Hello, and welcome to The Getaway. Each week in this space I want to help you travel better, not harder. We will talk about the trips that are worth taking, the ways to make them gentle on your body and your budget, and the small details that turn an ordinary vacation into a memory you keep for the rest of your life.
I can think of no better place to begin than with the single best decision a traveler over fifty can make. Stop traveling when everyone else does.
What the Shoulder Season Really Is
Travel has three speeds. There is high season, when the weather is at its postcard best and the whole world shows up to enjoy it. There is low season, when prices are cheapest but the weather can be a gamble. And then there is the shoulder season, the few weeks on either side of the peak, when the crowds have gone home but the warmth and the daylight have not quite left.
For most of the Northern Hemisphere that means late spring, roughly the second half of May into early June, and early fall, from the middle of September into October. The exact timing shifts from place to place, but the idea holds nearly everywhere.
Why It Was Made for Us
When you are no longer tied to a school calendar or a narrow week of vacation days, you hold the one advantage that money cannot buy. You can choose when to go. Here is what that freedom buys you.
- Lower prices. Airfare and hotel rates often drop by a quarter or more once the peak weeks end, and the savings on a longer trip can be considerable.
- Smaller crowds. The famous cathedral, the national park trail, the seaside promenade, all of it opens up. You can actually see the thing you came to see.
- Kinder weather. The brutal heat of high summer has eased, which matters a great deal if you are walking cobblestone streets or watching your footing on a trail.
- More patient hosts. Innkeepers, guides, and waiters who were stretched thin in July have time to talk in September, and that is where the real stories live.
How to Plan One Well
A shoulder season trip rewards a little forethought. Book your flights about two to three months ahead, which is usually the sweet spot for fares once the peak rush is over. Pack in layers, because mornings and evenings can turn cool even when the afternoons stay warm. And build in margin. One of the gifts of traveling without a crowd is that you no longer have to rush, so do not fill every hour. Leave room for the long lunch and the unplanned detour.
If a destination has a single overwhelming attraction, go to it first thing in the morning. Even in a quiet season the early hours are the quietest of all, and you will have the place nearly to yourself.
Three Places That Shine in the Off Weeks
If you are looking for somewhere to put this idea to work, start here. The national parks of the American West, such as Zion and the Grand Canyon, are glorious in late September once the summer heat and the summer crowds both break. The coastal towns of the Carolinas and the Gulf are warm and welcoming well into October, long after the families have gone home. And for those with a passport ready, the cities of southern Europe, from Lisbon to Seville, are at their most gracious in May and October, when you can sit at an outdoor table without wilting.
Wherever you point yourself, the principle travels with you. The reward for waiting a few weeks is a trip that feels like it belongs to you alone. That is the quiet magic of the shoulder season, and it is waiting for you twice a year, every year.
Until next week, travel gently and travel well.
Alex