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Compared to the December holidays, there are more domestic locations represented on the Thanksgiving list, including Chicago, Phoenix and Dallas-Fort Worth. For Christmas and New Year\u2019s Eve, it appears that people are more interested in traveling abroad to places like Manila, Sydney, Mexico City or Madrid.<\/p>\n
Flight prices are constantly changing \u2014 even day to day \u2014 so it\u2019s hard to know when prices will be lowest to book an upcoming trip. Usually, it\u2019s smart to book your travel far in advance, especially if you need to be on a specific flight.<\/p>\n
But if your number one priority is getting cheap airfare, you can look at some historical patterns to guide you along the way. When you search on Google Flights for a specific destination and dates of travel, we\u2019ll show you the cheapest time to book, so you can decide whether it\u2019s better to wait for lower prices or book ASAP.<\/p>\n
If you want a general sense of the best time to book across different scenarios, here\u2019s a look at our latest insights for U.S. travelers, based on four years of aggregated Google Flights data \u2014 plus a few more trends that can help you find cheaper airfare.<\/p>\n
Domestic flights<\/b>: For trips within the U.S., average prices have been lowest 38 days before departure. The historical low price range is 21-52 days before takeoff.<\/p>\n
International flights:<\/b> If you\u2019re traveling abroad, you should probably book as early as you can. While average prices have been lowest 101 days before departure, the historical low price range is anytime 50 days or more<\/i> before takeoff. In other words, for international travel from the U.S., average prices don\u2019t meaningfully drop anytime before departure, but they usually do start to rise within 50 days of the flight itself.<\/p>\n
Thanksgiving:<\/b> For domestic trips around Thanksgiving, prices have been lowest 45 days before departure, and the low price range is 26-59 days out. So if you\u2019re flying right before or after the holiday, the best time to book cheap flights is early October.<\/p>\n
Christmas:<\/b> Plan a bit further ahead if you\u2019re traveling domestically for Christmas. Prices have been lowest 58 days before departure, and the low price range is 36-72 days out \u2014 so the best time to book cheap Christmas flights is the back half of October.<\/p>\n
Spring break:<\/b> For domestic trips in March or April, the lowest prices have been 44 days before departure, and the low price range is 33-59 days out.<\/p>\n
Summer vacation:<\/b> If you\u2019re traveling domestically in July or August, there might be some last-minute bargains available. Prices have been lowest 21 days before departure, and the low price range is 13-43 days out.<\/p>\n
Trips to Europe:<\/b> Trips to Europe from the U.S. tend to be cheapest 94 days before departure. But you shouldn\u2019t wait for prices to drop \u2014 the historical low price range is 50 days or more before takeoff (same as the general advice for all international travel).<\/p>\n
Trips to Mexico or the Caribbean:<\/b> These trips are an exception to the broader international trend. Prices for traveling from the U.S. to Mexico or the Caribbean have been lowest 44 days before departure, and the low price range is 26-68 days out.<\/p>\n
Looking for more money-saving tips for booking flights? If you\u2019re curious about the best day of the week to book<\/b>, the answer is that there\u2019s not much benefit to buying your tickets on a certain day of the week. While Tuesday has historically been the cheapest day to book, it\u2019s only 1.3% cheaper than the most expensive day, Sunday.<\/p>\n
And looking at historical prices, the cheapest days of the week to fly<\/b> are Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, which have been 13% cheaper than flying on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. If you exclude international trips, the potential savings jump to 20%.<\/p>\n
And last but certainly not least (well, maybe least in terms of price!), if you\u2019re willing to opt for a layover versus nonstop<\/b> flight, our data shows that you can probably get a better deal: On average, nonstops have been 25% more expensive than flights with stops. Now whether you want to spend more time in transit \u2014 that\u2019s up to you!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n