Do you want to know why traveling off-season is a good idea and how this can make your trips better? This post is for you! We almost always try to travel off and low season for many reasons. Traveling during high season can be sometimes very annoying and it can totally ruin your trip. The prices are increasing, a horde of tourists are invading the little streets, beaches are crowded, it’s hard to find accommodation, and so on!
If you’ve already been to Europe during summer, you know what I’m talking about! But these are not the only reasons why traveling in the offseason or the middle season can make your trip really better! If you want to know all the reasons, read on! 😉
What are off and middle seasons?
Usually, the high season or peak season is during summer, it’s the case the most of the destinations. If we consider that the globe is basically divided into two parts, the high one is considered in summer and in high season from June to September. So this works for Italy, Greece, France, Indonesia, or Jordan. The low part is considered in summer from December to March. This works for Australia, Polynesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka or Cambodia.
But some of them are considered high season in winter: Iceland, Alps, Austria, Norway, Finland, Arctic and other destinations where you can ski or take part in winter activities! Usually, the high season is the best season to have great weather but it is also the season where you will find many tourists and very high prices!
Traveling off-season has many advantages, but be careful of the weather. This is the biggest problem when not traveling in high season. Some places can be visited during the low or middle season, if you don’t really care about seeing the sun, and have temperatures a bit cold, as European cities, Africa or the Middle East. But some of them as Asia, Indonesia, Central America, Pacific and Carribbean islands can have a tropical climate and wet seasons with lots of rains and can have with cyclons. For these destinations, the middle season is the best. This is between the peak and the off-season. We have been to Thailand in April, so just after the high season and it was perfect!
Why traveling in the off-season is a good idea?
You will save money!
Cheaper flights, trains, and bus tickets
If you are traveling in the offseason, you will easily find cheaper flights. As the prices of the flights and the trains are based on Yeld management, prices are increasing when the demand is high. The demand will be high not only in high season but also during holidays and school schedules.
So, obviously, if you’re traveling in the off or the middle season, it will be easier to find cheaper flights. Especially if you’re booking in advance. Try to book at least 4 weeks n advance to find the best deals! Also, if you are flexible on the dates, you can really find 50% off flights! I always check on Skyscanner on the world map where are the current cheaper destinations in the world. It really helps to decide where to go!
Cheaper accommodation (hotels and Airbnb)
Usually, hotels are decreasing the prices during the low and middle seasons to try to have more reservations when then have fewer ones. If you are dreaming to stay at a particular luxury hotel that is very expensive, you can stay there for a cheaper price at your dream hotel! It is the same for Airbnb.
If you’re booking a hotel or an Airbnb in Venice, Barcelona, Majorca during July and August, you will find ridiculously prices! European cities and islands have really prices during peak season. But, if you’re going there at the beginning of June or late September, you will find better deals! Also, try to book in advance to have the best deals!
Cheaper restaurants
Also, another great part about traveling off-season or shoulder season is having cheaper dining! Most of the restaurants located in tourist areas are increasing the prices during high season. There even are some of them that have a menu for tourists and another one for the locals. We have seen this in Venice!
If you’re traveling off or middle season, the restaurants that are still open will usually practice lower prices. And the food will usually be better. By the way, the smaller the menu, the better the food! 😉
You will more enjoy your experience!
Fewer tourists on popular spots
When you’re traveling off or shoulder season, you can experience the places with fewer tourists. This is probably the best part of traveling off-season for me with the ability to save money!
We have been to Jordan during the off-season (in December) and we had the chance to visit very touristy areas like the Dead Sea, Petra and the desert of Wadi Rum with very few tourists! It was amazing to be able to admire these places without a horde of tourists. You will be able to have these places almost for yourself, especially if you wake up early!
Also, we didn’t have to wait in line for hours to enter into a site or to take photos. When you’re traveling, time is precious! And you don’t want to wait in a line. Visiting off-season means you will be able to enjoy the places without hundreds of other tourists. You will spend less time in line and more time to enjoy these places!
More availabilities for activities
During high season, it can be hard to book popular activities, because they are already fully booked! Especially for parks, sports, tours, and entrances. When you’re traveling off-season, you have more freedom in your organization and you can book your activities more in the last minutes according to your schedule without having bad surprises!
When in Thailand, we absolutely wanted to visit an ethical elephant sanctuary, and all the parks were almost fully booked even in the middle season as there are limited places to not annoy the animals. Hopefully, we found a place. But if we were there in the peak season that would have been really hard to find!
However, certain activities can be closed during the off-season, due to the ack of tourists, or because of the weather, make researches before planning your trip!
More authentic experiences
When you’re traveling in the peak season, the locals are busy dealing with many tourists. They don’t really have time to talk with you as they have a lot of work to be done. When you come during the middle or low season, they have more time to spend with you. You can easily connect with them, and talk with them about their culture, their country, customs and so on. This is really better to have more humans connections during your travels and have an authentic experience!
During our trip to Jordan, we had a magical and authentic experience in the Wadi Rum desert with the Bédouins that were hosting us. We were all reunited by the fired and we talked for hours with them about their culture. It really was a precious and priceless moment!
Are you thinking about traveling off-season and middle season?
We hope this post will help you to travel off-season and middle season! We almost always travel in the middle season because it’s a good compromise between having moderate prices, not so many tourists and still good weather! Let us know in the comments!
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