Picture it — Sicily, this coming August. Sure, the island’s dramatic coastline will be perfect for swimming and sunbathing, but you’ll be sharing some pretty tight real estate with half of Europe, too. Fast forward a few weeks, and the weather is almost nearly as hot and sunny, with a daily average of 80 degrees, but you won’t have to defend yourself against an army of pasty northern European invaders.
Welcome to travel’s famous “shoulder season” — you’ll love it here. In fact, a growing number of travelers to Europe are rearranging their vacation calendars in order to sit out the crowding and heat waves of summer, waiting patiently for some time in the sun, with less of the insanity — not to mention lower prices — during September and October. But don’t wait to try the quieter months out for yourself — travel industry experts say the delayed gratification approach has become so popular, the very notion of summer being the peak travel period, at least in some destinations, could be past its sell by date.
Tour operators are noting an uptick in interest not only in the fall, but also from March through early May, The Guardian reported. Intrepid Travel, an adventure travel company, reported a 61% increase in shoulder season reservations to western Europe last year, leading them to increase the number of departures during those periods by as much as 47% in some countries. The company called out the continent’s increasingly hot summer weather as a reaso.
