Travel During Off Season Not Always a Great Deal

SOMETIMES YOU JUST GET lucky. When we decided to book a Caribbean getaway in the spring, months after the peak season, we figured the pickings would be slim. But here we are, checking into a plush resort on the north coast of the Dominican Republic, surrounded by white-sand beaches and the quiet murmur of the ocean. The resort seems tranquil, with a welcoming concierge and plenty of free lounges by the pool. Even getting here was painless; our plane was underbooked, letting us sprawl into the adjoining seat. And the real highlight of our off-season trip? Both our airfare and lodging were about 75 percent off.

But luck, unfortunately, has a nasty habit of running out. It starts with the ominous rain clouds that gather on our first afternoon — and return to drench us every day of our stay. (Funny how nobody mentioned that May is the rainiest month in the Dominican Republic.) We also make some unexpected new friends: construction workers who start banging away shortly after sunrise every morning. And there's more, from a lack of staffing — where are the pool boys? — to restaurants that always seem to be shuttered just when we're craving a pina colada.

We're not alone in our journey into shoulder- and off-season travel. Indeed, with travel prices during the holidays and high seasons going through the roof, and crowds becoming an ever-mounting hassle, the off-peak vacation is enjoying a little-noticed but impressive boom. Examples of counterintuitive tourism are springing up like condos in Cabo. Last September, at the height of hurricane season, savvy travelers beat the winter rush to the Caribbean, pushing hotel occupancy rates up 17 percent over the previous year. Over on the Continent, winter travel has ticked up 41 percent in the past five years, with a few tourist magnets like Paris now actually posting bigger numbers in March than in the traditionally busier monthof August. Even properties closer to home are feeling the off-season effect; New Hampshire's Mount Washington Resort, best known as a wintertime ski retreat, has seen spring bookings up 20 percent since 2006.

What motivates so many vacationers to visit snow-free slopes or tour Big Ben in a frigid November drizzle? First and foremost, of course, it's the discounts, which typically range from 20 to 50 percent below peak rates. At the five-star Rosewood Little Dix Bay in the British Virgin Islands, fall travelers will find oceanfront rooms at 30 percent off, while the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman's rates are over 50 percent off. And with the economy sagging and oil prices boosting the cost of travel, vacationers are increasingly price conscious; a recent survey by travel Web site IgoUgo found that 82 percent of travelers would consider vacationing during the off-season to stay within budget. To cash in on this trend, more resorts and tour operators are hyping shoulder prices, and sites like CheapTickets and BookingBuddy are promising to ferret out prime off-peak deals.

But sometimes you really do get what you pay for. Off-season travel can have plenty of downsides, ranging from howling monsoons to beaches swarming with stinging jellyfish. Vacationers may also be stunned to see what's missing; rain forests can seem lifeless and taxis as elusive as Bigfoot. And industry insiders say that hotels have been particularly slow to add staff, restrict construction or take other steps to keep off-season travelers from having an off-putting trip. The bottom line, says Jim Strong, president of Strong Travel Services in Dallas: "You're just not going to be receiving the prime experience."

We've made a few off-peak trips of our own, including winter jaunts to London and a visit to Costa Rica in August — one of the country's hottest months. Sure, our flights were nearly empty, and the hotels gave us their best rooms, but we also got rained on for six straight days in the Caribbean and almost forgot what daylight looked like after a November trip to Iceland. Still, along the way we've gathered a few tips that will help travelers leave the high-season crowds behind without sacrificing their fun.

Not surprisingly, the rising popularity of off-season travel is threatening some of the great deals. The more intrepid vacationers are willing to forgo prime-time travel, the less resorts and destinations slash rates to keep properties full. Where three years ago you might have found off-peak discounts of up to 75 percent, today those cutbacks have fallen off dramatically for many destinations. Doug Mahar and his wife learned this the hard way on a recent vacation at the Nine Beaches resort in Bermuda. The Newburyport, Mass., couple chose the resort's midweek off-season special but ended up with only 15 percent off. (The resort says rates will drop almost 30 percent in September.) Ironically, for some destinations the surge in bookings has also served to shift, or even eliminate, the off-season. In much of Western Europe, for instance, where the exchange rate has driven U.S. travelers to skip the pricey summer months, the midpriced shoulder season, which once started in April, now begins in March or even February.

But impressive discounts can still be found — with a little digging. One sure way to pin down the best deal times is to call the hotel directly, says Brad Garner, vice president of Smith Travel Research. When the hotel expects lower occupancy, it's more likely to offer savings for arriving on a certain day or to negotiate a discount for an extended stay. Vacationers may also be surprised to learn that in some business-heavy destinations, such as Helsinki and Buenos Aires, peak vacation season is actually when the lowest rates are available, since work-related trips tend to fall off during these months. No matter where you book, be sure to check the cancellation policy, says Bjorn Hanson, a hotel analyst for PricewaterhouseCoopers. Room rates can drop by as much as 20 percent between booking and arrival, so vigilant travelers can cancel and rebook for less.