Taking Advantage of Off-Season Travel Deals

One of the first truths you learn when you start paying attention to travel news is that by simply avoiding the peak travel times to any destination, you can save money on your trip. It makes perfect sense, and seems like one of those things you “should’ve known” in the first place - if I didn’t actually pull one of those V8 commercial moves, slapping my forehead when I first heard it, I thought about it.

But although it’s easy to see how traveling in the off-season can help you save money, it’s also easy to see how peopel in the United States might still have trouble doing that. Most of us get such little vacation time each year (and I won’t even get started on how few of us even hold passports) that by the time we’re ready to get out of the office the last thing on our minds is spending time doing travel research. We just want to go.

Besides, who among us wants to slave away at a desk for 50 weeks only to spend our precious vacation time bundled up against the cold rain in London, just because it was cheaper to go in January?

The good news is that even if you’re stuck with only two weeks of vacation per year, you can still have your proverbial cake and eat it, too. Because you’re following along with us at BootsnAll, you know you’ll be getting the latest information about travel deals and holiday hotspots. And right now, we’re here to tell you about some places that are bargains right now - in the off-season - but that aren’t going to leave you cold.

Getting to Australia from the U.S. is a long haul, no matter which coast you’re on. This is just one of the reasons so many people have travel to Australia on their lifetime “to-do” lists but yet put off making the trip for years. If that describes you, then you might want to pull that Australia adventure off the back shelf and dust it off.

It might be coming up on winter in the U.S., but that means summer Down Under is just around the corner. But that glorious summer weather doesn’t have to come at a high price, either, because there are plenty of cheap tickets to Australia at this time of year. Not only that, this is serious backpacker country we’re talking about - and that doesn’t just mean outdoorsy types who like to go hiking (though that’s true as well). It also means that there are lots of hostels in Australia (although they typically call them “backpackers”) that will help you cut your travel costs even more.

But maybe Australia isn’t on your agenda right now and you’d really prefer to have a European vacation without the usual high prices. The most popular European cities don’t have much of an off-season, unfortunately, because people really do visit many of them year-round. But you’ll definitely see bigger crowds - and the accompanying higher costs - in the summer. So if you don’t mind packing a sweater and an umbrella, this is a great time to visit Europe.

Now, you could take that to mean this is the best time to visit the big cities like Rome, London, or Paris - but here’s where we come back to that whole bit about eating your cake. A trip to Europe isn’t all about the cities, nor is it all about cold weather in the winter. For instance, you could easily travel to France this winter and enjoy a bit of warm weather (or at least warmer than you might expect for the winter). In southern France, you can take in the sights of Provence and the beautiful Cote d’Azur beaches in December or January - all without worrying about the temperatures dipping below 50F. And when it comes to saving money, there’s no better time to get a deal on tickets to France than the winter.

Okay, I know - even at 55F you probably won’t want to be lying on the beaches of southern France any more than you’ll want to be dealing with rain in London. I get it. So if what you’re looking for is a sunny climate - with beach-friendly warm weather to match - that won’t cost you a fortune, I’ve got another idea for you.

Hawaii.

Yeah, I thought you’d like that. Hawaii is ideal for sun-seekers year-round, but travel to Hawaii during the fall and winter is generally cheaper. Talk about having your cake and eating it, too - a wintertime vacation in Hawaii lets you pack a little summer break in the middle of what’s supposed to be a colder time of year, and at bargain prices.