Off-Season Vacations Offer Big Savings

Face it, the biggest draw for tourists coming to the south, particularly Florida and especially the incomparable Emerald Coast, is the sun and sand. Well, maybe not so much the sand, but the beach definitely. Combine that with year-round tropical weather, Florida is a vacationer’s dream.

 

The trouble is everyone feels that way, and everyone wants to join in on the fun at the same time. Why not break out of that traffic jam, and save a little money at the same time? Consider a trip to Florida during the fall or winter months.

 

Beginning in early March, just in time for all those high school and college Spring Breakers, area hotels and vacation rentals have a spike in nightly rates. They stay fairly consistent throughout the spring and summer months, but once the main vacation season is over – around mid-August – they begin to fall.

 

For a good six months, during what is considered the off-season, summer hotel and condo rates can drop as much as 40 to 60 percent. A room at a four-star hotel that had a $250 nightly rate in June can be booked for about $100 in December.

 

One caveat is that prices do go up again for the short Labor Day Weekend in September, but after that grown-ups go back to work, kids go back to school, and life on the Emerald Coast goes back to normal.

 

Average monthly temperatures in October and November are in the 80s and 70s during the day and mid-50s at night. Even during the winter months daily highs can run in the low- to mid-60s. Instead of shoveling snow, make sandcastles.

 

Vacationers can still enjoy fishing and boating. For die-hard fishing fans, the Destin Fishing Rodeo is held throughout the month of October awarding more than $100,000 in total prize money for the biggest catches. Florida also has the most golf courses of any other state. Most remain open year-round and offer discounted winter rates.

 

Local celebrations, such as Niceville’s Mullet Festival, Destin’s Seafood Festival, Oktoberfest, and the Thunderbird Intertribal Powwow, are all held in the fall, offering great food, great music and great weather.

 

The weather is also perfect for camping or hiking at any one of the dozen or more Florida State Parks along the Panhandle - and no mosquitoes!

 

The Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonic of Northwest Florida, and Sinfonia Gulf Coast are all in full voice in the fall and winter. There is no lack of events or attractions for a fun-filled vacation during the off-season.

 

Restaurants continue to offer fresh, daily-caught seafood and the beaches are just as beautiful, but all are much less crowded. Parking and traffic are easier. The whole area seems to slow down and relax more during the off-season. It even rains less. Remember, hurricane season ends in November. The last time anyone reported measurable snow was in 1954, and that was an hour away in Pensacola, and it was only two inches!

 

Water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico can stay in the mid- to high-60s through December. It is not uncommon for locals to enjoy a day at the beach at Thanksgiving, and a few polar bears even venture into the waves on sunny days in February.

 

About 76 million people visited Florida in 2004, and if you were trying to navigate Highway 98 between Panama City and Destin that summer, you probably thought they were all on the road at the same time. The tourist population does significantly decline throughout the fall and winter months, but the fun here never lets up.