The holiday season is all about being together with your closest friends and family. But when those loved ones don't live nearby, you may have to fly to visit them. Or maybe you're the type to throw tradition out the window altogether and instead celebrate the holidays in a far-flung destination.
Either way, the holiday season is not only the most wonderful time of the year — it's also the busiest time to travel.
Each year, the Sunday after Thanksgiving tends to be the busiest travel day at U.S. airports. On Dec. 1, 2024, the Transportation Security Administration screened a record-setting 3.08 million passengers, and this year's summer travel season topped 3 million passengers per day more than once — suggesting that the 2025 holiday season will be even busier than past years.
Related: 10 ways to get through airport security faster
"Flying around peak holidays, like Thanksgiving and New Year's, means not just inflated fares compared to other times of the year, but also much busier airports," Going spokesperson Katy Nastro told TPG. "Looking specifically at Thanksgiving, it's almost certain we will see not just the busiest day on record but likely multiple days of over 3 million people heading through TSA."
Since airports are seeing such high levels of traffic and inflated prices, it is paramount that you know when to book your holiday airfare to get the best possible prices.
Here's what you need to know to save on holiday travel in 2025.
Finding the cheapest holiday airfare
Book early
Your best bet for finding affordable holiday airfare is to book early.
Related: The best time to book flights for the cheapest airfare
For domestic flights this holiday season, we recommend booking one to two months ahead of time. We usually see the best prices for Thanksgiving travel in late September or early October. For international flights, you'll want to book a bit further out, typically three to five months before your trip.
Set price alerts
Alternatively, you can book now and use Google Flights to track the flight; this way, you can rebook your ticket if the price drops. Several major airlines will allow you to reprice your ticket and issue you a credit for the difference if the fare drops.
"By ensuring you've purchased a regular economy ticket, not basic, you have the ability to rebook that flight at a lower cost once you're alerted to a drop in price and receive a credit in return for the difference to use in the future," Nastro said. "Airlines don't love this aspect, but it's completely doable; you just have to ensure you didn't book that nonchangeable basic fare."
If you don't want to track price changes manually, there are also several tools that help you get money back on flights if the price drops.
Days to avoid
If you have the flexibility to do so, certain days should be avoided altogether if you want to keep costs down and avoid crowds.
"Avoiding not just the Sunday after Thanksgiving, but peak days leading into the holiday might be unavoidable," Nastro said. "Traveling on the holiday itself won't just save you money, but it'll also save you from the busiest time of the year 'travel stress,' and we trust you'll be thankful for that!"
According to Expedia holiday travel data, the busiest and most expensive days to fly around Thanksgiving are Wednesday, Nov. 26, and Friday, Nov. 28, the days directly preceding and following the holiday.
Related: Traveling in 2025? These 12 apps and websites make award redemptions easier to find
For Christmas travel, Saturday, Dec. 20, and Friday, Dec. 26, are the days you want to avoid if possible.
The cheapest places to travel for Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving flights
If you're planning to spend Turkey Day outside the U.S., you'll be happy to learn that this is the best week of the year for international travel, according to data from Going. That's because most travelers are flying domestically to visit family versus flying internationally, allowing for widespread deals on international travel.
Your price may vary based on your route and travel dates, but Going has spotted some good deals for the week of Thanksgiving to popular international destinations. Here are a few of the best starting prices for domestic and international round-trip flights:
If you want to receive similar deals straight to your inbox, sign up for Going to get up to 90% off select flights via its Premium membership, which users can try for free for 14 days and then $49 per year. You can also upgrade to the Elite tier for $199 per year for access to all the Premium deals, plus premium economy, business-class and first-class alerts. You can also sign up for a free trial through this link.
- Miami to Minneapolis for $199 round-trip direct on Delta Air Lines over Thanksgiving into the weekend
- Chicago to San Diego for $165 round-trip over the week of Thanksgiving on United Airlines
- Boston to Dublin for $384 round-trip on Delta over Thanksgiving (Going has similar deals in the $400 range to several destinations in Western Europe)
- Charlotte to Helsinki for $524 round-trip over Thanksgiving on American Airlines ... just in time for the Christmas celebrations that kick off on the 28th
Once you've settled on a destination, head to Google Flights and compare prices to determine the cheapest departure and return days.
The cheapest places to travel for Christmas
Because Christmas is more widely celebrated, those Thanksgiving travel rules unfortunately do not apply. Around the winter holidays, transcontinental flight prices can soar, but sites like Going can help you find deals for more than 40% off typical prices.
If you follow the expert advice to fly on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day and return home on New Year's Eve, here are some of the best starting prices on international and domestic flights we found using current data from Going:
- New York City to the Bahamas for $388 round-trip between Christmas and New Year's Eve on JetBlue (Going has similar deals to other Caribbean destinations like Grand Cayman, Bahamas, and Turks and Caicos)
- Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles for $264 round-trip on Southwest Airlines
- Seattle to Austin for $247 round-trip on Southwest (or $292 nonstop on Alaska)
Bottom line
When it comes to holiday travel, the keyword is "flexibility."
"Flexibility can be one of the biggest pieces to helping you travel more affordably over a peak season like the winter holidays. If you just want to get away, you are far more likely to find something versus being set on a destination and just paying up because that's where you want to go," Nastro said.
This goes for dates, too. For example, because New Year's Eve falls in the middle of the week this year, you're better off taking the time off (if possible) into the following week to leave Dec. 31 and extend a trip into the new year. "You'll find that average ticket prices for nearly anywhere are going to be considerably cheaper if coming back around Jan. 5 or 6 versus the weekend prior," she added.
Even if you don't have flexibility in choosing your destination, you can still save money on airfare by tailoring your departure and return dates to avoid the busiest travel days.
Related reading:
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
