, the off-season doesn't limit you to spending your vacation holed up in a hotel, reading a book. People do live where you are traveling, after all. If you choose wisely and come prepared to make a few sacrifices, you could find yourself on your dream vacation.
Are you an off-season traveler? What's your favorite off-season locale? Are there places that you'll only go at certain times of the year? Do you travel with the crowd or do you think the whole "on season" idea is cooked up by the tourism industry?
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High and low seasons are usually a function of the time of year in the northern hemisphere, not the location.
The "off season" in tropical climates is usually not too different than the high season. The difference is the time which tourist have for holiday, not the weather of the location in question.
I'm very much in favor of low season travel, unless you are talking about places like Norway or Alaska.
I most often travel during the off-season. Or rather, the shoulder season. Fewer tourists, smaller crowds, most places are still open for business... And prices tend to be much lower, especially in Southern Europe.
Gary, in your travels around Asia, what times of year are typically heavier travel times, especially in the tropical areas?
I'm on the fence about this, because time can be more valuable than the money saved. Right now we travel when we can, and try to make the most economical choices available. Vacation to me doesn't have to mean warm weather and sunny days, but I will admit our decision to travel to Italy during the late shoulder season this year was completely driven by the weather.
If you time it right around holidays, Europe can be really economical in the winter. We've spent time in Europe at new years abroad and I would guess that the same trips would be 1.5 times more expensive in the height of tourist season.
I travel in both on and off season. I like to steer clear of really big crowds, so off season travel can be great for that purpose.
I agree with Gary's comments. When I went to Costa Rica in July of '95, I went in the "rainy" season. It wasn't bad at all. I was on a budget, so it was great for that. Plus, since it was tropical, we just planned our days so we could avoid the afternoon rains.
It's probably just me, but I tend to completely ignore this whole debate. I go when I want to not really thinking about other people.
I consider the weather and what events are happening when I'm going somewhere. I'm also trying to be more aware of going places where I can meet up with people -- that might influence me one way or another.
I guess I try to go places which are reasonably unusual. For example I spent 10 weeks in St Albans and 2 weeks in London. I lived in Malta for 6 months and most people have never heard of it; I seem to do contrarian travel by default.
I've found that shortly before "on season" and shortly after are the best times to travel. You still catch the decent weather of some of the more seasonal locations, and you also get some decent rates.
For instance the Cherry Blossom festival in Kyoto in March... or April... I forget. If you go a week or two before, you will get airfare at a fraction of the cost, and still get to see a decent amount of early blooming beautiful cherry blossoms! Plus you don't have to contend with the crowds of other tourists. Last time I was looking for a ticket to Costa Rica, I found one a week after "tourist season" ended for $350, which was half off what it was the week before.
Just my thoughts.