September normally feels like the point where summer starts slipping away.
The nights draw in, everyone’s suddenly bigging up their “back to routine” plans and you can feel the season winding down.
But there’s one good reason not to write the month off: September might actually be the best time of year to travel.
July and August get the hype, but they also come with packed airports, inflated hotel bills, sweltering heat and beaches that feel like they’re competing for the same square metre of sand.
September is different.
Across southern Europe, the weather is still very much on your side. It’s warm enough for the pool and the beach, but you’re not spending the entire afternoon hiding from the sun because it feels like you’re sitting inside an oven.
Then there are the crowds.
Once the school holidays are over, places that felt completely overrun a few weeks earlier suddenly become enjoyable again. Restaurants are easier to get into, beaches have space and you can actually walk around somewhere without spending half your day trying to avoid other people.
It sounds obvious, but it makes a huge difference to a holiday.
September is also a better time for a city break. Walking around Rome, Lisbon, Barcelona or Athens is considerably more pleasant when you aren’t doing it in 35 degree heat, and you can spend an entire day exploring without needing to retreat to an air conditioned hotel room by mid afternoon.
And then there’s the money.
Peak summer is expensive. Flights, hotels and everything around them come with a premium in July and August, especially when the school holidays are in full swing.
By September, things start to calm down.
That doesn’t mean everywhere suddenly becomes cheap, but there are often better deals if you’re flexible with dates. You can also get a bit more for your money, whether that means upgrading the hotel, booking somewhere closer to the beach or simply having more left for dinner and drinks.
For anyone who doesn’t have to travel during the school holidays, it’s hard to make a convincing argument for August over September.
And if you want nightlife, September makes even more sense.
Ibiza is the obvious example, and for me, the island’s closing season is far better than peak summer.
It’s less crowded, you can actually get a restaurant booking without planning your entire evening weeks in advance, hotels are generally cheaper and, honestly, I think the crowd is better too.
There’s still plenty going on, the clubs are busy and the closing parties bring some of the biggest names of the season, but the whole island feels a little less frantic.
You still get the music, the restaurants, the beach clubs and the late nights. You just don’t feel like you’re constantly fighting your way through a crowd to enjoy them.
Having been to Ibiza at different points throughout the summer, September is the time I’d choose every time.
The same applies across much of the Mediterranean. Hotels, restaurants and bars are still operating as normal, but that frantic peak season feeling has started to disappear.
Perhaps the best thing about travelling in September, though, is that it feels like you’re extending summer rather than trying to rescue it.
A week somewhere warm after the August rush can be exactly what you need before autumn properly arrives in the UK. You get sunshine, good food, long evenings and that holiday feeling, then come home when everyone else is complaining about the weather.
So while everyone else is buying new notebooks, going back to the gym and pretending they’re going to start waking up at 6am, there’s a pretty strong argument for doing the opposite.
September might be the smartest time of year to get away.
