From mid-October to mid-December comes the intermediate season of travel to Europe, when there are fewer people, temperatures are much more comfortable in places that experience unbearable heat during the summer months, and airfare and accommodation prices drop, according to CNN.
Autumn and winter are now becoming the time for holidays rather than summer as it used to be. The Hopper data shows the average cost of airfare to Europe from the US between 20 October and 8 December is between $560 and $630 per ticket, which is 9 percent less than at the same time last year and 5 percent less than the same period in 2019.
Hayley Berg, lead economist at travel platform Hopper, said:
“The cheapest time to fly to Europe is typically from about the middle point of October to the middle point of December. Airfare prices during those eight or nine weeks or so will typically be about an average of 40 per cent lower than prices in the peak of summer in June,” according to her. “There’s much more of a focus on tourism in summer. Whereas during this period you’re having a much more local experience, which is what a lot of travelers are craving,” she underlined.
The average cost of accommodation per night in Europe’s top 10 cities for travelling, including cities such as Amsterdam, Paris and Munich, drops 27 per cent in December compared to June, when tourism tends to be at its peak.
The tendency is due to the fact that in many places summer has become insufferably hot and it hardly promises a calm, cool and measured holiday. In addition, prices in popular European destinations have increased by about 40-50 per cent in the summer, as well as the fact that in many places there is an excessive rush of tourists, according to Jack Ezon, founder of EMBARK Beyond travel agency.
Another nice bonus of travelling at this time of year is that many river cruises on the Danube, Main and Rhine also attend Christmas fairs. On 29 November, one of Germany’s most famous Christmas markets will open in Nuremberg, and on 27 November, France’s Christmas market in Strasbourg will open.
Getting closer to the end of the year, prices drop quite a bit from the peak summer months. Hopper’s data shows the average nightly rates in cities such as Paris and Reykjavik dropped 30 per cent or more compared to peak summer. In Rome, savings soar up to 40 per cent and the average room rate is $200 per night.
