Editing Traveling in shoulder season

Libby Kane / Business InsiderThe look at from our balcony at sunset in Fira, Santorini. There is nothing more tedious than spending hours scouring the web trying to find the best price on every component of your vacation. <br>So I no longer. <br>Instead, I make a single decision that saves me a fortune: I select to travel in "shoulder season. "<br>This period of time is the months leading towards or away from the high season. <br>In the Caribbean, high season will be the winter. In most of Europe, it's the summer. <br><br>It's the period when that place is best shown to its advantage, so people see it.  <br>It's also the most expensive time to go because the tourism sector knows what's up. <br>By choosing to travel six to eight weeks before or right after high season, I save money upon flights, accommodations, car rentals, and most everything else by making one decision and never thinking about it again. <br>It seems obvious, but a lot of people don't do it. <br>It isn't the off-season. I'm not really going during monsoon season or even blizzards. Really, the only difference is really a few degrees - a light jumper, or removal thereof. <br><br>And the particular financial benefits are huge. For example, a friend and I went to the Cyclades Islands in Greece a few years back, choosing to go in early May rather than summer, the peak season. <br>When I plug a 12-day vacation for the same dates into Kayak -- leaving on the last day of April, the same days we journeyed - the cheapest flight with a single layover is $562: <br>Kayak. com<br>In early August, the results are almost twice the price, even though we'd be booking further in advance: <br><br>Kayak. com<br>Bear in mind that isn't a perfect comparison. It involved no acrobatics to get the cheapest possible flight, nor direct comparisons of flights leaving and arriving at the same time on the same day from the week, nor analyses of how airline prices fluctuate. It took me all five minutes - which is kind of the point. <br><br>Here's another basic illustration: Accommodations were cheaper, too. On Santorini, we stayed at - the particular marvelous - Atlantis Hotel within Fira, which charges 240 euros, about $262, per night for the incredible caldera-view room in early Might. <br><br>Atlantis Hotel  <br>Using the same Sunday-through-Wednesday dates in August, that hotel is requesting 320 euros - about $350 - per night: <br>Atlantis Hotel<br>Admittedly, I don't have children and was not limited by the school calendar, and my job isn't so highly seasonal that I wouldn't be able to journey in May rather than August, so I am just lucky enough that this strategy is easily doable. Plus, I generally don't mind that I have to put a windbreaker over my bikini to see the coves of Santorini or the town of Mykonos. <br><br>It's more affordable, less crowded, and just as gorgeous.  <br>If you have your coronary heart absolutely set on tanning on the yacht, I concede that this technique might not be for you. Although if wish talking Mediterranean, you could try September! <br>I could keep giving examples - I actually used the same strategy when I went to the Balearic Islands off the coastline of Spain in late May/early 06 last year with another friend - but there's really no need. Simply by traveling in the shoulder season instead of the high season, I've consistently had the opportunity to save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on incredible trips by making a two-minute choice. <br><br><br>SEE ALSO: I took advantage of the solid US dollar to spend 11 times touring Spain, and it was totally worth it