Balitang America Travels: High, Low and Shoulder Travel Seasons

When is the best time of the year to take a trip? Is it when the weather is warm and sunny, but the fares and rates are high and the sights are crowded with other tourists? Or is better to travel when the prices are low and hotels have lots of room, but you have to deal with bitter cold or heavy rain showers?

The answer for most people is somewhere in between, and if you are a budget traveler with flexible vacation dates, you can still find some bargains without suffering through extreme weather conditions. Sure, you might have cooler weather and the occasional light rain, but the savings will probably be worth it.

In my "Travels" segment that aired March 30th on Balitang America, Juan Francisco of Mango Tours confirmed that there are often good deals during the "shoulder" seasons between high and low peak travel. (You can check out actual video segment here.)

A good example is around Easter time when flights from the States to the Philippines are slightly cheaper, because demand peaks during winter when the weather is milder and families gather for Christmas. During spring, the weather isn't too bad because the monsoon season usually doesn't start until June.

Of course, the peak and off-peak periods are different in every country. You can visit Ricksteves.com to find out when the shoulder season hits Europe.

Away.com and smartertravel.com also have great resources about ideal travel times in different parts of the world.

Travels is a weekly TV segment written and produced by Christi Morales. It airs every Monday during Balitang America's (News in America) 5:30pm PST newcast on ABS-CBN Global's The Filipino Channel (TFC). Balitang America can also be seen on KTSF Channel 26 at 6:45pm PST in the San Francisco Bay Area.