You’ve taken the first steps: You’ve made a plan, you know what type of trip you’d like to take, you’ve set up a way to fund it and developed a good idea of where you want to go.

Now, when is the best time to go? Of course, the best time to go is whenever you want to go! But there are definitely different times of the year that are better for seeing specific things. For instance, it is warm in New Zealand and Australia in the American winter, perfect for beach activities. Equatorial destinations have rainy seasons and dry seasons. Your best chance of seeing the northern lights may be in late Fall and Winter.

Spring gives you the opportunity to see landscapes budding with new plant life and of course springs brings baby animals. Fall gives you the opportunity to see the changing of the seasons and winter brings winter sports and its own natural beauty.

What would you like to do? What is your priority? For instance, if you want to go to Carnaval in Rio, witness cherry blossoms in Japan or experience Chinese New Year in China, it only happens at a specific time of year.

Also, take a look at when a desired trip is available for a specific tour company. For instance, Winter travel is not offered in a lot of cold climates.

Finally, keep in mind that summer travel means children are out of school and sights will be crowded with tourists and tourist families. Also, a lot of Europeans vacation in August. When possible, we like to travel during  “shoulders” season, which is right before or right after the most popular travel times. It’s less crowded and less expensive generally.