How much does it cost to travel within the US during the holidays?
Flight ticket prices start to go up around 50 days before departure, according to Google Flights. Similarly, in the weeks before Christmas and New Year’s, an analysis by CoStar Group shows hotel prices in the U.S. go up by about 2% or more compared to the same time the year before, even when hotels aren’t packed.
And that’s just the big stuff. What often gets missed are the smaller, last-minute expenses you don’t even factor in. This includes airport parking, seat selection, baggage fees, food at the terminal, rideshare surges, or even pet boarding fees back home. They may not show up on your airline confirmation, but they’ll put a dent in your holiday budget.
Holiday travel expenses breakdown
Take airport parking, for instance. It’s one of the most overlooked travel expenses and one that sees a price spike during the holidays. Based on Way’s airport parking reservation data, average offsite parking prices increase by 8% during the week of Thanksgiving compared to the week before. For Christmas week, prices climb even higher, around 12% above the prior week’s average. This means if you’re flying out of airports like Los Angeles, Denver, LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy, Chicago O’Hare, or Newark, which already have very expensive parking rates, you can expect to shell out quite a bit. Onsite lots are often priced even higher, and they fill up quickly, leaving late-bookers with fewer and more expensive options.
If you’re planning to take a train to your destination, surge pricing can impact how much you’ll end up spending. Amtrak also uses dynamic pricing, and users on online forums have reported fare increases before Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Driving might seem like a good idea because average U.S. retail gasoline prices dipped to just above $3 per gallon in late 2024, about 20 cents lower than in 2023. What you must consider, however, is how many other people have the same idea. AAA projected 71.7 million people would travel by car during the Thanksgiving holiday week in 2024. This is about 1.3 million more than in 2023. And if you’re in a city like New York, Boston, Seattle, or D.C., you can expect double the traffic, according to INRIX. They forecast that December 22 would be the worst day for road travel in 2024.
What does the average American spend on travel during the holidays?
It might be the season to be jolly, but traveling during the holidays takes a serious chunk of change. Research from Deloitte shows that American travelers expected to spend an average of $3,294 on their longest holiday trip in 2024.
Now consider all those unexpected expenses you don’t usually factor in: airport parking, tolls, pet-boarding, extra gas because of all the traffic. If your wallet ends up feeling a little lighter in January, you’re not imagining it!
Why everything costs more during the holidays
No, you aren’t imagining it. Travel does get costlier during the holidays, thanks to two reasons:
- Everyone’s got the same idea as you, and therefore, travel surges during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. A study conducted by Talker for IHG Hotels & Resorts revealed that almost 8 in 10 Americans travel to be with family during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. Due to this increase in demand, airlines and travel accommodation providers see it fit to increase their prices.
- Most airlines, hotels, reservation platforms, and ride apps now use dynamic pricing to adjust their prices during peak periods to increase their revenue. This means that as the holiday season gets closer, the combination of high demand and limited supply will drive up room and airline costs. Not just that, companies may also increase the cost of ancillary services like seat selection or baggage.
- Google Flights data from 2024 shows that the cheapest time to book flights before the holidays is 58 days before the departure date. For instance, in late 2024, the average round‑trip Christmas airfare was $406, 4% higher than at the same time in 2023. What this means is that you must book your flight at least by the end of October; if you wait till November or December to finalize your holiday travel plans, you may end up spending more on flight tickets.
Flying vs. driving vs. train: What’s cheaper (and what’s not)
When it comes to holiday travel, the cheapest option depends on distance, group size, and how early you book. Here’s how the numbers stack up.
Driving
- Driving is often the most cost-effective option for families or a group.
- According to AAA, the average cost per mile for a mid-size sedan is 70.38 cents per mile, which includes gas, maintenance, insurance, depreciation, etc.
- For a 500-mile round trip, that totals about $352. Split between four passengers, it comes to just $88 per person.
- Fuel alone for the same trip would cost $69 to $86, based on July 2025 national gas prices of $3.46 per gallon.
Best value: Families or small groups traveling regionally (under 600 miles round trip).
Flying
- Flights can be quite cost-efficient for solo travelers but tend to be the priciest during the peak holiday season, more so for families and large groups.
- The average domestic ticket was $830 in 2024, while international flights averaged $1,630 a ticket.
- Add-ons like checked bags, seat selection, and airport parking can raise costs by another $75 to $125 per traveler.
- This means that a family of four’s total airfare can easily exceed $3,000, especially in the two weeks before Christmas.
Best value: Solo travelers or couples booking well in advance on competitive domestic routes.
Train
- Train travel is priced slightly more reasonably with fewer hidden fees, especially for solo or city-to-city travel.
- On the Amtrak Northeast Corridor, the fare from Boston to Washington, D.C., ranged from $110 (business) to $260 (first).
- Ticket prices for longer routes, like Chicago to Los Angeles, ranged from $200 (coach) to $1,150 (private room) for a round trip.
- Train pricing tends to increase closer to departure, but is typically more stable than airfare.
Best value: Solo travelers or duos on short-to-medium city routes with flexible travel windows.
The table below shows a breakdown of the pros and cons of each of these modes of travel.
What’s the smartest way to travel for the holidays?
There’s no one-size-fits-all mode of travel when it comes to the holidays. It all depends on what your priorities are and what your specific situation is. If it’s a last-minute trip with your family and the dog, then a road trip would be ideal. If it’s just you and your partner traveling to Hawai’i, you have to catch a plane and start planning and booking now!
At the heart of it, the best choice for you depends on three basic factors: your budget, your distance, and how flexible you need your schedule to be.
What matters most is planning as early as possible and choosing what fits your version of a peaceful holiday journey. If your holiday plan includes a flight or a long drive, the Way app can take a few things off your plate. This includes reserving airport parking, getting gas cashbacks, or locating EV chargers near you, making your trip much smoother. Because getting there shouldn’t cost more energy than the trip is worth.
This story was produced by Way.com and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
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Y’all better stop spending money. Really bad financial times are on the horizon. Buckle up.
Nah.
You’re not paying attention. Don’t say I didn’t try and warn ya.
Thanks—economic instability benefits my portfolio, I’m going on vacation.
I’m still waiting on the DOGE benefit check payouts that Tesla and Captain Cankles were talking about.
The right wing is on a rampage to get people who don’t say laudatory things about Charlie Kirk fired. BI probably has the report line on speed dial.
Which is freaking hilarious – because according to them, Charlie was a free speech defender. Go figure.
Free speech for me but not for thee
Is there a “report line?” Cause I’d like to report Charlie Kirk for encouraging people to celebrate the attempted murder of Nancy Pelosi’s wife and the total and absolute indifference to Melissa Hortman’s death and the death of every child shot and killed in their classrooms.
People are being accurately described.
Apparently, there actually IS a database being compiled of people who are “celebrating” Kirk’s death. Of course, most of those on it and their posts are nothing of the kind. People wishing peace and criticizing the MAGA movement’s response and instant blame of liberals are being doxxed as “celebrating” his death. People saying things like are being said here.
MAGAts are truly the stupidest people alive right now.
I say we get our own list together. Let employers know which of their employees are racists, child rape defenders, bigots or threatening violence against people for their words (actually doing that).
Nah, leave the crying, lying and snitching to those who do it best: MAGAts like BASIC.
Travel has never been cheap. Those who can afford “luxury” travel often do not care about the cost. Years ago we were more cost conscious when selecting a destination to make sure it was a place that was not too expensive. Now, we simply go to places that we want to go as the cost is not much of an issue. I realize not everyone can do this. We plan to take a couple trips before the end of the year. One is a “budget” road trip to revisit some national parks (Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Columbia River Gorge to the Oregon coast and take 101 back to SB). The second trip is a Viking river cruise in Europe, which won’t be a budget trip, but YOLO. For anyone living on a financial edge, you can vacation at home. Simply pick up a bottle of wine, a baguette, some cheese, and chocolate for around $20 and pretend you’re in France (or wherever).
Boomers like to tell everyone their travel plans whether others are interested are not. Im sure people who can’t afford a trip already know how to handle their life at home so your comments about wine and baguettes are degradinng.
Yeah, see those national parks before your guys cover them with oil rigs and clear cut the trees.
As for travel further afield, you’re just rephrasing “let them eat cake”.
Bends Knees for sure.
Bees, Im hopping on a jet to Paris a few days before Christmas, and I am paying for multiple tickets. I’ve booked a luxury hotel for us to stay at well past the new year. I hope you enjoy your little car ride through parks, eating Jack in the Box and other roadside fare along the way.
GeneralTree: Good choice, indeed. You are going to love Paris – great time to visit. We’ve been to Paris a couple of times, but prefer to stay well outside the city. The weather shouldn’t be too cold and it won’t be that crowded (except New Year’s Eve). Beware of pickpockets (they often work in groups in/around train stations and most of the popular tourist destinations). If you have your cell phone out, be sure to hang on extra tight. Maybe when you get there post a couple of pics on Edhat for everyone to enjoy.
Nah, Paris is washed. Much better places to go in France.
I’ve never been to Paris, but I promised myself that the next time I fly internationally, it’s going to be business or first. The rest of the family can be in coach. (Unless it’s for business, then I’m stuck in coach.) I love visiting new places, but man, flying sucks so much now…
Most of my vacations are more BeesKnees style. The road trip is great if you have enough space and time to make it leisurely. The key to better food is to let the kids go to Taco Bell or whatever, but pick up apples, carrots, and $5 sushi (on Fridays) at the grocery store.
mm1970: Sometimes you can get an ultra-low fair from LAX to London, then hop on a train (Eurostar) to Paris. Costs around $100 for a round-trip train ticket and takes a couple hours (and change) to get there. It makes the trip to Paris a little more complicated, but it can work out out great if you’re adventurous and travel light like we do. Worked out great for us because on our way to Paris we took a two-day detour to Brugge, Belgium (via Brussels). What a place….especially if you enjoy beer.
Is an ultra-low fair kind of like a local street carnival?
Great catch! It should have been written as “fare” and NOT “fair.” A typo.
MM1970 – when flying to Europe last summer, I looked at 1st Class from LAX for the same reason – 12 hours of misery and no sleep kinda ruins the first day or 2 of the trip, but……. ~$15K per seat for 1st was not in the cards! Heck, that’s a 2nd short trip per seat! I usually get the Economy Premium for the extra legroom and it’s only a few hundred more per seat. Absolutely worth it.
I do envy Europeans though. A cheap train ride gets you to a completely different culture and language within a few hours. We’re kind of limited in our exposure to other cultures here in the US. Sadly, it shows.
World travel is critical to becoming an more fully educated and all around aware person. It’s a shame it’s so darn expensive!
French B is a very competitive airline for LA to Paris if you want premium economy.