All Things Travel Podcast

Shoulder Season Travel: Insider Tips for Budget-Friendly and Less Crowded Vacations

• Ryan Hedstrom & Julie Shaffer • Season 1 • Episode 259

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In this episode of All Things Travel, hosts Ryan and Julie dive deep into the world of shoulder season travel, sharing expert insights on how to plan the perfect vacation during off-peak times.


What is Shoulder Season?

Shoulder season is the travel period just before or after peak tourist season. Typically, this includes:

  • Europe: April-May and September-October
  • Caribbean: April-June and October-November
  • Australia/New Zealand: March-May and September-November


Advantages of Shoulder Season Travel

  1. Cost Savings: Lower prices on flights, accommodations, and activities
  2. Fewer Crowds: Less competition for attractions and restaurants
  3. Mild Weather: Pleasant temperatures for outdoor activities
  4. Sustainability: Reduces strain on local infrastructure
  5. Flexibility: More spontaneous travel opportunities


Considerations and Potential Drawbacks

  • School schedules can limit shoulder season travel
  • Unpredictable weather conditions
  • Potential closures of attractions and businesses
  • Shorter daylight hours
  • Not always guaranteed significant discounts


Top Shoulder Season Destinations

  1. Europe
    • Spring (April-May): Blooming landscapes, tulip season
    • Fall (September-October): Harvest festivals, cooler temperatures
  2. Japan
    • May-August: Lush greenery after cherry blossom season
    • November-December: Autumn foliage without peak crowds
  3. American Southwest
    • March-April and October-November: Mild weather for national park exploration
  4. Caribbean
    • April-June: Warm weather, avoid hurricane season
  5. Iceland
    • March-May and Mid-September-November: Northern Lights viewing opportunities


Expert Travel Tips

  • Research specific shoulder season timing for your destination
  • Plan around local events and festivals
  • Pack layers and prepare for transitional weather
  • Check specific destination considerations (e.g., Easter and spring break)


Listener Takeaway

Shoulder season travel offers a unique opportunity to experience destinations with fewer crowds, potentially lower costs, and more authentic local experiences. By being flexible and strategic, travelers can enjoy memorable vacations during these off-peak periods.


About the Podcast

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ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Hello and welcome to all Things Travel. Are you tired of dealing with crowds and bad tourist behaviors on your vacation? maybe focusing on shoulder season travel would be more your style. Today we'll discuss the considerations and top destinations for maximizing shoulder season.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Listen in with travel advisors and destination experts, Ryan and Julie. He is your travel professor Teaching you everything you need to know to have a magical vacation. And I am a Disney loving Maryland mom of three and a specialist in family travel. we're discussing incredible destinations, top vacation tips or sharing personal stories is always all things travel.

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

All right. Julie, what is going on? How are things in Marilyn today?

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Things in Maryland are good. We had a really fun weekend. Today is my Youngest's birthday.

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

That's right. I saw that on Facebook. Happy birthday Mia.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Yeah, so Mia is two. she is a literal firecracker. I rarely have any idea what she's doing because, uh, she is always on the loose. for her birthday, we got her a scooter, like the little three wheeled

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Yeah.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

my older two have them. They got them around the same age and she steps on it and flies down a hill and does not,

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Yeah,

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

care, doesn't care. She falls over, she just gets up and keeps going. So we had a really fun day celebrating her. So we've had a

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

that's great. I'm sure that this summer when we were on our, podcast friends cruise, that Mia will become the star of our social media account,

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

she's literally insane. And she's like a rubber band child. I don't know where you come from. we were at the library today and our library has like, you know, the automatic doors and she literally, I'm trying to help my oldest check out some books she just left the library and I go running after her.

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Yeah, actually my son used to be like that. So he not, not, not, not,

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

built a fence. You told me.

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

correct. that's why we built the fence. I am working like crazy this week because at the end of the week, I am headed out for a really nice spring break trip.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

I can't wait to hear about it.

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Yeah. Jasmine and I are heading down to Cancun for our first trip together like that, and just gonna have a really good time I'm excited to talk about it when we get back.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Ryan and all the spring breakers in Cancun

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

I think we're gonna be a little more elevated than the classic, spring break,

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

all right, so first, when we keep saying this term, shoulder season, you're probably thinking, what the heck are they talking

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

I'm thinking of those massage huts on the beach, shoulder season.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

That's so funny. season in the travel industry is when you're traveling, just before or just after the peak travel season. there are some benefits and negatives to shoulder season travel, and that's what we'll get into just some examples. in Europe, the really popular time to go is during the summer, so April and May September and October would be considered their shoulder season in the Caribbean. April to June, or October to November is gonna be your shoulder season. If you're going all the way over to Australia or New Zealand, March to May, or September to November. a lot of those are telling us there are peak travels in the summer. So pretty much avoiding that summer travel with my clients, the one that comes up most is Year Up.

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Yeah. And definitely if you can travel. Not on a normal school schedule, if you want to think about it that way. That's really helpful in this type of situation. Julie, when we talk about some of the advantages of shoulder season and some of the considerations, I'm not gonna call them cons, I'm gonna call them considerations. So you know, I'm a little more positive than you. Uh,

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

you can't say consideration without kahan.

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Some of this will be a little contradictory, I'll say it here, but then I'll also say it there so it is what makes the most sense for your travel group. the number one advantage of shoulder seasons is there can be some real cost savings. So flights, accommodations, activities. Tend to have cheaper prices compared to peak seasons. And because of that, there's some discounts to attract people. popular tourist destinations can be less crowded during the shoulder season. there could be shorter lines at the attractions, more availability in those hard to get reservations at restaurants and maybe in a more overall relaxed experience. You're not fighting for space to take that picture, or see that site You might.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

hear the most about with Europe is we wanna go in May or September because of the crowds.

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Absolutely seeing Santorini at that time is completely different than seeing it at the peak of tourist season. Number three, mild weather. Obviously this depends on where you're going, in the world. But for a lot of the places that we're talking about, shoulder season tends to offer pleasant weather conditions such as spring or fall temperatures. And so being a little more tolerable with, outdoor activities or sightseeing. Number four, sustainability. And we know that sustainability is continuing, to be a hot topic in tourism and the idea of overt tourism. Well, sustainability allows you to think about going during less busy times, so it reduces the strain on the infrastructure of the place you're visiting. And then the last flexibility with fewer tourists, there's often no need to book every detail for in advance. which could give you, some more spontaneity when it comes to deciding what you want to do.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

let's talk about some considerations when you're thinking about planning a trip that is not at that peak time and during shoulder season. So in my world, and for the next, you know. years in front of me, my kids will be in school. We'll be a little bit dictated by the school calendar.

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Yeah.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

that doesn't really allow for you to travel in the shoulder season, right? you're off school. For us in Maryland, we're off in the summer, which is mid-June through August. We've got that typical spring break around Easter time. I know. Some local schools also have a fall break. We have the Christmas break and there's a reason why those times

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Yeah.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

very busy times to travel.

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Yeah.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

because all the kids are off school. Parents don't want them missing school. my kids' ages right now, I have no problem missing school. But I'm sure that will change, you know, as

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

It.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

high school like you had to deal with

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Yeah, it gets harder. so really the consideration here is you can't take advantage of shoulder season, it's not available to you as a parent. And I will say, certainly as the kids were younger, we made decisions to travel as a family, but yes, there did come a point where it just was not feasible. Um, with school, with activities and, and all that stuff.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

I was talking to a mom at school last week and we were talking about a trip they took to Disney. They went, um, like a week or two before Christmas last year. was talking to her at our elementary school, but they, this was a multi-generational trip for them. And the reason they picked the week they did was because that's when like some cousin who was in college was on college break, so every other kid in the family missed school except for this college age kid because he can't miss class like some of the other kids do. So they were so limited on when they could go because of that and because that the crowds were so high.

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Y You know, it's interesting you say that as a college professor at three different institutions during my career, you, you saying college students not missing class to travel. That, uh, that, that was not necessarily my experience. Uh, unfortunately.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

around exams

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

think. All right, so a few other considerations to think about. The weather will be a little unpredictable, which is partly what makes this time of year more affordable and have less crowds. you're gonna be in that transitional weather period. There might be more rain, you might have a chance of cooler temperatures or even an unexpected heat wave. Maybe you're traveling in September thinking it's gonna be cool, and then next thing you know, it's super hot during your trip. or maybe you think like, okay, I am gonna try to go to the Caribbean and we're gonna do November because it's less crowded, it's less expensive. and you get there and it's. 68 to 70 degrees all weekend. Not really great beach weather.

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

And not very comfortable. Yeah.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Yeah. Not comfortable. And also then you're in hurricane season two, so a lot of things that you have to think about when you're planning at this time of year, Another one is things might be closed. your destination knows they're expecting fewer crowds, so they're gonna have their businesses open a little bit less, or maybe not even open at all. That will really limit any activities that you have available to you. So that's something to really be aware of before you go. If there's something that is a must. To do for you. Make sure that you are traveling in the timeframe that that is happening. this comes up for my clients a lot with Alaska. Would you agree with that,

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Yeah, ab absolutely.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

but you have to cruise at a certain time of year to see those whales,

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Well, and not only that, As attractions may close other businesses associated with tourism may close, that may be when the shop owners of the restaurants, they have more limited hours or they're closed, uh, different days of the week. So that may be lovely because it just may be a much more relaxed pace for you, but like you said, you wanna make sure that stuff that are the must dos can, can still happen during shoulder season.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Right, right. Like when we were in Hawaii, we were there in October, and I know some people can go to Hawaii and do whale watching, but. Not in October.

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Yeah. Right.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

think about the time of year and, and what is going on locally for that destination.

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Yep.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

One other consideration with all these is also there's gonna be some shorter days. So shoulder season coincides with the shorter daylight hours and that's gonna also reduce the amount of time that's available to you for outdoor activities. if you're going over to a Caribbean destination and it starts getting darker a little earlier, you may not have those really long beach days that you wanted. or those, really fun evenings, those sunset pictures, things like that you're gonna have to think about.

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Yeah, good point.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

one last consideration is that your expenses may not always actually be lower. While it is generally cheaper, some popular destinations might not offer significant discounts during shoulder season, especially if they are a place that remain popular year round. Disney, we anticipate that they release discounts during. What in the past were historical lower crowd seasons, but those discounts are never guaranteed. We don't know

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Right.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

to your specific reservation. if budget is something that's kind of pushing you towards shoulder season, go with what we always say and book early Ali.

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

And shoulder season can be a better time to travel for a variety of reasons, but. Cost may not be the number one driver for that. Well, Julie, we have some tips for planning shoulder season travel and we also have some, um, ideas for great shoulder season destinations. But first, as always, I wanna talk about where in the world is all things travel. And as I looked at new locations this week, a new one for us that came up was Independence Missouri. Independence. Missouri is not only. The hometown of President Truman. But one of the things that I found really interesting was it was the gateway to the Oregon Trail, and also it has a big significance in the Mormon church with their, expansion westward I'm thinking of going to the Frontier Trails Museum with our listener and learning all about the Oregon Trail and how Independence Missouri played into that. Doesn't that sound fun?

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Yeah, that sounds very different than a lot of the destinations we've

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Yeah, absolutely. Well, hey, independence, we are so glad that you are listening to All Things Travel. Please reach out to Julie or myself. You can do that on our website, all things travel podcast.com because I've got a little thank you gift that I would love to send to the beginning of the Oregon Trail for being featured on the show today. let's talk about some tips for shoulder season. So if you think this may fit you and where you want to go, here are some tips. The first one is Research your timing because shoulder seasons vary from place to place. So just because you think it's shoulder season someplace doesn't mean it necessarily is also a fun thing to do for shoulder season is plan around local events. So a lot of times there are festivals or cultural events that occurred during shoulder season either to increase tourism or because. That allows the locals time to enjoy those festivals. So it may be a fun connection with your trip. And then third, prepare for transitional weather. So thinking about layers, rain, all that kind of stuff. This would be a good time to be able to transition from warmer days to cooler evenings and, and some, suboptimal weather as far as sun and warmth. All right, Julie, so what is a first destination that we should think of when it comes to shoulder season?

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Okay, this one we've mentioned a couple times and

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Yep. Yes,

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

everyone knows Europe is really crowded in the

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

I.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

so this is a really popular destination for shoulder season. And there's also different things that are showcased in those shoulder seasons too. So think about going in spring, which would be April to May, and that offers blooming landscapes, fewer tourists. When you think about going over to. the tulips,

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Yep, I, well, I was.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

shoulder season.

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Yeah, absolutely. I was, I was just gonna bring that up, that last March I was actually doing my tulip time cruise and we were right at the beginning. So, um, there was a reason why we were there at that time, but man, if we would've been there even two weeks later, that would've been like prime time tulips.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

You would also wanna think about going to Europe in the fall, so September or October, It's going to be a little bit cooler. Weather and some harvest festivals going on that you could enjoy.

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Love it. Well, the second location is Japan, and this time of shoulder season may surprise you. It's actually May to August, so summertime. And the reason why you may be interested in this time is there's a lot of lush greenery. After the cherry blossom season. So a lot of people go for the cherry blossoms, wait that out, and then you're gonna experience lower crowds or November to December. So holiday time here in the United States showcasing autumn foliage without peak season crowds. So again, kind of a counterintuitive right times that we would think would be high travel time, not so much in Japan.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

And hey, that lines up really well with our school schedules.

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

There you go.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

so next up is the American Southwest. A good time to go there when you wanna go during shoulder season will be March and April, or October and November. This will give you a lot more, mild weather for exploring the national parks, especially if you're gonna go to the Grand Canyon.

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

All right, let's talk about the Caribbean. We're talking April to June, so really that, later spring, early summer. You avoid hurricane season. But you definitely have that warm weather to experience during that time.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

And one caveat is just check Easter and spring break. So if you can hit it

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Yes.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Easter through the beginning of June, you're golden.

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Yep. I agree.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

All right, and last destination we wanna highlight for shoulder season is Iceland. You would wanna think about going between March and May, or mid-September through November, and this will actually provide opportunities to see the Northern Lights without the summer rush.

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

as we wrap up, Julie, what are you thinking with shoulder season? I know you said right now that doesn't fit, but if you were going to decide on a trip for your family or you and Steven, which shoulder season are you gonna take advantage of?

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Probably the Caribbean one because I think it's one that you can take advantage of shoulder season and you don't need to have a very long trip. so that would make it a lot easier to do with kids in school.

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

I'm thinking fall in Europe would just be lovely. the last I was, the last couple times I've been to Europe, it has just been insanely hot. I'm thinking Greece in the summertime. I'm thinking Italy in the summertime and just going in more mild fall temperatures would be great.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

October Fest. There you go.

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

There you go. Roast.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

You wanna plan a trip to an amazing destination but don't know how to get started. your travel advisors, we work with you to create a customized itinerary for your vacation and take the stress of planning away so you can focus on the fun and creating memories. You can reach out to us at all Things travel podcast.com and click contact us.

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

We look forward to talking to you next week on All Things Travel. When we discuss some truly amazing world voyage vacations,​I've got a little thank you gift that I would love to send to the beginning of the Oregon Trail for being featured on the show today. Alright, so let's say that.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

I can think about with that is dysentery.

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Yeah.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Like, did you guys have to

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Oh, a hundred percent. Yeah, absolutely.

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

know that was like before your, you know, after your time or,

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Well, I don't know. When did you play

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

I don't know when

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

I played it in,

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

school.

ryan_1_03-24-2025_193609:

gonna say, I played it in seventh grade. So you played it in third grade?

j_1_03-24-2025_193609:

Okay. I was in like first grade probably. They were all so dying of dysentery

People on this episode

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Julie Shaffer

Co-host
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Ryan Hedstrom

Co-host