If you have reservations for travel between now and Labor Day, you have my sympathy. Weird weather continues to dog much of the U.S., and when temperatures hit 107 (41.8C) in Rome, Europe is a disaster. If, instead, you’re snug in your air-conditioned living quarters and just thinking about travel, congratulate yourself on not joining the current summer’s record crowds on the road or in the air, and think about fall.
What is fall? “Fall” is not official and has no precise dates. Typically, fall begins on Labor Day—that’s Sept. 4 this year—and ends somewhere in late October or November, well before the solstice on Dec. 23. From the standpoint of fall travel, the best way to think about fall is when the kids are back in school. According to a recent report, by Labor Day more than three-quarters of the school kids are back, so the real start of fall is probably mid-September.
Why fall? Overall, fall weather beats summer weather in most of the U.S. and Western Europe. This year, weather services predict that temperatures will remain above average in much of the Southeast but will be close to or even a bit below average in the Northeast and Northwest. All in all, not a bad scenario. But keep an eye out for hurricanes in the Southeast and late-season storms just about anywhere.
Among My Personal Favorite Fall Activities and Destinations
- Theme parks anywhere are more easily accessible and less crowded in the fall once the kids are stashed in classrooms. As long as you don’t have to schlep your kids, it’s the ideal time for Disney, Universal, Six Flags, and the rest.
- Spectacular fall foliage isn’t a New England monopoly; I’ve seen great displays at Smoky Mountain and in the Rockies. The problem with planning a fall foliage vacation is timing: The trees don’t read calendars. It’s too early for any of the online fall foliage trackers to be up and running for 2023, but keep your eye on Tripsavvy.com and The Foliage Network to see when 2023 information is available. Published reports suggest that this summer heat wave might push the season a bit later than usual and shorten it.
- If you’re a golfer, consider some tee times in the mega-complexes of Palm Springs/Northern San Diego County, Phoenix/Scottsdale, or Myrtle Beach. Or just about anywhere else in the U.S.
- My long-time favorite beach destination is Hawaii, which is a legitimate 12-month favorite with or without kids.
- Las Vegas. Well. Doh.
- New Orleans is a long-time personal favorite U.S. vacation destination city. Yes, I know that the French Quarter has taken on a bit of a theme park atmosphere and that the restaurants aren’t as good as legends would suggest, but it’s still the number one city to Laissez les bons temps rouler.
- Seattle is becoming the go-to Pacific Coast destination city as San Francisco implodes in a sea of social problems and outrageous prices. San Diego is also a great vacation spot.
- Toronto remains a favorite North American big city destination that offers much of what the big U.S. cities offer with less of their problems.
- Europe is much more attractive in fall than in summer—especially a hot summer. London is a three-season destination with its unmatched theater and museum scenes unaffected by weather, with Paris and Rome right behind. My most recent trip to Europe was last fall, and I had great weather, sightseeing, and food in Germany and Switzerland. Fall is also a great time for a river cruise—but make sure you can bail with a full refund if rivers are too low.
Strategy
More than ever, with weird weather and unexpected people problems, you may need to improvise a Plan B wherever you go. That means doing as much as you can to avoid locking yourself financially into your Plan A. But I also recommend buying whatever memberships, city passes, and packages that allow you to bypass the long entry lines at any of the world’s blockbuster attractions.
Happy fall travels.
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