I used my favorite money-saving trick to travel through the dreamy Mediterranean islands of Sardinia and Corsica

Libby Kane / Business Insider

Spiaggia di Capriccioli, along the Costa Smeralda in Sardinia.

I've written before about how my favorite money-saving travel tip isn't poring over flight websites or negotiating with hotels: It's traveling in shoulder season.

By choosing to travel six to eight weeks before or after high season ("shoulder season"), I save money on flights, accommodations, car rentals, and most everything else by making one decision and never thinking about it again.

It seems obvious, but a lot of people don't do it. There's a good reason why: Traveling in shoulder season means things are more likely to be imperfect. The weather could be less reliable, the transport could be less consistent, and the scene could be less vibrant. If imperfection stresses you out unduly, this probably isn't the strategy for you.

It is the strategy for me.

At the end of May, a college friend and I spent 11 days traveling through Sardinia and Corsica, Italian and French islands (respectively) off the western coast of Italy. Admittedly, we ran into a few shoulder-season logistical snags, but nothing we couldn't handle. Here's what it was like: