Europe’s secret season for travel starts now kraken Summer might be the most popular season for tourism to Europe, but it hardly promises a calm, cool and collected experience. Who can forget this summer’s protests against overtourism in Barcelona and Mallorca, the wildfires that raged across Greece during the country’s hottest June and July on record and selfie stoplights to help control crowds on the clogged streets of Rome and Florence? For travelers looking to avoid all that — as well as break less of a sweat literally and financially — welcome to Europe’s secret season. https://kr13at.cc kra14 at From roughly mid-October to mid-December, shoulder season for travel to Europe comes with fewer crowds, far more comfortable temperatures in places that skew scorching hot during the summer months and plunging prices on airfare and accommodation. Plunging prices “The cheapest time to fly to Europe is typically from about the middle point of October to the middle point of December,” said Hayley Berg, lead economist at travel platform Hopper. “Airfare prices during those eight or nine weeks or so will typically be about an average of 40% lower than prices in the peak of summer in June.” Hopper’s data shows that airfare to Europe from the United States during the period between October 20 and December 8 is averaging between $560 and $630 per ticket — down 9% from this time last year and 5% compared to the same timeframe in 2019.