When is the best time of year to go to …?  As a travel planner, that is probably the most frequent question I hear.

Of course, it is difficult to escape romantic notions such as Paris in the spring, Vienna at Christmas, Rome at Easter, or Holland at tulip time. In Asia, we must avoid the spring sandstorms of Northern China, the summer monsoons of India and Southeast Asia… Otherwise, it is a matter of personal preference and exactly what a traveler wants to do at the chosen destination.

I have spent vacations in London, Rome, and Paris, in the middle of winter: I bundled up, much the same way as in New England. I remember that Christmas in Rome! My husband wanted to go to Berlin, but I objected because I thought that it would be too cold, and instead, suggested Rome: we were so cold (record low temperatures that year), so unprepared, we had to buy warmer clothes – it was unusual weather for Rome, but you never know!  Another Christmas, we went to London, quite prepared with our down coats and it was balmy!

We can only generalize, trust what meteorologists have predicted, and basically, hope for the best!

Otherwise, Morocco, Turkey, Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires are perfect in November, Laos a little hot and humid in May, the eastern coast of Australia, from Melbourne to Cairns, a bit rainy but nice and mild in March. I think that most of Asia as well as the southern hemisphere are very nice in the fall. Our fall that is, their spring!

And then, who cares? Shopping the post Christmas sales after January 10, in Paris or London, or enjoying the opera and the theater in Milan, Vienna, or Copenhagen during “The” season? Restaurants are open all year round except in France when all the famed eateries close in August… I would not set foot in India in the spring, 110 ° F in Delhi, but it is wonderful in the fall, hot, but dry. Many regions of the world span several climatic zones: the southern coast of Turkey is always Mediterranean, while in winter, Ankara and the central plateau can be quite cold, Peru is very pleasant in September, thanks to the Andes; it is very hot in summer (i.e. January/February).

A long time ago, I decided that the weather would not spoil my explorations! One rainy March, we were in Amsterdam and caught nasty colds: we just walked around with an umbrella in one hand and a large box of tissues under the other arm!  We just spent more time inside museums and in concert halls than we expected to, and it was great; besides, one kindly pharmacist gave us her personal favorite pills for getting rid of the worst symptoms.

What is it the Fox said in Saint-Exupery’s The Little Prince, when he was told that there are no chickens on the Little Prince’s planet? Very simply: “Nothing is perfect”!

 

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