I am not a person who prefer crowds. I would rather avoid visiting a place rather than standing in a queue. In the era where travelling has become more comfortable with increasing income levels and improvement in transport options, it is not logical to expect a lesser crowd at tourists places.
A peaceful day in North Andaman
So, what is the problem with the crowd?
- Longer waiting times in tourist locations and hotels.
- The chances of diseases spreading are high (especially in the current COVID situation).
- When the demand is high, the prices also increase.
- Traffic jams, difficulty in finding parking places.
Based on my experience of travelling in the last few years, I have employed a few tricks to avoid crowds. Let me put them down in writing in this post.
1. Avoid travelling in peak season
School holidays are a perfect time for families to plan a vacation. Naturally, most tourist places get crowded during that time. But for people with no school going children, solo travellers and travelling with friends can avoid this period for travel.
Avoid travelling during long weekend for the same reason.
Crowd at Kamakya temple in Guwahati
What is a peak season?
Every country and region has its peak season. For example, Dasara/Navarathri, Deepavali and summer holidays can be considered peak seasons in India. Chinese new year in Jan/Feb and National Day Golden Week during October are busy days in China.
The weather is generally pleasant during this time of the year. It would be a bit colder in the Northern parts of the country. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, you can see tourists everywhere.
Peak season is also dependent on local weather conditions. In India, the winter months of November to March can be considered the season to travel to most locations except the Himalayas. While April, May and June are busy in the hills (See my experience here).
2. Travel in offseason
The best way to avoid crowds is to travel during the offseason. The bonus is that the accommodation rates also go down in the offseason. You need not book accommodation in advance. But note that it is not all rosy during the off-season (hence the season is called off-season!!).
Travelling during the rainy season in the Himalayas is very inconvenient. The chances of roadblocks and landslides are real. Similarly, it becomes too difficult to travel in the plains of North India during the summer months. It is not fun to visit beaches during the rainy season.
Also, it is not possible to travel to particular places in the offseason. There is no use in visiting the “valley of flowers” in Uttarakhand outside July/August as the flowers do not bloom. Similarly, visiting Antarctica is not possible in the winter months.
3. Travel during shoulder season
It is one of my favourite options. There is a shoulder season just before the peak season or the end of the offseason. The crowds are generally lower, and the weather is pleasant most of the time. For me, this is the perfect season for travel. Most of my international trips (Australia, New Zealand, South America, Jordan, Bali, Cambodia) were during the shoulder season.
The icing on the cake for Indians is that the shoulder period in western countries falls during the peak season of India. While October is a peak period in India, it is shoulder season in most countries I mentioned above.
What about India?
Visit western ghats in September. The probability of rain is low, while the green cover makes the entire place beautiful.
Visit the Himalayas in March/April. The schools are still open in North India, with exams ongoing. Perfect opportunity to enjoy the Himalayas before the crowd joins during May and June.
Beaches in November and February as most people visit during December/January.
4. Weekdays travel
Visiting places during weekdays is another option. Last September, Chaya and I were in Kodagu during the weekday, and it was blissful. We had never seen Kodagu so peaceful!! You have to sacrifice your hard-earned leave for that!! But it works very well for people who can work during the weekend and take off during weekdays.
But, few homestays may not be interested in having guests during the weekday. I called up a homestay in Kodagu, but they told me indirectly that the “Return on Investment” was low for serving two people on a weekday. They had to spend the same amount of effort to clean the place, cook food and make other arrangements. They would prefer having large crowds during weekends.
5. “Inauspicious” days
This option works for religious locations. There are periods like New moon day (Amavasya) and Ashada season where few people do not prefer to visit temples. For a person who believes that every day is beautiful, it is the right time to visit temples!!
On the other side, visiting the Shiva temple on Shivarathri or Monday can lead to long waiting times. But from my experience, I have also noted that religious people do not mind waiting in the queue. For example, nobody asks about waiting time for people visiting Tirupati temple. The question will always be, “How was the darshan?” though everyone knows that one gets the view of the idol for a fraction of a second (Unless you pay a lot to spend more time).
By the way, this strategy also works for a haircut. Visit a salon on Tuesday (if they are open) or on a new moon day. You will have a wild card entry into the place!!
6. Travel to offbeat places (Avoid tourist traps)
A few years ago, we had travelled to Manipur and Tripura during the Christmas holidays. We saw a few tourists during our visit. A similar situation we experienced in Middle and North Andaman. At many beaches, we were the only people!! I do not know about the current situation as Government is building bridges making these places easier to reach.
An offbeat place today may become a hot tourist spot tomorrow. We visited Ladakh 10 years ago during the peak period of July. We did not book any hotels, and the crowd was less. We were the only people at most of the places we stayed. The situation is different now.
In general, look for offbeat places if you want to avoid crowds.
7. Stay at resorts and homestay
If you are a person who does not want to venture but relax at a resort or a homestay, then it will not be an issue if you are travelling during peak season. There is a limit on the number of people in a homestay or resort. As long as they can manage the guests at their property, it should be ok.
8. Restricted places
I travelled to the forests of Bandhavgarh, Pench, Ranthambore, Gir and Tadoba during Christmas/Navarathri. These forests have rules on the number of vehicles each day. So, it does not get crowded beyond a point. But remember to make the booking well in advance. Else, you may end up just staying at the resort.
9. Visit early in the morning
I was in Hampi during Dasara and in Rameshwaram during Christmas last year. But early in the mornings, there were few people at most locations. For example, we were the only people in the ruined Church at Dhanuskodi.
It could be a good strategy as many people prefer to start their day late after breakfast.
Last words
If you have school-going children and a day job, the flexibility of planning holidays gets reduced. But it does not mean that travel becomes stressful due to crowds. By employing a few of the tricks mentioned in this post, your trip can be more peaceful.
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