Go South for Late-Summer Deals and Labor Day

If you haven’t taken your summer vacation yet but want to stay budget-friendly, fret not. We just analyzed hundreds of millions of search queries on KAYAK to find late-summer deals in August. We also identified where Americans are headed this Labor Day weekend and how you can still get a great deal.

Late Summer Travel Deals 
To Catch Awesome Late-Summer Deals, Head South: Our data shows New Orleans is one of the top picks for both airfare and hotel stays in August. Average airfare to New Orleans in August dropped 11.8% to $313.30, and the average hotel rate dropped a drastic 30.2%, to $146.69. Most summer deals on airfare and hotels were also found in the south:

– Nashville: Airfares dropped an average of 11.2% to an average cost of $299.36 (compared to an average of $337.15 earlier this summer)
– Houston:  Airfares dropped an average of 11.9% to an average cost of $315.56 (compared to an average of $358.19 earlier this summer)
– San Antonio: Airfares dropped an average of 10.9% to an average cost of $324.15 (compared to average of $384.20 earlier this summer)

Labor Day Weekend
ATL wins this Labor Day: The top trending destination for Labor Day weekend saw a whopping 62% increase in searches compared to the weekends before and after the holiday. The jump is likely due to the Alabama vs. Virginia Tech Chick-fil-A Kickoff and NASCAR races at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Average airfare to Atlanta this holiday weekend is $285.24

Americans Head for One Last Beach Vacation: Cancun and San Juan are the third and fourth trending destinations for the holiday weekend with average airfares of $495.63 and $362.38, respectively. But here’s a tip – airfares to Cancun drop an average of 18.2% the week after Labor Day and 16.6% on airfare to San Juan for the week prior to Labor Day.

Best Bets for Labor Day Weekend: For those considering travel to Houston or Honolulu in early September, be sure to fly on the actual holiday weekend to save – Houston and Honolulu saw the biggest drops in airfare compared to the weeks before and after Labor Day. Travelers will pay an average of $278.58 to get to Houston and $600.47 for Honolulu.

And as always, remember to follow our Travel Guide for even more ways to save money and set up a hotel price alert or use the KAYAK app’s Hotels Near Me one-click search to find great hotel rates for your trip.