One way or return? Book now or wait? Fly on the holiday itself or the weekend before? Those are the questions on travelers’ minds right now.
The good news: KAYAK’s latest 2026 Holiday Travel Check-In has the answers. Travel expert KAYAK dug into its search data from 2025 and 2026 to provide actionable tips and tricks on how to get the best-priced flight tickets, when fares historically come down, and which travel dates deliver the best value for this year’s holiday season.
Round-trip? Not necessarily.
Rethinking the traditional round trip could pay off when it comes to ways to save this holiday season. Piecing together two one-way tickets could cut airfare by as much as 30% internationally and 29% domestically.
The biggest potential savings when booking two one-way trips include Simpson Bay, St. Maarten, at 30%, Liberia, Costa Rica, at 23%, and Lima, Peru, at 20%. Domestically, Washington, D.C. leads at 29%, followed by Chicago at 28% and San Diego at 22%.
- International
- Domestic
When to book and when to take off?
Patience could pay off, but it’s got a deadline. Despite flight prices being higher this year, they have followed similar patterns to 2025. That makes last year a useful guide, not a crystal ball.
For a domestic Thanksgiving trip, airfare has historically hit a low around five weeks before the holiday (hint: get that flight booked before the end of October), then climbs sharply within two weeks of departure. Flying on Thanksgiving Day could save travelers up to 19% domestically and 49% internationally versus departing Nov. 20, currently the priciest day to fly.
Christmas travelers have a sweet spot of their own: KAYAK data shows fares historically dip between four and seven weeks before departure (roughly mid-November through early December). Flying the week of Christmas (vs. the week before) can save travelers up to 18% domestically and 34% internationally.
That long-haul trip just got more bookable.
If that far-flung trip is sitting on your travel wish list, it actually might be closer than it looks this holiday season. KAYAK records some of the biggest airfare price drops versus last year for a holiday break can currently be found on long-haul routes, with average fares to destinations across Latin America, Asia and the Caribbean coming in lower than last year.
Methodology
Unless otherwise noted, holiday travel data is based on flight and hotel searches made on KAYAK between April 1, 2026, and Sept.1, 2026, for travel between Nov. 20, 2026, and Jan. 6, 2027, compared to searches made between April 1, 2025, and Sept. 1, 2025, for travel between Nov. 21, 2025, and Jan. 7, 2026. All flight prices are average prices for round-trip, economy tickets. All hotel prices are average nightly rates. Prices may vary, and savings cannot be guaranteed. Percentages for changes in pricing are approximate.
Thanksgiving data is based on flight and hotel searches made on KAYAK between April 1, 2026, and Sept. 1, 2026, for travel between Nov. 20, 2026, and Nov. 29, 2026, from any U.S. airport, compared to searches made between April 1, 2025, and Sept. 1, 2025, for travel between Nov. 21, 2025, and Nov. 30, 2025.
Christmas data is based on flight and hotel searches made on KAYAK between April 1.2026, and Sept. 1, 2026, for departures/stays between Dec. 17, 2026, and Jan. 6, 2027, from any US airport, compared to searches made between April 1, 2025, and Sept. 1, 2025, for the travel period between Dec. 18, 2025, and Jan. 7, 2026.
