More Chinese New Year countdown photos from China Town, Kuala Lumpur

I need to confess here. There won’t be any perfect period of time to travel in a year. It’s all depending on what you want in your travel in the first place. If someone tells you he had a perfect vacation somewhere in a particular month, he actually referred to a perfect timing for himself only. It’s not necessary yours too. There are similarities between this and my thought on perfect travel destination.

The perfect time of year to visit a country or city is up to you to decide on what you want to see or experience there. Some might wish to see snows while others hate cold weather. If you are looking for blooming flowers, you can’t expect to see snowfalls. Or you don’t hope for falling leaves while you are looking for hot sunshine! Isn’t it logic? Every place or travel destination has its own characteristics at different time of year. That’s the fun part of travel! It means we can travel all year long at any time to have a perfect timing and a perfect vacation!

So, what would be the perfect timing to visit a city? Let’s list down what you should expect from these 4 main seasons of the year so you could plan for your next perfect vacation.

1. Spring. This is when the flowers start blossoming and mountains turn green especially in Mediterranean countries and other areas with temperate weather. Sunlight is getting stronger and longer during Spring until the peak in Summer. Travelers should expect 12 hours of daylight in a day. For hobbyist photographer(that’s me!), this is the best time to capture colourful scenery with deep blue sky! Temperature is also moderate during this round of time. However, snow melt may cause flooding in some of the areas. Spring is the season for new life. Other than blooming flowers, other micro organism are being born as well. This may include new born viruses.  Influenza A H1N1 and SARS viruses started to spread at this time also. Thunderstorm is also another possibilities during this season.
2. Summer. This is the hottest time of year. Sunlight is bright (photographers may find it too harsh sometimes) and it has the longest day and shortest night. Travelers would able to enjoy more daytime activities than night markets. Also the hottest period for sports, people are rushing out to the beach for water activities. FIFA World Cup and the Olympics falls on this period too. However, being the most popular season for travelers, Every corner of those travel destination in North Hemisphere is always packed with people! Another reason to travel during Summer is the grand Summer Sales for fashion! Good news is viruses normally are less active and controllable during this season!
3. Autumn. This is when the leaves start changing colour and falling especially in Mediterranean countries and other areas with temperate weather. Sunlight is getting softer and shorter. Travelers could expect equal daytime and nightime as Spring. For travel photography, though flowers and mountains may not as colourful as in Spring, blue sky or twilight scene could still be expected. Temperature is also moderate during this round of time which is much cooler than in Summer but warmer than in winter.
4. Winter. This is when all flowers die off and leaves fall. All living creatures become inactive or hibernate. Photographers could capture snowfalls and white scenes everywhere in this season. Daytime is much shorter than night hours. Other than snows, travelers visiting those temperate countries like Europe should expect another round of grand Winter Sales! Good news is all micro organism disappeared during this time of year! You don’t have to worry about cockroaches or lizards!

See? The decision is yours. Every seasons have their own characteristics to suit everybody’s taste of travel. Plan your travel according to what you want from that travel destination. If you like hot sun and people (or bikini? ) watching , plan for your Summer trip. Otherwise, you could plan for your Winter travel to feel and hold snows in person! For me… I’m planning my Europe tour for this coming Spring. Reasons being those blooming flowers and clear blue sky with plenty of sunlight which I’m seeking for my next travel photography project. – Travel Feeder, the ultimate travel photo blog.