November through early January is a major peak time for travel in the United States

NEED TO KNOW

• November through early January is a major peak period for travel in the United States
• On Monday, Oct. 5, Google shared aggregated data from Google Flights to help travelers figure out when exactly they should book their Thanksgiving and Christmas travel to get the best deals
• For Thanksgiving, Google found that ticket prices tend to be the lowest about 34 days before departure

It’s prime time to start planning holiday travel. 

Google has shared five years of aggregated data from Google Flights to help travelers figure out when exactly they should book their Thanksgiving and Christmas travel to get the best deals. 

For Thanksgiving, Google found that ticket prices tend to be the lowest about 34 days before departure, with the lowest fares on offer between 21 to 57 days before the holiday.

“This means that the cheapest options tend to emerge in October,” the Google article published on Monday, Oct. 5 stated.

However, traveling around Christmas requires more planning. 

Prices are the lowest about 56 days before departure, and the best prices can be found between 33 and 67 days ahead of your travel date, per Google. As a result, the best deals will be available between late October and mid-November. 

Because of the holidays, November through early January is a major peak period for travel in the United States. Airline tickets tend to increase in price in November and December as demand goes up.

Garrett Scott, co-author of Uncertainty in Dynamic Pricing Environments, recently gave Phys a couple of key tips for booking travel during the busiest time of the year.

His advice included recommendations to book tickets early, beflexible about your travel dates and explore different arrival and departure times.

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Scott noted that while sometimes plane tickets get cheaper the closer you get to your travel dates, that’s not a reliable way to plan.

“There is some truth to the price dropping at the deadline, due to unsold capacity. The issue there is if the flight is full, you are not going to get the ticket, so I would not bank on that one,” he said. 

Google offered additional travel insight, not related to holidays.

Those traveling on general domestic flights should book 39 days before departure while those traveling internationally should book 89 days before departure, according to data.

Last year, content creator Kevin Droniak spoke to PEOPLE about how he navigates traveling during the holiday rush. 

He encouraged travelers to be flexible with departure airports, saying, “For example, if you’re traveling out of New York, you have JFK and LaGuardia, but there are other airports that are maybe an hour or two away [from the city] where you could find much cheaper deals,” he said.

Droniak also suggested traveling on less popular days, such as Tuesdays.

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