10 of the best reasons to travel in fall

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Clearly I need no excuse to travel, I love making my way to new places near and far. But finding the best time to travel is a hotly debated topic. No holiday destination I know needs any help attracting visitors in the summer months. The weather is usually ideal, unless you’re in a ridiculously hot climate (I’m looking at you Vegas). But with the summer comes elevated prices, busy tourist saturated destinations, and it often feels like everyone just picked up and traveled on the same day causing chaos at airports, roads out of the city, and lines at every attraction, restaurant and “hidden gem” you want to check out. So today, I’m going to tell you about why I love to travel in fall. What are some of the benefits of this shoulder season, and what can you expect?

Autumn travel instead of summer

I’m a big fan of the shoulder seasons. Traveling in summer, unless you need to due to work or family commitments, should probably be avoided for all the reasons I mentioned above. Sure, I still like the odd weekend away to make the most of summer, but usually I spend my summers enjoying the place I live. The reason? I live in a pretty amazing city (Vancouver, BC) and while it usually rains a lot here, summer is the best chance for nice weather. Of course there are millions of other people who also want to visit Vancouver each summer. It’s a popular cruise stop for people heading to Alaska, we have tons of outdoor activities, and it’s a much more temperate climate than further East in Canada.

So while I can’t exactly escape the crowds, I at least don’t have to pay for the increased hotel costs that the summer brings to Vancouver. I get to enjoy my city all year long, tourists or no tourists. But for going to other places, I typically wait until my favorite season…fall. Then I’m always looking for flight deals. So why should you wait to travel in fall? What are some of the benefits of waiting until September and October (or even November) for your much awaited, and necessary break from work. Here are a few I’ve come up with that drive my desire to wait until fall. Let me know what you think.

Best reasons to travel in fall

September. The nights start drawing in, and the days are shorter. October. The rain starts becoming a little too frequent, and some of the more summer activities are closing. November. The weather is getting colder, and Santa begins popping up all over the place. But what if these aren’t negatives, but rather positive reasons to travel in fall? What if these aren’t just the things you endure but the things you embrace in your travel destination?

Travel in fall is quieter

True story. Think about it: the kids are back at school, the summer crowds have dispersed. Those long lines you anticipated are much shorter, or a thing of the past completely. The weather can still be nice in many places in the autumn months. In Vancouver it might rain a little more, but it’s a beautiful time of year to be here. In all honesty, summer can be hit and miss like it was this year and you can’t guarantee a rain free day in August any more than November.

But what you can guarantee is that there are less people visiting. The cruise ships have all but stopped for the season. The people who are unfortunately restricted to school holidays have gone back to work. It’s a nice time of year to visit Vancouver. But it’s not just Vancouver. A lot of other places are similar in this pattern of visitors. The majority of North America and Europe have less people visiting, so take advantage of that yourself if you don’t have any travel time restrictions. I went to Luxembourg last fall and pretty much had the place to myself. The streets were quiet, no battling other people for photo opportunities, and I had my pick of hotels. For more on what to do in Luxembourg check out my post here.

The fall colors are beautiful

In North America or Europe, the fall colors are simply stunning. In the Eastern United States and Canada, people flock to see the leaves change from green to orange, yellow and red. But there are lots of other great places to see the seasonal shift in foliage. Vancouver has a lot of evergreen trees, however we also have a lot of nice fall colors. Stanley Park is one of North America’s largest city parks that you can walk around and see the colors change. In Vancouver we also have Van Dusen Gardens, Queen Elizabeth Park, and Butchart Gardens in Victoria. It’s possibly the best time to visit any of them. Click here for more on Butchart gardens tours and other Vancouver tours through Viator.

There are places in Europe that are the same. Have you ever seen pictures of fall in Germany, Austria or Netherlands? Great time to travel. Last year I was in Trier, Germany and as well as being much quieter, like Luxembourg, it was also lovely and warm enough to sit outside and the trees were lovely and autumnal. Read more about my day in Trier here.

Travel in fall is often cheaper

There are two big costs to traveling: getting somewhere, and staying there. In fall I have found that accommodation is often cheaper. It makes sense: less people vying for places to stay so hotels and other accommodation keep the costs down lower to try and attract more people during the soft season. Vancouver hotels can be expensive, and hard to come by in the summer. Even the most basic hotel room starts at around $200 and just goes up from there. But when you travel in fall to Vancouver, there are more places closer to $150 a night like the Sandman hotel on Davie Street where my parents often stay when they visit.

The fall is also when you can find some amazing flight deals coming out again. Let’s face it, flights are often at a premium during the summer when everyone wants to travel. But come fall, the airlines are often trying to entice people to travel again. I can often find good flights back home to the UK to visit my family like last year when I got round trip tickets to the UK for $800, although I’ve seen deals from as low as $500. This year I am going to Vietnam in September for $700. Wherever you choose to go, keep an eye out for low cost flights in the fall.

It’s easier to get time off work

If you work in a place with a lot of people who have families and kids, then you might find it easier to get time off work to travel in fall. I know I do. Summer can be busy with back to back vacations for lots of people in the office, but by the time we hit September there are lots more chances to take off. I guess it all depends on your line of work too. For my job the summer is pretty busy at work so September is when things start to slow down. That means more people can be off at the same time.

People who have families often need to take time off during the school holidays, so by me sticking to the times when school is in session I find I can get time off easier. I’m also lucky that my work allows me to bank time, and since the summer is busy and I’ve probably ended up doing more work, I usually have a couple extra days I can take off once fall arrives.

There’s lots of amazing comfort food

You didn’t think I’d forget to mention food did you? After all the salads, grilled BBQ foods and fresh fruit and vegetables of the summer it’s time to get your stretchy pants out and start getting ready for hibernation. And by that I mean working your way around all the delicious comfort food restaurants have to offer. Vancouver has some wonderfully delicious fall inspired menus come September, so it’s only right to try as many as I can. Welcome to pasta, bread, stew, butternut squash and pumpkin heaven. Hearty soups and baked dishes, pot pies and mashed potato, grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. You know what I’m talking about.

In Vancouver my favorite comfort food restaurant is Burgoo. They do a yummy ratatouille bake and a bitchin’ mac & cheese. In other places that are also turning more autumnal, similar seasonally inspired dishes are making their way onto menus too. I love a good salad as much as the next, and I want a nice light dinner if I’m enjoying a summer evening on a patio, but if I’m rocking the bulky sweaters and jeans of the fall then you can bet your ass I’m excited about some carbs.

Sitting in a pub for an afternoon is not a waste of the day

1 in 3 people in the summer: “But it’s a nice day outside, we should make the most of it”. What was the question you ask? That would be someone suggesting going to a pub for a drink. No, in summer we hunt out patios and sidewalk cafes as eagerly as we scour for parks and beaches. But in fall, ah fall, we get to retreat to a cozy local pub to work our way through the craft beer list without any guilty feelings of wasting the good weather.

Sure the weather might be nice enough to still do some outdoor activities, but no-one is going to complain if you don’t have a drink al fresco at the end of it. Instead, swapping the open air seating for a comfy traditional pub with a roaring fireplace is the typical relaxing end to the day.

There are still plenty of outdoor activities

While travel in the fall often brings a higher chance of rain and cold weather days, there are plenty of places that still have nice weather. In Vancouver it’s often nicer in September and October than June and July. For that reason there is still time and weather to enjoy some fun outdoor activities. One of my favorite activities in Vancouver during the fall is visiting Stanley Park. The city park is huge with numerous trails, views and the Vancouver Aquarium (with an indoor section in case it does start to rain). But I love to ride my bike around the seawall, the outer edge of the park. In the fall, it’s a great way to see all the amazing colors throughout the park.

Another thing I like to do is take a walking tour of a new place. In Vancouver I like Forbidden Vancouver tours, and one of their walks is telling ghostly stories in the fall months. I’ve done similar tours in the UK too. In York there was a ghost walk I took part in, complete with stories of Guy Fawkes who was born there. In London I took the Jack the Ripper walk. These are great options in the fall because it gets dark a little earlier so adds some atmosphere to the walking tours.

A lot of sports begin their new seasons

In North America September and the fall months bring the start of two main sports’ seasons. The NFL, American football, and NHL, ice hockey. While the start of NFL season usually means I admit that I am about to become a football widow, it also means that I can go to sports games if I want. In the summer we often go to baseball, but since it’s outdoors and always seems to be on a hot day, I’ve never had a game where I’ve been comfortable and not sweating through my clothes the whole game. Relaxing? No! But in the fall I have enjoyed traveling down to Seattle for a Seahawks game (NFL) or going to watch the Vancouver Canucks play right here in the city (NHL).

I’m not a big sports fan. I watch a bit of football or hockey if they’re on TV, but usually don’t go out of my way to hunt them out. But going to a game is different. There’s an energy in the arena that makes it exciting to go and watch. It’s a great fall activity, so if you travel in fall to somewhere with a sports team, make sure to see what their local sports teams are doing like I did in Denver. In Europe fall also brings the start of the soccer season. I know my friends are going to watch a game while in Paris this September.

You can take advantage of indoor activities

Pubs with blazing fireplaces aside, there are usually dozens of other indoor activities you can enjoy in the fall. In fact, it’s finally time to take advantage of the things that you avoid in the summer. Like museums. If it’s a nice, sunny summer day so you probably won’t want to be inside a museum or an art gallery as much. But now it’s fall, that sounds pretty perfect. Vancouver has a lot of really interesting museums like the Museum of Vancouver, the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Maritime Museum. Check out tours and more in Vancouver through Viator here.

You might need to get out of the rain, or need to warm up a little. Museums are ideal for that. So are indoor markets and antique fairs, the beautiful churches and cathedrals of Europe, and warm cafes and coffee shops. I’m from the UK originally, so with a summer of probably close to two weeks a year (joking…kind of) we always have a go to list of rainy day activities in our pockets. I enjoy a good market or museum so I love to travel in fall so I can take advantage of those types of things.

You can still have heat in the sun destinations

Well, if all else fails and I haven’t convinced you by all this warm, cozy indoor activities and comfort food talk (what is wrong with you), then you can always just look for a sun destination to escape it all. Like I said, often flights have some sales starting in September and there are sometimes some all inclusive, sun destinations in there too. Mexico or Cuba if you’re in North America or Spain and the South of France if you’re in Europe.

Or you could be like me and go further away to Asia. This year I am visiting Vietnam which I expect to be a little warmer than we will have it at the same time in Vancouver. A couple years ago I went to Thailand during the fall/winter months. Both are great options and often with some good deals if you keep an eye out (and super cheap when you are there).

Is travel in fall right for you?

I’m not saying all of the above reasons will work for everyone. Perhaps you are restricted to the time of year you can travel. Perhaps you prefer the summer even if you could travel in fall. But for me, it’s a wonderful time of year and a time I end up doing a fair bit of traveling. I’m a museum geek, who likes cozy pubs, and reading my book by the fire. I want to cheer on my local sports team on a Sunday afternoon after spending the morning at an antique fair. There’s nothing better than running in from the rain to a warm cafe to get a delicious hot chocolate while I watch the rain bounce on the sidewalk outside.

Fall in Vancouver is a magical time of year. There are still fun events happening including pumpkin patches, Oktoberfest beer festivals and Hallowe’en activities. But I also love travel in fall in other places in North America. Heading down to Seattle for a concert and a foodie weekend, visiting Denver for a football game, watching the leaves change in New England. Europe is also a great place to be in fall. Markets, beer tours and museum after museum after museum. Where will you go this fall?

Related post: Fall activities in Vancouver – 5 things you should do

If you’ve enjoyed this post leave a comment or share using the social media buttons below. What do you like most about travel in fall? Where have you been that you would encourage others to visit in the off season?

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