Call us contrarians, but we love to vacation when no one else does – well, practically no one! The truth is, when you visit popular tourist destinations or beaches, chances are you won’t be alone. And that is a good thing because you want some activity around you. But you want to feel like you are relaxing, so going in the off-season makes perfect sense to us.

This means that you will find us at the beach or in major metropolitan cities right before the summer solstice. I’m talking about vacationing in the Northern Hemisphere down to around the equator!

We took our annual vacation recently to Florida. Most people might think that it is too hot and humid to visit in mid-June, but we loved it.

Here’s why:

Reason Number 1: The weather is more temperate. Don’t get me wrong: it IS hot in June. It’s just that you will be even more hot and sweaty in July and August. That’s what the pool and beach are for.

Reason Number 2: The flights and hotels are less crowded. Check-in lines move fast. Housekeeping, taxis, and food service move even faster. People are in better moods and the pina coladas get to you within minutes.

Reason Number 3: The lines at Universal Studios are much shorter! Especially if you have an Express Pass – the only way to go if you have limited time at the parks. This means you can ride more rides and cover more of the park. You are not waiting more than 60 minutes in the queues. You are not lining up to go into Ollivander’s Wand Shop or Weasley’s Emporium.

Reason Number 4: Dinner reservations are easier to come by. In fact, you can always get dinner whenever you want – it might not be at the restaurant of your choice if it’s popular and you didn’t book in advance, but you will eat when you want to eat.

Reason Number 5: Do I even have to say this? Price. Everything is discounted, from the flights to the rooms to the tours. Hotels have promotions including discounts for meals, rooms, spa visits, and kids’ meals.

Reason Number 6: You have a higher chance for private selfies and group photos! No need to set aside time at home to photo-shop your pool neighbors out of the picture. You have more time to pose and snap.

Our trip to Florida included all of the above and we are already planning our next trip – to a city for a few days and then to the beach – in the off-season, of course!

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