Guides & Journal
Researched guides built on official statistics, with every source listed.
All guides
How places stack up: rankings by topic
Rank 35 countries, 47 prefectures or 123 regions on seasonality, guests from abroad, stay, prices, occupancy, weather or daylight, or set four places side by side.
Rank themBest-month finder
Choose the daytime high, rainy days and crowd level you want and see which months match in 75 countries and prefectures.
Find a monthSea temperature, blossom and autumn leaves at a glance
How warm the sea is each month near 37 places, and when cherry blossom and maple leaves arrive across Japan.
See the chartsVisual guides: lean seasons, daylight and weather
A heat map of every quiet month in 35 countries and 47 prefectures, daylight and golden light, and crowds against weather. Save or share any chart.
See the chartsWhere to go by month
Twelve month guides: where each month was quietest and busiest across 35 countries and 47 prefectures, with weather and holidays.
Pick a monthPublic holidays 2026 and 2027: one calendar
Every national holiday we publish for 33 European countries and Japan, month by month, with school holidays for four countries.
See the calendarWhen do cherry blossoms open?
All 47 prefectures in date order, from the Japan Meteorological Agency's averages.
See the datesWhen do autumn leaves turn red?
Maple dates at the weather station in each prefecture, earliest first.
See the datesWhen is typhoon season in Japan?
Typhoon approaches by month and by region, 1991–2020 averages.
See the monthsSea temperature by month
Average sea surface temperature near European capitals and Japanese prefectures, from NOAA's 1991–2020 averages.
See the monthsEES and ETIAS: what changes at the border
The EU's Entry/Exit System is running; ETIAS has no start date yet. What each means, from official EU pages.
Read the guideTravel photography: light, techniques and rules
Golden hour for 74 places, a light calendar for any dates, 20 kinds of shot and the rules on drones and photographing people.
Open the guideTravel tips that go beyond the usual
Built on official rules: flight and rail rights, customs, tax-free shopping, roaming, medicines and what changed in 2026.
See the tips14 head-to-head comparisons
Italy or Spain, Kyoto or Osaka and more: when each place is busy and quiet, side by side.
See the pairsIs shoulder season worth it?
What Eurostat, UN Tourism and Japan's figures show about travelling off-peak, region by region.
Read the guideUN Tourism's best performers, first half of 2026
Who UN Tourism names among its best performers for January to June 2026, and why that is not a recommendation.
Read the guideOff-season in Europe: 35 countries ranked
Which countries squeeze their year into summer, and which spread it out. Month-by-month figures from Eurostat.
See the rankingOff-season in Japan: 47 prefectures by month
When each prefecture is busiest and quietest, and when visitors from outside Japan come. Figures from the Japan Tourism Agency.
See the prefecturesQuieter alternatives? 12 European pairs checked
Venice or Trieste, Bruges or Ghent, Barcelona or Valencia: each pair compared with Eurostat's 2025 regional figures, in total and per resident.
See the pairsQuieter towns? 32 European towns checked
Hallstatt, the Cinque Terre, Bled, Positano, Amsterdam and more, set against other towns: tourist nights per resident from each country's statistics office.
See the townsJapan's least-visited prefectures
All 47 ranked by nights spent by guests from outside Japan, and per resident. Figures from the Japan Tourism Agency and the 2025 census.
See the rankingWhen do international visitors arrive?
The busiest and quietest months for visitor arrivals in eight countries, from each government's 2025 figures.
See the months