Traveling Off-Season: The Advantages (and Disadvantages)

Traveling Off-Season in Europe

Love Europe? You’ll love it even more in the off-season!

Why? I travel off season for many reasons. Not the least of which is because I hate being constantly sweaty…

But beyond the heat-avoidance factor I travel off-season because I LOVE traveling when most people aren’t traveling. I relish getting more for less, being ‘special’, and experiencing different thing than the average tourist.

But beyond these personal preferences there are a lot of economic and logistical reasons to travel off season. Like the following:

• There are more and better airfare deals available: fewer people fly in Winter (After Christmas and New Years) and Fall and fewer people flying means lower priced tickets/more ‘deals’. You can get a RT ticket to California from Spain for less than $600 RT in November, on a decent airline with good flight times (I don’t do shitty flight times just to save a hundred bucks-my time is precious and I hate airport food).That would be $1000-$1200 in peak season of summer.TIP: I love Momondo.com to find the best published rates but always follow up by checking directly with airline’s websites to see if they have any special deals that aren’t published on third party sites. I saved $200 and got to fly with my favorite airline last year (British Airways) by going to them directly after searching out best fares/flight dates on 3rd party sites.

• Lodging Prices are MUCH Lower: Hotels, B & B’s, and Airbnb hosts need to fill their rooms. And you can provide that for them. They are willing to discount, upgrade rooms for free (hell why not? no one else is using the rooms!), and include extras. Not to mention these folks have more time on their hands to focus on who? YOU. That’s right. You’re an extra special guest when you’re one of the ONLY guests.TIP: I’ve negotiated significant discounts at hotels (via phone), B&B’s, and with Airbnb hosts (through messaging them with requests) throughout ‘off-peak’ seasons for savings of at least 30% but often as high as 40-50%. Last winter I got an upgraded room and free breakfast throw in at a B&B in Italy (and their winter rates were already 30% lower than their summer rates), and negotiated $200 and $300 monthly discounts with two different Airbnb hosts (in December and January).

• Friendlier locals: when you aren’t the 150th tourist they’ve seen that day murdering the word ‘monsieur’ (when in France) and asking for directions to the main tourist attractions, locals tend to be a lot friendlier. They smile more. They may even take the time to strike up a conversation (and not just to get you to spend money…).

• There are always tables open, even at the best restaurants.

• You’ll never be so hot and sweaty and heat stroked that you have to spend half the day napping in your room with the shades drawn, hugging the AC (if you’re lucky enough to get working AC), or lying under a bucket of ice/bag of frozen vegetables. If you want to be lazy and sit around for half of your day, you can at least do it comfortably.

• You’ll be able to snap photos of sights without fifty strangers ending up in each shot because you could’t find a 30 second window where there weren’t fifty strangers in the way.

O.K. so I’ve given a lot of really great reasons to travel off season, but like I said there are also disadvantages. And these can be pretty big ones too. For many, they are deal breakers, but I always have a great time regardless!

• The Weather: In Fall, the weather in Europe (depending where you are) can be pretty good. It can also be really bad. But it doesn’t last forever and you’ll always get some good days. On bad weather days use the opportunity to sleep in, read an awesome travel book, enjoy long lunches at cozy restaurants, and visit museums and other inside places.
• Some businesses shut down during off-season: you’ll have a smaller selection of places to go, and will experience shorter opening hours at many places. There will be less nightlife (unless you’re in a huge city).

3. Major Sights May Be Under Construction: You may find that some of the major sights you’ve set your heart on seeing are half covered by awnings and hidden from view while they are ‘under construction’. They do this stuff during the off-season because there are fewer crowds. When I first visited Barcelona (12 years ago) and went to see the Sagrada Familia Cathedral (in October), almost the entire façade was covered with a big fake picture of the cathedral, as it was under construction. Very disappointing. But I didn’t let it ruin my day!

Despite the few drawbacks to traveling off-season, from where I sit (on a sunny porch in Lucca sipping my cappuccino and thanking the weather gods for clear days ahead) it’s still awesome. I’ve made some great memories, seen a lot of places through different eyes than the average traveler, and traveled longer for significantly less money.