When the weather gets cold, do you prefer to head to sunnier locales or do you love the outdoor adventures or off-season prices of winter? Warm or cold, what’s your dream winter travel destination, and do you have any travel plans for the coming months?
If we go on gut instincts I definitely lean towards the sunny side of the street, and I'm probably more of a fair weather traveller than a snow princess. Although we don't let it lead us entirely, our travel plans for the year have been influenced by trying not too spend too much time in winter climes, although we've also been trying to work a little bit of snow somewhere into the schedule too!
Too long in the cool weather and I find myself craving a sunny beach, but travelling off-season definitely has it's advantages too. The littlest hobo, while pretty adaptable, like many young children doesn't cope too well when it's really hot, so avoiding those super hot times means we can usually get out and about and have a more enjoyable time on our travels.
Travelling off season also has the advantage of beating the crowds and getting better prices, as we discovered on our recent stay at Centre Parcs. I don't know that it would have been anywhere near as pleasurable if it had been mobbed as it's supposed to be in the school holidays! It's great visiting places and actually getting time to enjoy them without having to share the experience with every man and his dog. On the flip-side, travelling on a full flight at a peak time can have it's advantages when you are lucky enough to get upgraded, like we were on our flight from Singapore to Sydney the other day!
The heavy rain that has been falling outside our window for the last few hours is evidence enough that you can be subject to weather that scuppers your plans for the day at any time of year - lucky for us we are laying low in the hope that the littlest hobo, who has been sick since we left the UK, will start to feel a bit better, so the inhospitable outdoor setting just makes that easier to do, otherwise I'm sure it would be inducing cabin fever.
Ultimately, for us, the main drive behind travel comes down to experiences, and too much time doing any one thing means it just becomes the norm - a change in seasons can be the key to doing different things - while warm weather begs for the outdoors to be explored, cold or wet days make museums and other indoor activities more appealing. There's something invigorating about stepping outside into cold air, wrapped up snug in your winter clothes, but right now I'm enjoying the wieghtlessness of my summer clothes on my back. Maybe that's the way that human instinct goes, and why the world turns the way it does - we need the change to keep it all appealing. For now, the beach is calling me, but give it a couple of months and I'm sure a roaring log fire on a cold wintry New Zealand day will be calling my name.
Do you have a preference for summer/winter travel?
This post was inspired by and forms part of the BootsnAll 2012 Indie Travel Challenge - a prompt, question or challenge, every week for the year of 2012. I'm hoping that it will be a little more realistic for me to achieve than a photo a day proved to be in 2011!
Too long in the cool weather and I find myself craving a sunny beach, but travelling off-season definitely has it's advantages too. The littlest hobo, while pretty adaptable, like many young children doesn't cope too well when it's really hot, so avoiding those super hot times means we can usually get out and about and have a more enjoyable time on our travels.
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| All rugged up for a bike ride at Centre Parcs in France, December 2011 |
Travelling off season also has the advantage of beating the crowds and getting better prices, as we discovered on our recent stay at Centre Parcs. I don't know that it would have been anywhere near as pleasurable if it had been mobbed as it's supposed to be in the school holidays! It's great visiting places and actually getting time to enjoy them without having to share the experience with every man and his dog. On the flip-side, travelling on a full flight at a peak time can have it's advantages when you are lucky enough to get upgraded, like we were on our flight from Singapore to Sydney the other day!
The heavy rain that has been falling outside our window for the last few hours is evidence enough that you can be subject to weather that scuppers your plans for the day at any time of year - lucky for us we are laying low in the hope that the littlest hobo, who has been sick since we left the UK, will start to feel a bit better, so the inhospitable outdoor setting just makes that easier to do, otherwise I'm sure it would be inducing cabin fever.
Ultimately, for us, the main drive behind travel comes down to experiences, and too much time doing any one thing means it just becomes the norm - a change in seasons can be the key to doing different things - while warm weather begs for the outdoors to be explored, cold or wet days make museums and other indoor activities more appealing. There's something invigorating about stepping outside into cold air, wrapped up snug in your winter clothes, but right now I'm enjoying the wieghtlessness of my summer clothes on my back. Maybe that's the way that human instinct goes, and why the world turns the way it does - we need the change to keep it all appealing. For now, the beach is calling me, but give it a couple of months and I'm sure a roaring log fire on a cold wintry New Zealand day will be calling my name.
Do you have a preference for summer/winter travel?
This post was inspired by and forms part of the BootsnAll 2012 Indie Travel Challenge - a prompt, question or challenge, every week for the year of 2012. I'm hoping that it will be a little more realistic for me to achieve than a photo a day proved to be in 2011!
We loved our short time in Melbourne - we went from Thursday to Saturday afternoon :)
ReplyDeleteIt was so gorgeous down there...so sunny and hot. Now we are back on the sunshine coast but the sun has gone and its still raining - so over the rain, the mud and the way our weather has gone in the last few weeks.
Fingers crossed it stops raining sometime soon! enjoy your stay in Brisbane.
Cheers
Lisa
The rain's pretty full on isn't it Lisa! I'm really hoping it will clear up soon, i bet it's frustrating for you guys when you are trapped in the confines of your van - are you managing to get out much? We're coming up onto the Sunny Coast next w/e, not sure where as my husband's family are taking us so it's a surprise. Are you up there for a while? I hear it's supposed to clear up from Thursday, fingers crossed hey!
ReplyDeleteFingers are double crossed that the rain stops asap :)
DeleteWe are able to get out and about but its not the same (playing in the mud!!) as going to the beach! We are still on the Sunny Coast for the time being. Have fun on your travels.
Cheers
Lisa