Autumn getaways in Europe are getting pricier: hotels raise rates as flights get cheaper

More and more travelers are ditching crowded beaches and summer heat in favor of trips in September, October and November. According to the luxury travel network Virtuoso, interest in autumn getaways to European destinations traditionally seen as summer spots has more than doubled over the past two years. The trend is most pronounced on the French Riviera, the Greek islands and southeastern Italy.

Hotels in major cities are raising prices

Hoteliers in big tourist cities have noticed the same surge in demand for autumn dates — and according to a survey by Expedia for the British newspaper The Times, accommodation there tends to be pricier in this period than in summer. The gap is widest in Madrid, where a night's stay from September to November costs roughly 1,700 crowns more on average. In Amsterdam, Rome, Lisbon and Paris, autumn lodging runs about ten percent higher than during peak season.

According to Iřina Ekrt Iruškova, a representative of the Invia travel agency, the cheapest accommodation can usually be found from November to March, aside from the Christmas and New Year period. "Restaurant prices fluctuate far less with the seasons — location matters more than time of year there," she noted.

Flight prices, meanwhile, are dropping

Data from the Czech flight retailer Kiwi.com shows that Czechs, too, are increasingly planning trips after the summer holidays end: by late August they had booked 11% more flights for autumn dates than a year earlier. "For the second year running, Rome remains the top autumn destination. Interest in London, Paris and Madrid is also growing," said company spokesperson Daniela Hovancová.

According to Kiwi.com, flights in autumn are on average three percent cheaper than in summer. However, while peak-season fares fell by more than 4% compared to last year, autumn trips actually got 2.9% more expensive. "The savings at the start of the autumn season, compared to last year, are shrinking," Hovancová added.

Historical data from Google Flights shows that airfares typically start dropping right after the summer holidays end. For example, the cheapest flights from Prague to Barcelona cost around 1,500 crowns in summer, drop to nearly 1,300 crowns by mid-September, and can be found for roughly 700 crowns in October. Much, however, depends on how far in advance the ticket is booked.

Stretching out summer — and following in Odysseus's footsteps

According to Klára Divišková, a spokesperson for the tour operator Čedok, Czechs still favor beach holidays in autumn. "People love stretching summer out in the Canary Islands, Turkey, Egypt, as well as Greece and Madeira, where it's still comfortable to swim and relax in September and October. From late October, interest shifts noticeably toward more exotic destinations," she said.

Autumn sightseeing tours are also becoming more popular, along with long weekends in European capitals, which enter their high season around this time. "That doesn't mean these cities are empty in summer — they're visited year-round, often by people who are mainly on a beach holiday elsewhere," added Jan Bezděk, spokesperson for the tour operator Fischer.

According to the Invia representative, demand is also growing for so-called Euro-weekends during the Christmas Advent season, with interest expected to rise by around ten percent compared to last year.

Extended weekend trips covering several cities rather than a single destination are gaining popularity too — and early autumn is the ideal time for this kind of format, with the weather still pleasant but the heat gone. "Set-jetting" is also on the rise: fans of "The White Lotus" are drawn to Sicily's Taormina, while viewers of the latest season of "Emily in Paris" are increasingly heading to Rome. Trips inspired by "The Odyssey" are currently in vogue as well. More and more people are choosing trains over planes for travel within Europe — especially for short hops to Budapest, Kraków, Munich, Berlin or Vienna.

Read also: 9 Michelin-starred restaurants in Czechia: where to find fine dining from Prague to Moravia

Around Prague, based on reporting by denik.cz