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
ショルダーシーズンの旅行には、少し先を見据えたご褒美があります。フライトの予約は約 2 ～ 3 か月前に行ってください。通常、ピークラッシュが終わった後の運賃が最適な時期となります。午後は暖かくても、朝晩は涼しくなることがあるので、重ね着をしましょう。そしてマージンを構築します。混雑のない旅行の利点の 1 つは、急ぐ必要がなくなったことです。そのため、1 時間ごとに満席になる必要はありません。長い昼食や予定外の寄り道に備えて余裕を持っておきましょう。 |||9月||| 目的地に圧倒的な魅力が 1 つある場合は、朝一番にそこに行きましょう。静かな季節でも、早朝が最も静かで、その場所をほぼ独り占めできます。 |||9月||| オフに映える3つの場所 |||9月||| このアイデアを実践できる場所を探している場合は、ここから始めてください。ザイオンやグランド キャニオンなどのアメリカ西部の国立公園は、夏の暑さと夏の混雑が両方とも明ける 9 月下旬に輝きます。カロライナ州と湾岸の海岸沿いの町は、家族が帰省してからずっと経っても、10月になっても暖かく迎え入れてくれます。そして、パスポートを準備している人にとって、リスボンからセビリアに至る南ヨーロッパの都市は、屋外のテーブルに座ってもしおれることなく座ることができる 5 月と 10 月が最も優雅な時期です。 |||9月||| あなたがどこを向いても、原則はあなたとともに旅します。数週間待ったご褒美は、自分だけのものだと感じる旅行です。それはショルダーシーズンの静かな魔法であり、それは年に2回、毎年あなたを待っています。 |||9月||| 来週まで、ゆっくりと元気に旅してください。 |||9月||| アレックス |||9月||| さらに深く進む |||9月||| 50歳以上の大人向け旅行保険 |||9月||| 次の旅行の前に、トップの旅行保険プランを並べて比較してください。 |||9月||| 旅行保険を比較する |||9月||| あなたにおすすめ |||9月||| この記事に関連する厳選されたリソース
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