Shoulder Season Travel. Is It For You?

Are you getting ready to go on a spring vacation? I generally prefer to travel far and wide in the shoulder seasons. I LOVE summer and fall in Oregon, so I like to stick around to enjoy some of that wonderfulness.

What is a shoulder season? The shoulder seasons are the two months to either side of the high season. So, let’s say for many destinations, the high season would be the summer months of June, July and August. The shoulder season then is April and May or September and October. And then low season would be the months left, November – March. Three top reasons for traveling in the shoulder seasons are

1. Still generally good weather
2. Fewer crowds.
3. Shoulder season pricing.

Thinking back, I’ve traveled in the shoulder season for a good number of trips. It has always been a positive experience for me. Here are 3 places I’ve traveled in the shoulder season and loved.

Paris and Normandy

Last year, just about this time we were getting ready to go to Paris. A friend just posted today on FB a picture of her first meal in Paris this spring break. It featured A LOT of cheese. Oh, my goodness! The cheese in France is amazingly good if you like “stinky” cheeses. That’s a good reason to go to Paris anytime. But springtime was good because no lines. We didn’t have the city to ourselves, but really the crowds were virtually non-existent, except for two places. The line to get into Versailles was small and moved quickly, but once inside in some of the rooms it was still really crowded. So, we opted outside and went out to Marie Antoinette’s gardens and hamlet where there were very few people. That really was our favorite part of Versailles. It was interesting to see the Palace. I had really looked forward to the Hall of Mirrors and was glad I got go there. Beautiful. But we loved Marie’s gardens and houses. Perfect French Country.

The very first day we went on the hop on hop off bus. That is always a good way to get a feel for the city. It rained quite a bit, but we went out anyway. Do you let the rain stop you when you’re on vacation? I hope not. Of course, a hurricane, might be a different matter. But even that would make an exciting story! The rest of the time, the weather was mild.

Our hotels, our flights, our river cruise were all priced less than they would have been in the high summer season. We stayed pre-cruise at a lovely boutique hotel in the 7th Arr. It had a view of the Eiffel tower from some of the rooms. A delicious European breakfast buffet. And just a few feet from the Metro.

London

Well maybe London and the next trip, a Danube River Cruise, were technically in the low season. But that can work, too.

A few years ago, we went to NYC to visit our son and the sights. That was a great trip with crazy weather. It was early to mid-March and it snowed! Yes, you read it right, it snowed. After a winter like the US has just been experiencing, I guess we’re not surprised. I had on every layer of clothing that I brought in my carry on! Every day! Brrr! Then we decided to extend with 4 days in London. The weather there was great for an Oregon girl. It was perfect t-neck, vest and scarf weather. The sights were enchanting and so f u l l of h i s t o r y! Being in Westminster Abbey was simply amazing to me. To be in that place that was started around 1000 AD by monks and where so many English monarchs are buried, I was, as the Brits say, “gob smacked!” I just loved contemplating and thinking about all the people that had been there before me and what their lives were like. Hmm… that must be why I love watching PBS British tv shows, especially the ones about the Monarchies.

We loved the food. We loved the sights. We loved the people. We loved the weather. And we loved… no lines and great pricing.

Danube River Cruise

In the fall of 2014, I set off with my friend, Sandra, for the Melodies of the Danube River Cruise with Amawaterways. Again, it was so wonderful.

Can you tell I love to explore the world and I think it is all pretty amazing!

After an overnight flight, we arrived in Budapest the morning of our cruise, and stopped in at our ship’s (the AmaBella) lounge and had a comforting soup and sandwich lunch. Then off we went to explore that amazing city.

You have to keep going after those overnight flights or you’ll sleep your time in Europe away!

(Can you sleep on an airplane? I know some people have a hard time. Not me. We’re leaving the runway and I’m settling in for a long winter’s nap.)

For 7 more days we sailed and explored the Danube river valley. We tasted delicious European food. We heard beautiful music. We saw the beautiful fall colors and UNESCO World Heritage Site of Durnstein and the Wachau Valley. We probably even walked where Mozart walked.

• Beautiful weather. Maybe some showers here and there, but not bad.
• No crowds. Our ship wasn’t nearly full. There is only a maximum of 165 passengers anyway, but on this sailing there probably were about 100 passengers.
• Great pricing.

​A couple more advantages to traveling in the shoulder season, especially at the beginning of the season, is that the shop keepers are happy to see you and not worn out from a busy season. Also overuse of facilities is not a problem in the shoulder season. If you want to go to the popular places, like Venice or Cinque Terra, Machu Picchu, shoulder season is a good time to go. To find out when shoulder season is for a destination, just ask me, check out any guidebook, or google “when is shoulder season for X”. Remember if it is a ski resort or someplace south of the equator or some place in the tropics the answer will be different than for most of North America and Europe. ​

What do you think? Do you think you would like traveling in shoulder season? Where have you gone or where will you go? Any tips you’d like to share with us?

Vacations Inspired is here to help you make the next shoulder season a season you’ll never forget. Just reach out to me and we’ll get started.