Lesson 1: Where and When: Seasons, Crowds and Events

Welcome aboard: where do we even start?

Hi, and welcome to your first step towards smarter, cheaper and calmer trips from the UK.

So let me ask you something. When you plan a trip, what do you decide first? For most of us it's the place. "I fancy Lisbon." Then we pick dates, and only then do we look at prices.

Here's the thing, though. When you go matters just as much as where you go. The same city can be a bargain one week and twice the price the next. It can be peaceful one month and packed the next.

So in this lesson we'll work out where and when together. We'll look at seasons, crowds and local events, and we'll use a real example trip as we go.

Peak, shoulder and off-peak: the three speeds of travel

Think of a destination like a busy restaurant. At 8pm on a Saturday it's full, it's loud and you'll pay full price. At 3pm on a Tuesday you'll walk straight in, but the kitchen might be closing. Somewhere in between you get a good table, good food and no queue.

Travel works the same way, with three broad periods.

Peak season is when everyone wants to go. For beach places that usually means summer. For ski resorts it's winter. It's also when UK schools are on holiday. You'll get the classic weather and everything will be open, but you'll pay the most and share the view with lots of other people.

Off-peak is the quiet time. Prices drop and crowds thin out. The catch? The weather might be poor, and some attractions, boat trips or beach bars might close or cut their hours.

Shoulder season is the sweet spot either side of peak. For much of southern Europe that's roughly spring and early autumn. The weather is often still pleasant, prices are lower than at peak, and the crowds are more manageable.

Which one is "best"? It depends on what you want from the trip. If you're after guaranteed sunbathing, shoulder might be a gamble. If you want to wander around a city in comfort, shoulder is often perfect.

Don't forget the UK school holidays

This is a big one, and lots of people miss it.

When UK schools break up, demand for flights and package holidays from UK airports jumps, and so do prices. That covers summer, Easter, Christmas and the half-terms too.

You might be thinking: "Aren't school holidays the same everywhere?" Not quite. In England and Wales, councils set term dates for their own schools, and academies and some other schools can set their own. Scotland's councils set their own too, and the Scottish school year usually starts in August, so its summer holidays start earlier than England's.

So how do you check? GOV.UK has a school term and holiday dates page. You type in a postcode and it sends you to the local council's dates. It covers England and Wales only. In Scotland, mygov.scot has an equivalent page.

If you don't have school-age children, this is good news for you. Travelling just outside those dates can save you a lot.

If you do have children, one quick note. In England, taking a child out of school without permission can mean a penalty notice. Under the national rules in force since August 2024, the first one is £80 per parent, per child, if paid within 21 days. So for families, the trick is choosing the cheapest week inside the holidays rather than skipping school.

Check the events calendar

Next, let's talk about events. A festival, a big football match or a trade fair can fill every hotel in a city overnight.

Is that bad? Not always! An event can be the whole reason to go. But you want to choose it on purpose, not stumble into it and find hotel prices have doubled.

The easy fix is to search the destination's official tourism website, or just "[city] events [month]", before you lock in any dates.

Worked example: a long weekend in Lisbon

Let's put this together. Say you live in Manchester and want a four-day city break in Lisbon. You don't have kids, and you're fairly flexible.

Option 1: August. It's peak summer and UK school holidays. You'd get hot weather and a lively city, but you'd also get the highest prices and the biggest crowds.

Option 2: mid-June. This is Lisbon's Santo António festivities. The peak night is 12 June, with Santo António Day on 13 June. There are street parties, a big parade on the Avenida da Liberdade and grilled sardines everywhere. It's brilliant fun, but expect busy streets and accommodation that gets snapped up early.

Option 3: early October. That's shoulder season, and English schools are usually back. It's still often mild, and the city is calmer.

Option 4: January. It's off-peak, quiet and usually cheap, but cooler and wetter.

So which would you pick? If you love a party, June wins. If you'd like value and comfort, October looks strong. Either way, you've chosen with your eyes open.

Your shortlist checklist

Now it's your turn. For your next trip, run through this list.

1. Write down two or three places you'd genuinely enjoy.
2. For each one, work out its peak, shoulder and off-peak months.
3. Check the UK school holiday dates for your area (or your kids' school).
4. Search the events calendar for each destination and month.
5. Decide what matters most to you: weather, price, quiet, or a special event.
6. Shortlist two or three destination-and-date combos to price up.

In the next level, we'll take that shortlist and turn it into a realistic budget.

Key takeaways

• When you go can matter as much as where you go.
• Peak means the most expensive and busiest, off-peak means the cheapest but with some trade-offs, and shoulder is often the sweet spot.
• UK school holidays push prices up, so check the dates on GOV.UK for England and Wales, or on mygov.scot.
• Check events before you book. They can be a reason to go, or a reason to avoid.
• Finish with two or three options rather than one fixed plan.