How we pick the best time
Most travel sites optimize for flights. We optimize for whether the trip is actually going to be good.
Three signals, one score
Every candidate date window gets scored on three independent layers. We weight them based on your priority (cheapest, least-crowded, best weather, or balanced), then combine them into a final score from 0 to 100.
1. Origin pressure
Demand from your home country. When UK school half-term lines up with your dates, outbound flights from London spike — even if your destination is quiet. We track school calendars and major holidays for your origin market to measure this pressure.
2. Destination disruption
Local forces at your destination — Golden Week in Japan, Ferragosto in Italy, Tết in Vietnam. These change what's open, how crowded cities are, and whether the trip actually works. Origin pressure and destination disruption are different signals and we model them separately.
3. Seasonality
Weather, daylight, natural events. Cherry blossoms peak at a specific week, typhoon season is real, and shoulder months often pair great weather with low demand. We encode each destination's best, acceptable, and poor months, plus weather modifiers like rainy and typhoon seasons.
Where the data comes from
Public holiday data is computed from government-sourced rule sets — fixed dates, Easter calculations, lunar-calendar holidays, and weekend-shift rules. School holiday data is curated from education ministry publications.
All data lives in the repository. Nothing is fetched at runtime. This keeps the site fast, cheap, and available even if upstream APIs go down.
What we don't do
- Real-time prices. We don't scrape flights or hotels. Our "cheaper" signal is based on seasonal and holiday-adjacent patterns, not live inventory.
- Bookings. We're a timing layer, not a reseller. When you find your window, book through the provider of your choice.
- Guarantees. Our recommendations are directional. Weather varies, events get rescheduled, and prices can surprise anyone.
FAQ
Why monthly windows instead of exact dates?
Most travelers have a few weeks of flexibility, not a specific date. Monthly windows let us give you clear, comparable signals. We'll refine to week-level windows as data improves.
Will you add more origin countries?
Yes — the MVP ships with UK. We'll expand to other major markets based on demand.
Can I trust this for a big trip?
Use it as one input. We're giving you signal the big booking sites hide — but the final call should factor your constraints, flexibility, and appetite for risk.