Comments on: Shoulder Season: My Favorite Time of Year to Travel

By: James Fryman

James Fryman — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 20:42:19 +0000

Portugal, spain, and Italy. And for something entirely different and exotic, Thailand!

By: Kim

Kim — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 22:12:39 +0000

I’ve been traveling during shoulder seasons for years. It started as a way to save money once; then it became my preferred time for the reasons mentioned…and the costs still, too. Some favorites: Barcelona and Ireland over American Thanksgiving (two different years), Bavaria in April, UK in April, New York, Boston, and Portland, Maine in May.

By: Tracy Clemmens

Tracy Clemmens — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 16:49:47 +0000

Samantha, I have been researching carry on luggage’s for a trip to Italy next year ( yes, I’m obsessive when I get a project in my head), but am getting more confused every time I check different FB forums or articles about whether soft sided or hard is better than the other. We are wanting to do carryon/ backpacks only. Which is your favorite?

By: Cassandra

Cassandra — Mon, 08 Sep 2025 16:17:47 +0000

We recently moved to Chattanooga and are excited to explore the nearby Great Smoky Mountains! Loving this time of year!

By: Leann

Leann — Sun, 12 Mar 2023 21:04:04 +0000

We love the Burgundy region of France, esp. Beaune (Fallon Mustard factory tour!) and Alsace. Off-season is amazingly quiet and wonderful. Florence in the spring is also marvelous. Our go-to is the Hotel Brunelleschi. Taking the grandgirls to Switzerland end of May, will be interesting– highlights planned are Zurich’s Lindt Chocolate Museum and chocolate-making activity, the Mirror Maze in Lucerne. Heading up to our close friends’ hotel in Grindelwald for a few days of Alps hospitality. Love your new show. come to Nashville, there are a lot of fun things to do that the average tourist misses.

By: Debra

Debra — Tue, 18 Jan 2022 16:27:40 +0000

Badlands & Black Forest area in September are amazing!!
Also, WDW in January is perfect!!

By: Barb

Barb — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 01:09:39 +0000

Munich and Oktoberfest! Yes there may be some crowds at the fest, but that’s part of the fun! Get off the beaten path in Bavaria and explore the hidden gems of the small villages and lakes. The weather is wonderful and the sights are a delight (not to mention the food and drinks)! Gemutlichkeit 🙂

By: Barb

Barb — Thu, 22 Aug 2019 23:24:38 +0000

As you can see, we prefer to travel anywhere in fall over any other time of year. Just heading to Australia/NZ in October, when the rainfall and humidity is lower.

Re: National parks. Check the park you are interested in visiting to be sure the roads are still open and the weather is what you expect. We visited Alaska in early September and it was pretty cool and rainy out on the Gulf of Alaska, fog prevented a flight seeing trip over Misty Fjords. In the past, some parks even closed roads in September due to expected snowfall at high elevations. This may be changing with global warming, but before you make plans, check the park website for information.

By: Barb

Barb — Thu, 22 Aug 2019 23:19:27 +0000

Re Disney in September. We did this once in mid September. The temperature was near 100 degrees for the entire week and the humidity was high, making for a very uncomfortable week. I would avoid September and possibly October, depending on the forecast, if you don’t enjoy super heat and humidity.

By: Barb

Barb — Thu, 22 Aug 2019 23:17:00 +0000

We have traveled to Europe off season for many years. Early spring can be challenging due to rain and cold at times but still enjoyable and less crowded. Autumn, even into November, is great: the weather is uniformly wonderful, with low rainfall, pleasant days and cool nights so sleeping without AC is possible. We’ve even found weather pretty toasty on the Italian and French Rivieras in early November. Spouse took his resort diving class from a cruise at that time.

HOWEVER, the travelers now know about shoulder season. Many boomers and seniors prefer that time due to weather and “fewer crowds” idea. Smaller crowds not always the case anymore, and hotel prices, cruises, tours are often at their highest prices of the year. No bargains until November for the most part.