Ahhh the holidays. There’s nothing quite like hitting the ice rink with friends or having a heated family debate over mashed potatoes. But before you kick off the season, you need to know how to get wherever you’re going. That’s why we’re here with everything you need to plan your holiday trips home (or away from home).
Holiday travel trends, in a nutshell.
The holidays just got more affordable. 💸
Good news: holiday airfare is down across the board. Thanksgiving prices have dropped 6%, while the December holidays are seeing a 9% dip this year.
Dreaming of an international Christmas. 🎄
We’re seeing equal interest in domestic and international flights for Thanksgiving. As for the December holidays, 71% of flight searches are for trips abroad with Cancún, Tokyo and London topping the list.
Californians are hitting the skies. 🐻
LAX and SFO rank as the top 2 busiest airports for both Thanksgiving and the December holidays. If you’re flying out of them, give yourself enough time to get through security.
Palm trees in December. 🌴
Seems most travelers are ditching their scarves and packing the sunscreen this December holiday season: Orlando, San Juan, Honolulu and Miami are our most popular destinations.
Wondering when to book? 🤔
- Thanksgiving (domestic flights): book 1 – 2 months ahead.
- Thanksgiving (international flights): book 2 – 3 months ahead.
- December holidays (domestic flights): book 2 – 3.5 months ahead.
- December holidays (international flights): book 1 – 2 months ahead.
More things to know.
The cheapest destinations to visit for Thanksgiving are:
- Minneapolis, Minnesota ($337 average airfare)
- Denver, Colorado ($359 average airfare)
- Chicago, Illinois ($379 average airfare)
- Seattle, Washington ($387 average airfare)
- Atlanta, Georgia ($391 average airfare)
And here’s where to find the lowest prices for Christmas, Hanukkah and NYE:
- Minneapolis, Minnesota ($362 average airfare)
- Nashville, Tennessee ($393 average airfare)
- Atlanta, Georgia ($400 average airfare)
- New York, New York ($417 average airfare)
- Las Vegas, Nevada ($422 average airfare)
- Nassau, The Bahamas ($633 average airfare)
- Mexico City, Mexico ($688 average airfare)
- Tulum, Mexico ($712 average airfare)
- Reykjavik, Iceland ($715 average airfare)
- Cancún, Mexico ($784 average airfare)
Need a way to keep your holiday itinerary tidy? Use KAYAK Trips.
Methodology:
Thanksgiving data: KAYAK considered searches between 3/1/2024 and 9/1/2024 for travel between 11/22 and 12/1/2024. For year over year comparative data, KAYAK used search dates between 2/27/2023 and 8/27/2023 for travel between 11/17 and 11/26/2023.
December holiday data (encompasses Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Hanukkah and New Year’s Eve): KAYAK considered searches between 3/1/2024 and 9/1/2024 for travel between 12/19/2024 and 1/8/2025. For year over year comparative data, KAYAK used search dates between 2/27/2023 and 8/27/2023 for travel between 12/14/2023 and 1/3/2024.
Best time to book data: KAYAK considered historical searches for the travel period between 11/17/2023 – 1/3/2024 for searches 6 months prior from a US origin. The best time to book was determined by looking at average round-trip, economy airfare for days out from travel.
