When should you go on your European vacation?

There are many things to consider in deciding when to go on your European vacation. Some have to do with why you want to go. Some have more to do with your other commitments – i.e., work and school schedules. Because my husband, Dave, and I are empty-nesters, we have the luxury of travelling whenever we want. Our only limitation used to be the amount of vacation time we had. This is why our trips to date have been between 10-18 days and why we have developed strategies to make the most out of our time. Now that we are retired, time is now dictated by what it is we want to accomplish on our journey.

Our preference is to travel during “shoulder season” when crowds are smaller and prices are often lower and the weather is still pretty good. Shoulder season is usually April/May and September/October give or take. Some important consideration when planning your European vacation include:

• August is when the Europeans go on vacation. This is when prices and crowds are at their peak.
• Europeans take their religious holidays very seriously. My first trip to Germany had us landing in Frankfurt on Good Friday. On our arrival in Mannheim where Dave’s son was staying, the only place we could find open for lunch was a Chinese buffet! You can have a truly meaningful experience during these times; just be prepared.

Most of our trips have been in September or October. However, we have been to Ireland in February and, while some of the attractions had limited hours, the temperature hovered in the 50’s and we had cloudy but not very rainy skies. A European vacation to Great Britain in May allowed us to experience authentic Highland Games in Scotland. While Spring can be great, generally, I think that the weather in September and October is just a little more predictable.

Late Fall and Winter travel have their benefits especially if you are a winter sports enthusiast. We are looking forward to experiencing Europe in Winter some time in the future but have not done so yet.

Maxing Out Your European Vacation Time

We always try to justify the expense of getting to Europe by spending as much time over there as we can. When we had limited vacation time, we developed a few strategies to help us do that.

1. Holidays – Many of our holidays are not holidays in Europe. If you can plan your European vacation to coincide with your paid holidays, you can add additional vacation days. Another benefit of this is that you can also take advantage of lower airfares by not flying on weekends.
2. Overnight Flights – To avoid using a vacation day on your travel day, fly overnight. We have found that the later your flight to Europe, the easier it is to sleep, even in coach, just because you’re so tired. You’ll arrive mid-morning to mid-day so can still get some activities in if you have the energy.
3. Google Maps – If you are touring around and staying in multiple places, map your routes between stops. I generally try to keep these drives to a maximum of 3-4 hours. This allows you to have a leisurely breakfast, hit the road, and arrive in your next destination in time to see or do something before dinner. You may also find that you can save time by visiting places along the way. In France, on our drive from Lyon to Amboise, we stopped to visit Chenonceau. As a result, we didn’t have to backtrack to it the next day which allowed us to visit both chateaux in Amboise instead of just one.

These are just some of the things we have learned. Please feel free to share your own experiences and ideas.