As the weather begins to cool down this fall, the interest in holiday season travel is already beginning to heat up. About 79.9 million Americans were set to travel at least 50 miles from home over the 2024 Thanksgiving holiday period—with 119.3 million people traveling during the Christmas period, according to AAA. Google has released its trends and tip data on holiday travel for 2025, sharing the best times to book flights and noting the most popular destinations.
For Thanksgiving, the lowest prices were found to be 35 days before departure—with 24–59 days said to be in the ‘low-price range.’ The cheapest options for flights before or after Thanksgiving were found in October, according to the report. For Christmas, the lowest prices can be found 51 days before departure, Google says. About 32–73 days before departure is the low-price range, with Google recommending booking between mid-October through mid-November. International travel is recommended to be booked early—49 days before departure, to be exact.
The most expensive day to book flights is on a Sunday, with Tuesday being the cheapest, according to Google. The most popular destination for Thanksgiving travel is Columbia, South Carolina, according to the organization. This year’s top trending destinations are Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and St. Lucia. The report notes that with colder temperatures on the horizon for many parts of the U.S., travelers are opting for palm trees over fir trees. The average domestic round-trip price for the first quarter of 2025 is $397, which is down 0.4% from last year, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.