TheTravelNook.com

When is the best time to go on that trip you’re dreaming about? If you’re lucky, you can plan the time of year you travel and schedule your holiday ahead of time. Some people can’t get away when the company has deadlines.

You may have to plan your time around when the kids are out of school. If you’re an American, you might only have two weeks of vacation. No matter what limiting factors you might have to work with, it’s good to think about the best time to go to enjoy the activities or sites for your destination. If your vacation time is short, this is especially important!

Sometimes it’s pretty obvious when you should go. If you want a ski vacation, you want to schedule it in the winter… Of course you COULD schedule it in the northern hemisphere summer and head south to Argentina or Chile.

Beaches? Beach vacations can be almost anytime. Summer would be best on both east and west U.S. coasts, but you can be a beach bum in the winter by heading for Hawaii, Mexico or any of the Caribbean Islands. Shoulder seasons in the Caribbean can be nice, a little cheaper and sometimes less crowded, but you do take a chance with hurricanes.

Shoulder season in other areas can be a great time to go. Shoulder season in Europe gives you a pretty good chance for nice weather, and you can avoid the crowds that stream there in the summer.

If you’re planning a little more exotic vacation, you have to start taking into account different weather patterns around the world. In India, you might want to avoid the monsoon. In Africa, it’s best to plan your trip during the dry season… and Africa is a big continent, so dry season can vary from one coast to the other.

Rainy season can do more than make you uncomfortable. In many countries roads become impassible in the wet season. Hiking trails are slippery and treacherous. And leeches LOVE the wet season!

If you’re after wildlife, you want to make sure that they have migrated TO the National Park you’re planning to visit. If all the herds have moved to the other end of their migratory route, you won’t see them, and you may not see many predators either.

There’s a great website called, go figure, “Best Time To Go” that will tell you the best time of year to go, rainfall and temperature, approximately how much it will cost you per day, when the holidays are, and it even gives you some hotels.

So decide where you want to go, then before you start making your reservations, check the best time to go so you won’t be disappointed.