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5 reasons why ‘shoulder season’ is the best time to travel
In many ways, travel in 2021 was more challenging than it was in 2020. While demand for travel returned, sufficient staffing often did not.
A good way to skirt most of these challenges is to travel during “shoulder season," typically the period of time between a region’s peak season and offseason.
Here are five reasons why shoulder season is the best time to travel.
1 Expect to pay lower prices than during peak season
Airfares averaged 23% cheaper when booked for shoulder season versus peak season travel. That’s according to a NerdWallet analysis conducted in December 2021 of more than 100 airfares taken from the most popular routes in the U.S. across eight major airlines.
The same routes were compared for flights booked for peak versus shoulder season days, where peak season flights were those booked for the Monday before or after a major holiday.
2 You won’t compete as much for coveted reservations
Those higher flight prices typically stem from supply and demand.
Increased interest leads to more competition across the board. Book during shoulder season and you’ll vie with fewer folks for your top experiences.
3 You won’t see as many offseason closures
While demand is high during peak season, sometimes demand drops so low during offseason that the places you want to visit aren’t even open.
Hotels often take the offseason to do renovations. Airlines typically cut back routes, so you’ll have less flexibility on what day or time you can fly.
But the shoulder season is less likely to entail such challenges. Travel before summer crowds arrive and you might be pleasantly surprised with a newly renovated hotel room.
4 Weather is generally pretty good
The shoulder season likely won’t bring the sweltering heat or storms that come with a region’s offseason.
During shoulder season, you might forgo sunny summer days on the beach, but you’ll typically get temperate weather.
5 You could more likely experience unique, local events
Tourist hot spots typically want year-round crowds, so they often host events, concerts and other festivities that don’t occur at times when crowds would be large anyway.
Theme park food festivals are among the most common shoulder season delights.