Boomer On Fire #328 - Travel like Goldilocks?
Boomers - Living Our Best Lives
Welcome to Boomer on Fire, the newsletter that inspires and motivates baby boomers to live their best lives.
Travel is booming. Maybe too much for some. I can offer a solution:
The Joy of Shoulder Season
Travel like Goldilocks
Travel has picked up immensely in the past couple of years. Popular destinations like Rome, Paris, Santorini, and Machu Picchu have become seriously overcrowded. Even some cities like Venice have implemented a reservation system for visitors.
Also, much of the high season for travel is July and August. Recent summer temperatures in popular tourist destinations have been breaking records.
There is a solution for baby boomers and other empty nesters. Travel during “shoulder season”. That’s the period before or after the main tourist season but not the extreme off-season.
What are some of the advantages of shoulder season travel? There are fewer crowds, lower prices, and milder weather. One can often experience local festivals and other cultural events in a more genuine atmosphere. In places like the Greek Islands, the French Riviera, Italy’s Amalfi Coast, or Spain’s Costa del Sol, the ocean temperature is still perfect for swimming. But with no throngs of humanity.
Some locations you might want to visit in Shoulder Season are:
Paris
Barcelona
Rome
Venice
Santorini and Mykonos Islands
New York
Banff, Alberta
Hawaii
Kyoto, Japan
Macchu Picchu, Peru
Bali
…and many more.
This is traveling, Goldilocks-style: not too hot, not too cold, just the right temperature. Or not too crowded, not too dead, just the right number of people.
If you have the travel bug but have an aversion to large crowds, long lines, heatstroke, and overpriced food and accommodations, give shoulder season travel a consideration.
We’re nearly a quarter of the way into the 21st century. Are you on the “A.I. train” yet? If you’re pondering using A.I. to plan your travels, here are some considerations.
Do you like unconventional accommodations? Do you have a sense of adventure? Put those together and stay at a lighthouse!
Thanks for reading. Go out and live your best life!
Kevin