2025 Holiday Travel Tips: How to Book Smarter and Stress Less
Holiday travel is already picking up, and 2025 is shaping up to be one of the busiest years yet.
TSA numbers hit record highs over Labor Day weekend, with more than 10 million travelers taking to the skies. If that’s any sign of what’s ahead, it’s going to be a busy season.
Still, we’re here to help you sail right through the airport because, with a little planning and a lot of patience, you can make even peak travel days surprisingly manageable.
Book During the True Sweet Spot
The sweet spot for booking holiday flights has slightly shifted this year. Data from Google Flights shows that the best prices now appear about six to eight weeks before your departure date.
For Thanksgiving, that means booking between September 20 and October 10. For Christmas and New Year’s, the best window should be from late October through mid-November.
Domestic fares are holding steady, too. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported an average round-trip cost of about $397 in early 2025, a small drop from late last year.
And, as Nasdaq recently shared, transatlantic flights are trending down, with many from the U.S. to Europe coming in under $1,000, round-trip, and some closer to $900 if you book before mid-November.
Choose the Right Travel Days
Dates matter as much as timing. Flying out on the Monday or Tuesday before Thanksgiving, or even early on Thanksgiving morning, will help you dodge the worst crowds. The Sunday after the holiday is likely to remain the most congested travel day of the year.
For Christmas, the quietest departure dates are December 23 or Christmas Eve morning, and returning on December 30 or New Year’s Day often costs even less.
Early flights are your safest bet in winter. Anything before 8 a.m. has a much lower delay risk, and it may keep you ahead of potential weather disruptions.
Rely on the Right Flight Tools
Travel apps really do make booking easier and smarter. Google Flights remains the most reliable for fare tracking, now with predictive alerts that show whether prices are likely to rise.
Hopper’s color-coded calendar highlights the cheapest travel days and allows us to freeze a fare for up to three weeks while we finalize our plans.
Kayak and Skyscanner continue to filter mixed-carrier itineraries that reveal cheaper one-stop options through great cities like Lisbon, Reykjavik, or Toronto.
Once you’re booked, Flighty and TripIt often deliver gate changes and delay alerts faster than most airline apps (which you should also download), while AirHelp simplifies your compensation claims if your flight is canceled or delayed.
Plan Around Winter Weather
Weather will always be the wild card. Chicago, Denver, and Newark tend to see the most winter delays, while southern hubs like Dallas-Fort Worth and Atlanta recover faster after storms. Try to have at least a ninety-minute connection if you’re routing through a northern city.
If you’re traveling along the West Coast, morning fog at Seattle and San Francisco can slow down departures through mid-December.
But, the MyTSA app now forecasts checkpoint wait times, and Weather.gov’s aviation page will give a fairly accurate 72-hour storm outlook before you fly.