Traveling in shoulder season

Libby Kane / Business InsiderThe see from our balcony at sunset in Fira, Santorini. There is nothing more tiresome than spending hours scouring the web trying to find the best price on every component of your vacation. <br>So I avoid. <br>Instead, I make a single decision that saves me a fortune: I choose to travel in "shoulder season. "<br>This period of time is the months leading towards or away from the high season. <br>In the Caribbean, high season may be the winter. In most of Europe, it's the summer. <br><br>It's the period when that place is best shown to its advantage, so people go see it.  <br>It's also the most expensive time to go because the tourism market knows what's up. <br>By choosing going six to eight weeks before or right after high season, I save money upon flights, accommodations, car rentals, and most everything else by making one decision and never thinking about it again. <br>It seems apparent, but a lot of people don't do it. <br>It isn't the off-season. I'm not going during monsoon season or blizzards. Really, the only difference is a few degrees - a light sweater, or removal thereof. <br><br>And the financial benefits are huge. For example, a friend and I went to the Cyclades Islands in Greece a few years ago, choosing to go in early May rather than summer, the peak season. <br>When I plug a 12-day journey for the same dates into Kayak -- leaving on the last day associated with April, the same days we traveled - the cheapest flight with a single layover is $562: <br>Kayak. com<br>In early August, the results are nearly twice the price, even though we'd become booking further in advance: <br><br>Kayak. com<br>Bear in mind that isn't a perfect evaluation. It involved no acrobatics to find the cheapest possible flight, nor direct comparisons of flights leaving plus arriving at the same time on the same day from the week, nor analyses of how air travel prices fluctuate. It took me all five minutes - which is kind of the idea. <br><br>Here's another basic illustration: Lodging were cheaper, too. On Santorini, we stayed at - the particular marvelous - Atlantis Hotel within Fira, which charges 240 pounds, about $262, per night for the incredible caldera-view room in early Might. <br><br>Atlantis Hotel  <br>Using the same Sunday-through-Wednesday dates in August, that hotel is asking 320 euros - about $350 - per night: <br>Atlantis Hotel<br>Admittedly, I don't have children and are not limited by the school calendar, and my job isn't so highly seasonal that I wouldn't be able to take a trip in May rather than August, so Now i'm lucky enough that this strategy is easily achievable. Plus, I generally don't thoughts that I have to put a windbreaker over my bikini to see the cliffs of Santorini or the town of Mykonos. <br><br>It's cheaper, less crowded, and just as lovely.  <br>If you have your heart absolutely set on tanning on the yacht, I concede that this strategy might not be for you. Although if we're talking Mediterranean, you could try September! <br>I could keep giving examples - We used the same strategy when I visited the Balearic Islands off the coastline of Spain in late May/early June last year with another friend : but there's really no need. Simply by traveling in the shoulder season instead of the high season, I've consistently had the opportunity to save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on incredible trips by causing a two-minute choice. <br><br><br>SEE FURTHERMORE: I took advantage of the strong US dollar to spend 11 times touring Spain, and it was totally worth it