Best Time to Visit
THE ANSWER
Shoulder season wins almost everywhere: 12 destinations, and in nine of them the best window sits either side of the summer peak rather than in it. Each guide below carries a month-by-month table with weather, crowds and price — and the catch the glossy "best time" line usually leaves out.
The window is the months worth flying for. The catch is what the one-line answer hides — a burning season, a monsoon on the wrong coast, a festival that doubles rooms. Each guide splits the country by region where one climate does not describe it, and dates the figures it uses.
| Destination | Best window | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Bali | May, June, September | Beats the July–August price spike. |
| Greece | Late May–June, Sep–early Oct | July–August brings crowds, top prices and the meltemi together. |
| Italy | May, Sep–early Oct | Ferragosto half-shuts the cities on 15 August. |
| Japan | Late Mar–May, Oct–Nov | Prime but priciest — flights run 1.5–1.8× the January floor. |
| Mexico City | Nov–Apr | Feb–May is ozone season; late October is the price peak. |
| Portugal | May–June, Sep–Oct | The Algarve's Atlantic only turns swim-warm from July. |
| South Korea | October | The safest month; April is the priciest. |
| Spain | May, September, early Oct | Inland Seville and Madrid pass 100°F in July and August. |
| Taiwan | October–April | Taipei drizzles all winter while Kaohsiung stays dry. |
| Thailand | November–February | Prime but crowded and pricey; the north burns Feb–April. |
| Turkey | Apr–May, Sep–Oct | Cheaper and calmer than the July–August coastal peak. |
| Vietnam | March–April | The only nationwide window; the centre floods Sep–Nov. |
Timing settled? Check whether you can go at all —entry rules by passport →