Places you WOULDN'T travel in the off season

[ijack]

Any place that had an off season because of really sucky weather.

[Deleted]

I would not go to the beach when it was highly likely to rain the whole time or be too cold.

Like, we went to the Bahamas a few years ago in February because we were like "It's the Caribbean! It has to be hot all year, right?" Wrong. It was in the 60s and rainy the whole time we were there (apparently not unexpected at that time of year -- we hadn't done our research). And we were on an island with shitty food where there is NOTHING to do when it is cold. Complete waste of time and money.

Cities I'm fine with all year round because I figure that if it is cold -- well, the vast majority of my getting around when I'm home is by walking which means that the alternative is to walk around a cold New York that weekend so I might as well have a change of scenery.  I like London in the winter, in fact, because even though the sun sets at like 2 pm, it tends to be warmer than NY.

[wanderlustfoodie]

Most cities I'll visit at any time of year but I wouldn't do beach resort vacations during monsoon/hurricane/rainy season because then if it monsoons/hurricanes/rains you have nothing to do.

[wanderlustfoodie]

Oct 2, 2013 11:08:23 GMT -5 v said:

I would not go to the beach when it was highly likely to rain the whole time or be too cold.

Like, we went to the Bahamas a few years ago in February because we were like "It's the Caribbean! It has to be hot all year, right?" Wrong. It was in the 60s and rainy the whole time we were there (apparently not unexpected at that time of year -- we hadn't done our research). And we were on an island with shitty food where there is NOTHING to do when it is cold. Complete waste of time and money.

Cities I'm fine with all year round because I figure that if it is cold -- well, the vast majority of my getting around when I'm home is by walking which means that the alternative is to walk around a cold New York that weekend so I might as well have a change of scenery.  I like London in the winter, in fact, because even though the sun sets at like 2 pm, it tends to be warmer than NY.

Off-season travel twin!

[Deleted]

Also, places that get SUPERDUPERDUPER hot are so not my jam.

But other than that, I don't mind traveling off season too much - I am very much a shoulder season traveler, and I find that I can get really good deals. Our trip to Banff earlier this year was much cheaper given we were in shoulder season and it was freaking awesome.

Though...I am jealous of those that get to summer up there!

[gt7301b]

Alaska in the winter.

[emilyinchile]

I wouldn't go anywhere that I couldn't do the fun stuff due to the season. For example, Chilean Patagonia basically shuts down to tourism in the winter. There is NO point in going, you can't do or see anything. I don't want to go on a beachy vacation if I can't enjoy the warm, sunny beach. I would probably rather not visit a desert in the Middle East in the heat of summer. That's pretty much it, I think.

[Deleted]

I would not go to Puerto Vallerta in September again - it's the rainy season and it was hotter than balls and really humid the entire time I was there. Like the pool felt like bathwater. It was miserable.

I don't know if that's the off season in the rest of Mexico.

For sightseeing I'd almost prefer to go in the off season - it was chilly/cloudy/rainy much of the time I was in Europe and it didn't matter at all. I think September is still "on" season but it was unseasonably chilly. It made me think it would be ok to go in the winter, though I would have been really bummed if it was pouring rain the entire time or something.

[UnderProtest]

I wouldn't go to the Caribbean during hurricane season. Even if the hurricane is nowhere near their island, they shut everything down. Its a nightmare.

[Velvetshady]

Antarctica.

[Deleted]

I mostly wouldn't go some place where the ability to do fun activities depends on the weather. Beach places, like v mentioned, are probably the biggest. I think I actually prefer the off-season for cities because I find the peak season tends to be too hot. All these people who visit D.C. in July - the hell is that about? This place is disgusting then. I have been to Rome in both January and early March. I honestly wouldn't want to go much later than early March because all that walking would be SO HOT in June.

[Deleted]

Oct 2, 2013 12:02:52 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

I mostly wouldn't go some place where the ability to do fun activities depends on the weather. Beach places, like v mentioned, are probably the biggest. I think I actually prefer the off-season for cities because I find the peak season tends to be too hot. All these people who visit D.C. in July - the hell is that about? This place is disgusting then. I have been to Rome in both January and early March. I honestly wouldn't want to go much later than early March because all that walking would be SO HOT in June.

I went to Rome in June (we were in Italy for a wedding so we had no choice of when to go).  It was beyond miserable.  So hot.  So crowded.  We in fact tried desperately to leave for our next destination a day earlier than planned, but couldn't get a rental car.

I'm okay with Las Vegas in July despite the 900 degree heat because I can park myself next to a pool.  In fact, I'd probably put Vegas on the list of places I wouldn't prefer to go in the winter (I think that's an off-season?) because without the pools, it loses a lot of its allure to me.  

[aurora]

Oct 2, 2013 11:18:30 GMT -5 gt7301b said:

Alaska in the winter.

DH has been there many times, all in the summer until this past winter.  He said the winter trip was his favorite of all of them.

Cold doesn't bother me, but I'd generally prefer to avoid places with lots of major rainstorms during the rainy season.  We wanted to do a mountain bike trip through Cappadocia (Turkey) a few years ago but could only be there in the off season and in the end decided not to go because we would have been soaking wet and unable to see much the entire time.

[bronxgirl]

Oct 2, 2013 12:07:55 GMT -5 v said:

I agree.  My first 3 Vegas trips were all in July and it was fine because we were mostly indoors, or outside at the pool.  The small amount of time we spent outside otherwise wasn't too bad.

[genet313]

Ditto PPs re: places that are too hot, particularly cities.  There's truly nothing worse that walking around all day dripping in sweat.

[Deleted]

Oct 2, 2013 12:07:55 GMT -5 v said:

Oct 2, 2013 12:02:52 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

I mostly wouldn't go some place where the ability to do fun activities depends on the weather. Beach places, like v mentioned, are probably the biggest. I think I actually prefer the off-season for cities because I find the peak season tends to be too hot. All these people who visit D.C. in July - the hell is that about? This place is disgusting then. I have been to Rome in both January and early March. I honestly wouldn't want to go much later than early March because all that walking would be SO HOT in June.

I went to Rome in June (we were in Italy for a wedding so we had no choice of when to go).  It was beyond miserable.  So hot.  So crowded.  We in fact tried desperately to leave for our next destination a day earlier than planned, but couldn't get a rental car.

We went in August (also for a wedding) and I was 5 months pregnant. I was fucking miserable. I may have cried. 
The couple expect us to go back for them to renew their vows next year. Uh. no. 

[Deleted]

Caribbean or Mexico during hurricane/rainy season. Also anyplace that is oppressively hot in the off season.

[winnied]

Anywhere that had extreme temperatures in the off season.

[lishie]

I'm also a big off season traveller, I love Europe in spring and fall, and it's also cheaper then. I'll risk a hurricane and do the Caribbean in summer or fall.

That said, we booked our Alaska trip for next summer. I have no desire to sight see up there with small children when it's going to be overly cold.

[DirtySouth]

Anywhere really hot and humid in the off season, like South Florida or the Caribbean. We went to Jamaica a couple summers ago and won't do that again. Many hotels don't have air conditioning, and we were sure to book a place that did, and then the air didn't work well at all. The afternoons were also too hot to be out exploring comfortably, and we're not the type to lay by the pool or on the beach all day.

I also wouldn't do Alaska during the winter, or anywhere else with an extreme amount of cold and snow.

[Deleted]

I wouldn't go to a ski resort type of place when there is no snow, like Vail, Aspen, or Whistler. I am sure it's beautiful but we are just not outdoorsy enough to enjoy hardcore hiking and biking. I also dislike Europe in mid summer. Spring is the best time to go.

[fromage]

It's not actually the off season, but I wouldn't go to Paris in August. All the Parisians go on vacation, lots of restaurants are closed. It's a hot, touristy hell. 

Other than that, I agree with most beach destinations in poor weather. Unless there are other things to do, I would probably avoid that.

[Chirp]

I've never been outside the country, so keep that in mind.

We always going on vacation in the off season. We avoid the crowds and the heat (especially the east coast summer humidity) and we like finding the local hangouts. Plus the hotels are usually really cheap, so we usually get nicer accomodations for the same price as a Holiday Inn. So, off season works for us.

We went to Cape May, NJ in February a few years ago and OMG. The hotel was nice. There were only 5 restaurants open in the entire town and the food was abyssmal in all but one of them. So we just kept eating in that one restaurant the whole time. A couple shops were open, but most everything was boarded up. We kept ourselves entertained with books and a portable DVD player. And we hung out in the hotel bar a lot.

[Deleted]

Cruise ships to the Carribean around Aug-Nov (hurricane season!)

[Deleted]

I've been to Oslo in January. The cost saving wasn't worth it. Summer is so much better.

[Deleted]

Oct 2, 2013 11:18:30 GMT -5 gt7301b said:

Alaska in the winter.

This, or anyplace that is at a latitude wher there are not many hours of sunlight.  We talked about visiting in Edmonton during the winter, but the idea of so few daylight hours was the kicker. 

[bananapancakes]

I've been to Vegas in August and Stockholm in February. I don't recommend either!

[Deleted]

Oct 2, 2013 14:18:51 GMT -5 @songforyou said:

Oct 2, 2013 12:17:27 GMT -5 @barefootbarista said:

Maybe it's because I'm black and from the south ("we are a tropical people!"-Cool Runnings), but I don't find DC heat super unbearable.  It's hot, but I don't want to die or anything. 

I think the hottest I've been recently was in Lakeland, FL.  OMFG, that sun was brutal. 

I would travel to the Caribbean in hurricane season, but I'd head for the lesser Antilles as they miss most of the hurricane weather.

Lol is that what it is?  Because I agree and I think Italy in the summer is the absolute best.  Every time it comes up on here, everyone is all, "Don't go in the summer!" Meanwhile, going to Europe and not being able to enjoy the beaches sounds like poor planning to me.  I don't want to be in Italy unless I'm wearing shorts on a scooter, eating gelato and neck deep in the Mediterranean.  Going to the Vatican and taking pictures on the Spanish Steps is cool and all, but I want all my photos to look like everyone's "I want to go here" Pinterest pins lol.  Hot is Louisiana in July.  Otherwise, relax.

Well, this chubby white girl sweats like a mofo and sunburns on a cloudy day.  I just don't like heat.  So my idea of a good time on vacation does not involve sweating my brains out in a hot city.

::shrugs::