Book Your December Holiday Travel Now (Well In the Next Week or So)

The holidays are barreling toward us like a full-speed, gift-filled, Polar Express-like freight train.
So… have you booked your travel? If not, we have advice on when to book your December travel (based on an analysis of 2010 travel).

We’ve also included a graphic that the folks at Venture Beat and Visual.ly created with our data.

Booking for events occurring around December 25th (to be politcally correct)

• Best time to book US domestic travel: first week in December through December 10th

• Flexible with your dates? The cheapest flights depart on December 24th or 25th and return on the 27th or on the 29th

• Prices will rise again in mid-December, so make sure you book before December 10

• What to avoid: the highest fares can be found for flights departing December 22nd or December 23rd and returning Monday the 26th through Thursday the 29th

Booking for New Years Eve Travel

• When to book: right now through December 5th

• Prices dip down again December 16th and December 23rd

• The cheapest domestic flights are on New Years Eve with a return on or after January 3rd

Bonus Tips

First, you may recall there was a major blizzard on the East coast last year. Don’t travel unprepared. Download our free mobile app to get flight status updates, a free itinerary management tool and KAYAK flight, hotel and car rental search in case you end up in the back of a customer service line after a canceled flight.

And if you’re thinking past the holidays, a January trip is always a great way to start the year. These destinations are showing the biggest decrease in hotel rates on KAYAK since last year

• Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

• Sydney, Australia

• Boston

• Berlin, Germany (as opposed to Wisconsin)

• San Diego

• Fort Lauderdale

• Key West

• London, UK

And as promised, the neat graphic from Venture Beat and Visual.ly