Ok, September/October is a close second too…
Too much fuss is made about where to go and not enough thought is put into “when”. Turn up in one month, you’ll find monsoons, turn up in another, you find perfect sunshine. Travel is all about timing and with so many incredible European destinations to explore there’s an incredible window of time where you should travel as much as possible. That month is March, and here’s why…
School Time
When schools are out – prices are high. The majority of schools in the USA, UK and Europe offer breaks in February and April, but not March. This creates a magic window where there are fewer travelers competing for the same airline seats, hotel rooms and famous attractions. In fact: it’s considered one of the two slowest months of the year for travel. If you read nothing else in this article, use that as your main takeaway. And on that note, September is great too.
Best Flights
In March, and pretty much just March, you can find shockingly low flight deals to Europe from all over the world, but nowhere more shocking than from the USA. Round trip flights from the USA start at $295 on major airlines and there are package deals which include flights and five nights hotel in cities like Barcelona for $454 per person. Yes, round trip flights and a hotel room to split for $910 all in for two people. And you earn points! Learn how to become a Google Flights wizard and find your own.
Weather’s Grand
Ok, you’re probably not going to get a tan in Europe in March, but when it comes to gorgeous, changing of the seasons conditions and casual sweater weather, this is the time. March brings new foliage and temperatures in the low to mid teens if we’re talking celsius or 50’s and 60’s if we’re speaking fahrenheit. For strolling around and dipping in and out of cozy cafes, you really can’t ask for more. It’s the perfect weather to explore, sometimes even in London!
Fewer Tourists
There’s nothing like seeing the Colosseum in Rome or the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona for the first time but in late spring or mid summer, either will take quite a long time. Tourists and their fashionable as never selfie sticks can take away from the blissful excitement of exploring new destinations and if you want to maximize the best weather and the fewest selfie sticks then March it is.
Eastern Adventure
Did you know Lake Bled in Slovenia looks like Lake Como in Italy, but at a fraction of the price? If you seek new travel experiences, Eastern Europe has never been more worthwhile. Use amazing deals to Western Europe to bring you onto the continent and then plan side trips to places which maximize your tourist dime like Slovenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Lithuania and Poland. Incredible places with so much to see, and even fewer tourists out exploring.
Packages Win
First step, get to Europe. Second step: take advantage of package deals to see even more. The best non kept secret in travel is package deals, and there’s no place where they are cheaper and better than in Europe. From $99 per person you can lock in flights and two or more nights of hotel in cities all over Europe. That’s crazy value, and if you’re traveling to Europe from afar, it’s always nice to tick more than one city off the bucket list.
As a counterpoint to your “School Time” argument, (having lived all my life in the US and in multiple states) many K-12 schools as well as colleges do actually schedule “spring break” during the month of March.