While the holiday season on the horizon should signal festivities and good cheer, for many, it brings about the absolute headache that is holiday season travel. To help you get things in order, travel resource site The Vacationer compiled a list of the best and worst days to travel during the upcoming months — starting with Thanksgiving.
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First thing’s first: Book your holiday flights as early as possible. The Vacationer recommends booking your Thanksgiving flights by late August or early September to get the best possible deals. International flights should be booked even earlier, around two to eight months in advance. Whatever you do, make sure you book your Thanksgiving flights before Halloween. After that, your chances of finding decent flight prices and times will drop drastically.
So, what are the best days to fly during the Thanksgiving season? Since the holiday itself is always on a Thursday, that makes predicting ideal flight days a little easier. To come up with their best and worst dates forecast, The Vacationer’s team sampled numerous departure and arrival cities around the United States to reach a consensus.
The best Thanksgiving departure dates are Monday, November 21, Tuesday, November 22, and Thursday, November 24 (yes, Thanksgiving Day).
Regardless of when you head out, The Vacationer recommends avoiding the day before Thanksgiving (Wednesday, November 23) at all costs. It’s notoriously one of the most popular days of the year to fly, leading to packed airports and expensive tickets.
Instead, try to fly as early in the holiday week as possible. And while it’s not ideal, Turkey Day itself happens to be a relatively inexpensive, stress-free time to travel.
On the flip side, the best Thanksgiving return days are Friday, November 25 (Black Friday), Monday, November 28, and Tuesday, November 29.
Since people typically return the Sunday after Thanksgiving (November 27) to avoid missing work, it often makes for a more expensive and crowded travel day. If you can swing it, do your Black Friday shopping early and go on the day itself, or leave early the week after Thanksgiving. This option is more accessible than ever in 2022, since remote work has given many employees better travel flexibility.
Good luck! Follow these tips, and you’ll be curled up with some pumpkin pie before you know it.
