When it comes to famous travel destinations around the world, most are visited during a specific time of the year, the high season of tourism. Correspondingly, most people tend to take their vacations and to travel at a certain time, usually during the summer months or around public holidays like Christmas. Yet, if there’s a special destination on your mind that you’d really love to see and to explore at your own pace, it actually makes much more sense to visit it during the low season.
A case in point is Spain, one of the most popular tourism destinations in Europe. While the average price of a rental in Barcelona in July is € 53 per day, you can get a car in April for the average price of € 24. This is 33% cheaper than the yearly average and a whopping 53% cheaper than renting in July. The same is true for popular destinations on other continents, too. Renting a car in Florida in May is, on average, 45% cheaper than getting the same ride in July. In Sydney, Australia, renting a car will only cost you € 12 in October, but you’ll have to cash out, on average, € 68 in April.
There are other factors, of course, that are also part of the equation that makes up the price of your rental, like how early in advance will you book, what are the fuel & mileage conditions, what type of transmission system will your rental car have etc. Sometimes the price difference will be really extreme, like in the case of Sydney, while with other destinations it will be less stark. But the main point is that renting a car during the low season is always cheaper. For every day that you’d rent a car during high season, you can travel for at least 2-3 days during off-season.
Like all good tricks, this one also comes with a small caveat. The general rule to keep in mind is that tourism high season will largely match the time of the year when the weather at the destination will be the most pleasant. Many places in Europe and North America will be warm and mild during the summer months, but quite chilly in winter. Others will be nice to visit during the colder months, but will be scorching hot in the summer. Many tropical destinations have the dry season and the rainy season. Make sure to do your research so that you know what to expect when you get to your travel destination. Still, if you’re smart about making your travel decisions, the positives can definitely outweigh the negatives and traveling during the low tourism season can be an affordable and amazing experience. The huge crowds and endless lines of other travelers is something we’re pretty sure you won’t miss.
