How long before my flight should I book to get the best price? What's the cheapest day to fly? When is the best time to book a cheap flight to Europe or over the holidays?
New data published Thursday from the team at Google Flights is helping travelers answer those questions. While flight prices are constantly changing, Google looked at four years worth of booking data to identity some trends that can help you find cheaper airfare.
For years we've been myth-busting ideas like, “The cheapest day to book flights is on Tuesday,” and Google Flights has backed us up. The web giant found there's a negligible savings (at best) when you book your flights Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday instead of Saturday or Sunday, based on data from the past four years.
The statistic is just one of a long list of travel booking-related advice that the team at Google Flights has put together. When should you book your Thanksgiving flights? How about spring break? What about the cheapest days to book flights to Europe? Or Mexico?
Google Flights' treasure trove of data has some answers to those questions. Let's see what they found.
How Long Before My Trip Should I Be Booking?
We might get this question more than any other at Thrifty Traveler.
“I can book my flights to [Destination] for [Price]. Should I book now? Or will the price drop?”
The answer: It depends. Booking flights early can be the key to savings, but sometimes it pays to wait until just a few months (or less) before departure – flight pricing can be unpredictable.
That's where Google Flights comes in: The world's best airfare search tool will give you a heads up on when flights you're looking at are typically cheapest, giving you even more information on the best time to book your flights. It even tells you how much you stand to save by waiting or not!
If you have specific travel dates, you should set up a Google Flights Price Alert to get a heads up when the price drops.
That said, you're more likely to see savings when you book further out and it helps if you adhere to the Flights First Rule. But now, we have some actual data about when prices are typically the cheapest, when they bottom out, and when it's too late to book the best fare. Let's dig in.
Thanksgiving and Christmas Domestic Flights
This year, you may want to book your flights home for the holidays earlier than ever.
The newest data from Google Flights pertains to Christmas, when seemingly everyone wants to travel to go see loved ones or getaway during the coldest, darkest days of the year. So if you're looking to travel domestically over the Christmas holidays, Google's data shows you're likely to find the lowest flight prices booking between 36 and 72 days before travel, with the lowest point coming about 58 days out.
That means if you want the best deal, you want to start searching for domestic Christmas flights around Oct. 14 and the best deals are all gone by about Nov. 19. Need to get home for Christmas? Again, Google Flights price alerts are your friend to help you zero in on when to book.
Google Flights also says the lowest prices for Thanksgiving are typically found 26-59 days before departure, with the lowest point average about 45 days out. So for the lowest fares, you want to start searching for Thanksgiving flights around Oct. 1. The lowest fares are typically found around Oct. 14. And the best deals are all gone by about Nov. 2.
That's a positive change from last year, when you needed to start looking much sooner, in early September, to get the best deals. This year, you've got until early to mid-October to book.
Flights to Europe
Everyone you know is heading to Europe this year, right? And all that travel demand means you need to start looking and booking your flights earlier than ever.
Trips to Europe from the U.S. tend to be cheapest 94 days before departure. But you shouldn’t wait for prices to drop — the historical low price range is 50 days or more before takeoff (same as the general advice for all international travel).
For flights to Europe, Google Flights says the best deals tend to be found 94 days prior to travel.
That's a long way out! According to those numbers, you should begin looking for your international flights around three months before travel and keep digging into them until about seven weeks before you fly. Once you're inside that seven-week window, you're going to pay for it.
This could take place on any day of the calendar, so it's not useful to do a day-by-day breakdown. But here's an example: If you're hoping to visit Europe in May 2025, for instance, you should start looking for the lowest fares in February and should have your tickets booked by March.
Domestic Flights
For your typical domestic flights in the U.S., prices are their lowest 21-52 days before travel, according to Google Flights' data. On average, the lowest flight price on a domestic trip bottoms out 38 days before departure.
This varies route-to-route, but the four-year data from Google Flights can be helpful. Set yourself a calendar reminder about 50 days before your date of travel and then again for 21 days before if you haven't already booked.
So, what does this mean in practice?
Let's get you to your cousin's wedding on Saturday, May 10, 2025, in Kansas City. If you need to arrive on Friday, May 9, the Google Flights data says the cheapest fares will be found between March 18 and April 18. The lowest average fare would fall somewhere around April 1.
Long, long before then (like right now) you should set a Google Flights price alert on your desired dates of travel and you should even consider booking if the price is good. You can always rebook the flight at the lower price for an airline credit if it goes down – so long as you book a main cabin fare or higher. That flexibility is a great reason to avoid basic economy fares.
But if you don't like what you see, set a calendar reminder for March 18 to start looking for cheap fares to Kansas City (MCI). Then set one again for 38 days out on April 1, and another final reminder just a few days before April 18. If you don't have your flight booked by then, you're not going to get the best deal, according to the data.
Spring Break Domestic Flights
Spring break varies from school district to school district, so finding cheap spring break flights is less of an exact science, and a bit more of an art. But the number crunchers at Google say March or April spring break flights are lowest between 33 and 59 days before departure.
For domestic trips in March or April, the lowest prices have been 44 days before departure, and the low price range is 33-59 days out.
The lowest spring break fares can typically be found 44 days before your trip on average. Here's what that means if your spring break runs March 22-29, 2025, for example:
For the lowest fares, you want to start searching for spring break flights around Jan. 22. The lowest fares average around Feb. 6. And the best deals are all gone by about Feb. 17.
Summer Vacation Domestic Flights
Summer vacations are even tougher to pin down for timing. But Google Flights has some recommendations for July and August domestic trips, too.
Data shows that prices are lower between 13 and 44 days before travel, with the lowest fares coming around 21 days out.
Here's what that means if you are planning a Fourth of July weekend trip in 2025:
For the lowest fares, you want to start searching for Fourth of July weekend flights around May 21. The lowest fares average around June 13. And the best deals are all gone by about June 21.
Flights to Mexico and the Caribbean
While still international, Mexico and the Caribbean offer a closer ideal booking window than Europe.
Google Flights says Mexico and Caribbean flights are lowest, on average, between 26-68 days before departure. Around 44 days out will offer the lowest prices, too.
That means you'll want to start looking at flights for your January getaway to the Caribbean sometime towards the end of October, with the best rates likely appearing in November before the best rates disappear in early December.
Cheapest Days to Book and Fly
We have bad news for the Tuesday flight booking disciples: It's not saving you money by booking on a certain day of the week or at a certain time of day. The data proves it.
Looking for more money-saving tips for booking flights? If you’re curious about the best day of the week to book, the answer is that there’s not much benefit to buying your tickets on a certain day of the week. While Tuesday has historically been the cheapest day to book, it’s only 1.3% cheaper than the most expensive day, Sunday.
And looking at historical prices, the cheapest days of the week to fly are Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, which have been 13% cheaper than flying on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. If you exclude international trips, the potential savings jump to 20%.
According to Google Flights, shopping for flights on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays instead of Saturdays or Sundays isn't saving you money. In fact, the exact number is a 1.3% savings when you shop during the week. That is a tiny, tiny deviation from regular flight prices.
Take it from us: Our team of flight deal analysts spends all day, every day searching for the cheapest fares to send to Thrifty Traveler Premium members. The best fares and sales don’t happen on only one day of the week. We find crazy cheap flights, mistake fares, and unadvertised award sales every single day of the year.
So, how can you save money on flights? The easiest answer is by booking the cheapest days to fly.
According to Google's data, flying (not booking) on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday was 13% cheaper than flying over the weekend over the last five years. For domestic travel within the U.S., that number is 20%!
Flying mid-week is a surefire way to get the best fare. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are less convenient, but you'll have 20% more money in your pocket when you land.
If you're serious about saving, stop focusing on booking on Tuesdays and start focusing on flying on Tuesdays instead.
Read more: The Best Day to Book a Flight & Buy Airfare Isn't What You Think…
Should I Book Nonstop or Take a Layover?
Sometimes the data tells you something you don't want to hear: Taking a layover can save you an average of 25% on airfare.
I know, I know. This isn't good news. We've love flying nonstop, especially during the flurry of delays and cancellations over the last few years. Fewer flights generally mean fewer chances for disruptions, after all.
But Google Flights' data shows that nonstop fares are 25% more expensive on average than an itinerary with a connection. In short, if you take the layover, you'll save some money.
Why is this happening? It's all about supply and demand. Most travelers want to take the nonstop flight as it means getting there quicker and with less chance of disruption. That demand ultimately pushes prices higher.
Is having a layover worth the headache? That's up to you, but 25% savings is probably worth your attention if you can stomach it.
Bottom Line
Google Flights has crunched its flight booking numbers over the last five years and its analysis gives travelers a lot to think about – and a new feature to help you pinpoint the best time to book.
The data shows that there is no cheapest day to book flights … but that the day you fly matters. It also gave us the unfortunate news that nonstop flights are as much as 20% more expensive than flights with connections. Plus, Google Flights data illuminated just exactly how far in advance you should book those flights for Christmas or a trip to Europe this year or next.