One thing that I have come to know about travel is that it can be very much a timing thing. Sometimes that is going to be getting the timing right for yourself on a personal level. At other things that might be getting the timing right for when you want to visit a particular destination. Of course, on both sides, there can be anomalies, but below I have a few things that you might like to think about in regards to timing.
The Right Time For You
In some ways, this is the much more difficult part for me to give you any advice on. The fact is that for almost everyone there is a very large number of factors that can make up a decision to travel. You may have existing commitments, such as family, friends or work that might play a part. There can also be a financial consideration that you need to make in both paying for the travel and supporting yourself while travelling.
So it very much comes down to asking yourself one very important question.
“Is travel your priority or a priority you would like to persue?”
The answer to this question can very much determine in some ways if you should be focusing on travel at the moment. If you feel that you want to make travel a priority you can overcome almost anything to do so. It just can come down to how you look at the commitments or considerations that might be standing in the way. By no means should you just ignore them but you can look at ways to work around them or reframe them. However, those likely are not something I can help with as part of a short blog post.
The Right Time For Your Destination
There might be personal timing issues you can face and may not have a definite answer. On the other hand, there are timing aspects of your destination that are considerably more definite. Included can be if attractions are open, what the weather at a particular time of year is or if tours are available. All of these can play a part in whether it is worth considering a visit to a particular destination.
Attractions
Depending on the country that you might be visiting the attractions that are available to visit may vary. While many countries do tend to offer year-round attractions, other areas you will find some attractions close down for part of the year.
You might find that this is one very important consideration when making your booking to visit a destination. The last thing that you want to do is arrive somewhere and find that one place that you were going for closed for the season. I experienced this sort of problem in parts of England and also the city of Vienna when I visited.
In England, I visited a number of English Heritage sites around the south of England. I found that a number of sites that I would have like to visit had already closed for the winter months. While disappointing a little forward planning and research would have better allowed me to organise other options. Likewise in Vienna, I visited the city towards the very end of the winter months. Tours that operate through summer only were not yet underway.
Weather
Depending on the time of year that you might be going to visit a city the potential weather can be a factor. Of course, there are times that you will not be able to predict this in the future. But there are also times that you can narrow down your timing based on how you might expect the weather to be.
An example of this might be if you are looking to go skiing you would not visit Vancouver in June. Likewise, if you don’t particularly like the cooler weather you would probably not visit New Zealand in July. So if you have a particular preference for weather or temperature that can be something worth researching in advance.
Travel Availability
There are some instances where the method you would like to travel by might not be available when you want to travel. One of the best examples of this would be if you like to cruise. Cruise ships will often only spend a part of the year cruising in any one location. A great example of this is cruising to Alaska which generally is only available between April and September. These are the best months to cruise, even though sometimes the weather is not entirely favourable. Likewise, cruises are available year-round from Australia, but the majority of ships operate through the summer months. With just a small number still cruising through winter.
When Might Be Better?
One of the easiest options when it comes to choosing the right time to travel is to search Google. A simple search for “When is the best time to visit X” will often give some good advice. That is with X being your destination that you would like to visit. Some destinations may be good all year round, but others may have a specific window of time that is best to visit.
As for a personal time that is better that could be something you need to consider looking at in your own circumstances. Is now the time you have a travel? Could a point in the future be better? In most cases, I suspect you will enjoy the trip, but just don’t put something else in jeopardy for a moment’s pleasures.
