When you travel in the summertime there are many positives like the high probability of nice weather. For many people like teachers, school administrators and students, summer is the best time to go away because there is no conflict with the school year. Beyond the nice weather summer travel does have its challenges however and not just with higher prices. Because summer is the peak season, the number of people vacationing is at its highest which can cause headaches when you want to sightsee whether it is at an indoor venue like a museum or outdoors like a seascape or gardens. There are few things worse than lining up and waiting an hour or more to see an exhibit and in the end wasting a lot of time in the day when you could have seen and experienced more. The next time you are planning your vacation you might want to strategize how you can can avoid the crowds (as much as you can) and get the most out of your visit. Here are some suggestions.

  • Tour groups normally travel by bus and it takes time to organize everyone in the morning so get to the attraction when it opens at 9 – 930am especially if the venue is in town. My family and I arrived at the Titanic Museum in Belfast at 9am and had a very comfortable and enjoyable walk through the museum and by the time we finished, the wait to get in was at least an hour because of the tour buses and people waiting to go midmorning. Arriving early also helps if you are parking a car. Families with young children normally don’t get going early so parking will be easier at the venue closer to the opening time.
  • Pre-Buy tickets on line. Pre-buying tickets even the night before makes sure you get a time slot that works for you. Breaking up the day into time blocks is a way that venues control the number of visitors in the attraction at any one time so the earlier the better.
  • Pre-buy travel tickets. If you are taking a ferry, you can pre-book the tickets for the crossing in advance which makes sure you don’t waste time waiting for an open slot. We did this for travel from Northern Island to Scotland and back and it worked well.
  • When you go to a popular venue early, go to the most popular exhibit first. For example, at the Tower of London in London, the most popular exhibit is the Crown Jewels. If you get to the Tower when it opens or soon after, go see the Crown Jewel exhibit at the Jewels House first because eventually you will wait 90 minutes or more in line to see them. Check the attraction you are going to and decide what you want to see, what will be the most popular and see that first. This applies to seeing the Mona Lisa at the Louvre and many exhibits at other venues.
  • Pre-book restaurants if you can. If you have a favorite or there is a recommended restaurant in the city you are visiting, like at home, it can be helpful to call for a reservation. Also make sure you understand the local customs. For example, it is common for people from North America to have dinner from 630 – 730pm. If you are in Spain and you go at that time you may be the only people in the restaurant. In Spain and other countries it is customary to go to the restaurant around 9pm or even later.

These are just a few ways to avoid the crowds so you can get the most out of your visit to an attraction and not have to spend unnecessary extra time in line. Pre-plan is definitely worth the effort!