Thanksgiving travel: Cheapest dates and destinations

Those who have ever stepped foot in an airport the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving know that flights departing during that very popular time don’t usually come cheap. In fact, by being a little flexible with your dates for Thanksgiving-week travel, you can save as much as $180 in airfare, according to Travelocity folk who researched flight bookings from Nov. 22 to Dec. 1.

It’s no surprise that the most expensive flight itineraries include departures on Sunday, Nov. 22, or on Wednesday, Nov. 25. The priciest return dates, because of holiday surcharges enacted by airlines, are Sunday, Nov. 29, and Monday, Nov. 30, according to Travelocity’s report.

The cheapest days to depart are Nov. 23 and 26. The least expensive day to return, if you can swing it, is Tuesday, Dec. 1. See the Travelocity chart for a comparison of average fares.

What about hotels? The same report cites a decrease in accommodations costs this year, with hotel rates 16% lower than they were last year.

If your Thanksgiving-week or -weekend location is predetermined by an event or gathering, check to see whether your destination is included in Hotels.com’s Thanksgiving sale, which we’ve blogged about. Travelzoo has also listed a number of Thanksgiving-related deals on hotel rooms, cruises and packages, and Expedia has listed specials too.

Check out the websites of your favorite hotels to see whether they’re offering any specials. Deals that have crossed my desk include a tempting, but admittedly high-end, “Thanksgiving Beach Escape” package at Four Seasons Punta Mita in Nayarit, Mexico. Or perhaps better for bringing the whole family along is a “Bird on a Boat” houseboat package being offered by Lake Powell Resorts & Marinas.

– Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

Photo: These wild turkeys at Marin County’s Olompali State Historic Park look content enough amid crowds, but you can travel strategically to avoid flocks of fliers and higher prices near Thanksgiving. Credit: Los Angeles Times

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This entry was posted on Sunday, November 1, 2009 at 1:44 pm by Susan Derby and is filed under Airline travel, California, Deals, Hotels, News, Tips & Advice, Weekend Getaways. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.