Optimizing a travel budget
Many travelers do everything to stick to that travel budget: inexpensive accommodations, cheap airfares & the cheapest transportation. Often-overlooked, however, is the bargain holiday you can find depending on the time of year you choose to visit a destination. Have you ever considered traveling in the shoulder season when it’s less busy?

Shoulder season offers the chance to find a bargain holiday because prices go down, but traveling is still good. Hotels & car rentals are cheaper, the crowd’s thinner & the weather still favorable. Rates on everything from accommodations to adventure tours drop based on demand.

Shoulder season is that time either at the beginning or end of the high season & is the ideal time to travel because you're not jostling with so many people to get a room & see the sights. An all-inclusive hotel is also an option for an even better bargain taking into account the costs of meals & drinks. Take the following recommendations by season into consideration when looking for a bargain holiday.
 

How to use the seasons for deals
During the Winter months, travelers can find great bargain holidays at tropical beaches until Christmas & skiers heading to Europe can take advantage of the cheapest flights of the year. Flights to Asia are cheaper during the winter & despite this being the Summer Holiday in South Africa flight prices & package deals are a bargain from January- April.

In Spring, hotel rates & flights to Mexico & the Carribean are a bargain, starting in mid-April, because tourists have stopped thinking about escaping the cold back home. The water is warm & beaches less crowded. Travel to Europe is still much cheaper than during the summer months and flights to Central & South America also drop, except around Carnival & Easter. It's a good time to see the tulip fields of Holland or the green hills of Ireland. If you're studying or working in Europe, for a bargain holiday, use any Spring breaks to travel locally. Also, Spring in the northern hemisphere means Autumn in Australia, New Zealand & South Africa, with bargain holiday rates on flights & accommodations. March - May are great months to visit the countries of Morocco, Egypt , or Jordan.

 

Summer is the toughest time to find a bargain holiday. For travelers who aren't set on any one place, you'll find real bargain holiday destinations that are currently not on the top 25 list. Like Venezuela's MargaritaIsland, & the BayIslands of Honduras, or the islands scattered off the coasts of Belize, Panama & Nicaragua. Summer in North America, means winter in the southern hemisphere. You'll find beach weather without the summer heat in Rio de Janeiro. In June & early July the Caribbean & Mexico are at their best bargain holiday prices, extending that into September will have you on safari in Kenya & Tanzania. In Canada, there is a shoulder season for national parks in the first 2 weeks of June and the last 2 weeks of August.

In Fall, mid-October to mid-December marks the change from the wet season to dry season in Costa Rica & Panama offering some advantageous bargain holiday prices. Europe is still quite nice in the fall & flights usually go on sale in October. The summer cruise ship crowds have left the Greek Islands & Turkey but the early fall weather is still sunny & hotels are at a bargain.

When searching for the best price, chose your holiday time carefully, so as to enjoy good weather & un-crowded resorts at a bargain price. A general rule for picking shoulder season travel is to avoid school holidays & any of the obvious travel times, but to keep as close to high season as possible to snag that bargain holiday. Visit our online bookings page for the best bargain holidays.