Q – Discovered you about eight hours ago while looking for a travel site that had anything at all to do with the word “truth”. I work in financial planning here in Santa Monica and I am, fortunately, in a position where I can take off with my wife any month to go virtually anywhere. I am wondering how you are now advising your clients when it comes to 2024/2025 and beyond travel planning to Europe and the Orient given the likely scenarios of declining windows of satisfactory touring weather and conditions. When we are on vacation we try not to pass out en route to major sites and getting dizzy from the heat and not knowing where I am only makes sense to me if I am near my home in the parking lot of an In-N-Out Burger. Thanks. Short answer is fine, we’ll talk soon.
A – Good question – one that we are being asked often in a variety of ways. Let’s start with the Orient. Japan and South Korea have longer seasons but we are now recommending that destinations including Vietnam and Cambodia are best visited in the winter months from November through the first week in March, And even then, the humidity and the heat will require careful pacing.
June through August has always been the prime season in Europe. Then word started seeking out that the French, followed closely by the Italians like to take off almost the entire month of August. Many store owners and restaurateurs own summer getaways and despite the potential for significant lost income, they are still willing to close their shutters to fully utilize scheduled vacation time.
Given the decline of many services due to labor shortfalls in August, September has become the best month to enjoy southern Europe. But given the last two summers, September splendor is giving way to more heat, humidity, and growing crowds including large numbers of visitors from India, Russia, and Scandinavia. So we now have some key weeks that look best for travelers with the kinds of options you enjoy. For travel within southern Europe this is what we are currently recommending for those whose schedules have flexibility without the need to adhere to school schedules:
- April 20 – May 20
- September 20 – October 20
We stopped predicting the weather as though we knew what we are talking about several years ago. But our best guess is that, given current weather patterns, these are the premier times to plan future travels within southern Europe. Thanks for finding us. We’ll try not to let you down.
