When to travel: the four seasons rule

"Tell me the best month to travel to X" is the question with the fastest answer and the least use, because the answer changes depending on what you want to do. The same city is a different place in June and in January.

A rule that works better than tables: think in four seasons and decide which one you need.

The four seasons of a trip

• Spring: the moment of first light. Everything is clean, open and full of people. It is also when prices peak and queues are longest.
• Summer: the moment of life outdoors. Beaches, roads, terraces and everything open late. It is the most expensive season and the fullest.
• Autumn: the moment of light and of food. Fewer people, better prices and temperatures that usually hold up all day. For sightseeing, it is the best.
• Winter: the moment of calm and of the unusual. It is the season of the northern lights, of snow and of cities without crowds, and also of short days and of cold that changes a plan.

How to apply it

Ask three questions and cross the answers with the four seasons:

1. What do I want to do? Sun and sea, culture, mountains, snow, animals, or simply resting.
2. What can I not negotiate? Some jobs, the school calendar, a date that cannot move.
3. How much crowd and how much price do I accept?

If the destination fits one season and your limits do not rule it out, you have your window. If it fits several, pick the cheapest: it is the same experience with less queue and more budget for the rest of the trip.

The two cases that break the rule

There are two trips where the season is not a guideline:

• Wildlife and migrations: the migration and the animal cycles set the calendar, not the weather. If the trip depends on seeing something, look up when it happens first, and only then everything else.
• Northern lights and snow: there, the long night is the resource. In the Arctic, late winter and early spring give long nights and milder days: the best combination.

And the city trip

For a city, autumn almost always wins: pleasant light, lower prices and museums without queues. It only loses to spring if the trip depends on being outdoors.

Once you have the date, the rest is mechanical: routes, accommodation and plan.