Most people book their year around two windows: the summer sun holiday and the Christmas trip. Autumn gets treated like the leftover season — something to get through, not book for.

That's a mistake, and a bit of an expensive one.

Flights get cheaper once the school summer holidays end. The Mediterranean gets quieter, the beaches aren't rammed, and — here's the bit most people don't know — sea water is often warmer in September and October than it is in July, because it takes all summer to properly heat up. You end up with better weather and fewer people fighting you for a sunbed.

Irish travellers also have the perfect excuse already built into the calendar: the October bank holiday weekend (Monday 26th) lines up with school midterm, giving families and couples a natural travel window without touching annual leave.

Here's where that week — or any autumn week — is worth spending

Short flight, guaranteed sun, something to do when the kids get restless. The Canaries tick all three. Air temperatures sit around 24–26°C right through October and into November, and because they're volcanic islands off the coast of Africa rather than mainland Europe, the weather doesn't really "turn" the way it does everywhere else.

• Lanzarote for something different — black volcanic beaches, no high-rises (they're banned).
• Tenerife for the widest spread of beaches, hikes and all-inclusive resorts.
• Gran Canaria if you want a proper old town to explore between beach days.

Direct flights run from Dublin, and seasonally from Cork and Shannon too — worth checking before assuming you need to connect through Dublin.

If the kids aren't a factor and you just want warmth without August prices, aim for late September or October. Malta regularly sits in the mid-to-high 20s into October, and the Algarve isn't far behind — both with sea temperatures still very swimmable. Neither empties out once summer ends either, so restaurants and boat trips keep running as normal — you're just not queuing for any of them.

Summer city breaks mean melting pavements and queuing in the heat for everything. Autumn is when European cities are genuinely at their best — cool enough to walk for hours, golden light for photos, locals back from their own holidays.

• Porto — river views, port wine cellars, one of the best-value breaks in Europe. Direct from Dublin with Ryanair and Aer Lingus.
• Kraków — stunning in autumn light, and still one of the cheapest city breaks going.
• Bruges — small enough to properly cover in a long weekend, and starts easing into Christmas market prep by late November if you want to catch the start

Both Portuguese, both a shorter flight than people expect, both mild and green well into winter — Madeira rarely dips below 20°C even in November. The Azores are wilder and better suited to hiking and dramatic scenery than sunbathing, but either makes a genuinely different trip to the standard beach week or city break.

A bit of travel insurance education that has nothing to do with a sales pitch: the best time to buy travel insurance is the day you book your flights, not the week before you fly. Cancellation cover only applies from the moment you take out the policy — so if anything happens between booking and travelling (illness, a family emergency, an airline going under), you're only protected for the time you've actually been insured. Buy on booking day and the whole run-up to the trip is covered, not just the holiday itself.

If autumn ends up being the first of a few trips before next summer, it's also worth pricing up an annual multi-trip policy — usually cheaper than insuring two or three short trips separatel