It's not yet Christmas, I know, but you stand to save big by getting ahead on your spring break plans. And that's especially true for booking spring break flights.
Most families tied to their spring break calendars wait until the middle of winter to start thinking about how they're going to spend their week off. By that time, flight prices to the best spring break destinations are often already on the rise. Savvy spring break travelers, though, are already looking and booking spring break flights for 2025 while the calendar still says “2024.”
Spring break is an ever-popular travel period, meaning demand for flights is typically very high. That environment tends to lead to high fares the longer you wait. But right now, the seat maps of many of those spring break flights are still empty, so now's your time to take advantage. We've already seen and sent tons of flight deals with March and April dates to our Thrifty Traveler Premium members over the last few weeks.
Read on for our best recommendations for booking spring break flights and even some inspiration for where to go in 2025.
When Should I Book My Flights for Spring Break?
Spring break varies from school district to school district, so finding cheap spring break flights is less of an exact science and more of an art. But the number crunchers at Google say for flights in March or April, airfare is lowest between 33 and 59 days before departure.
On average, flight prices bottom out around 44 days before your trip, according to Google Flights data.
Here's what that means if your spring break runs March 8-14, 2024, for example: For the lowest fares, you want to start searching for spring break flights around Jan. 8. The lowest fares average around Jan. 23. And the best deals are all gone by about Feb. 3.
Google's data is far-reaching and you absolutely should pay attention to it, but I would still recommend you begin your search right now. The best time to book a flight is when you find a cheap flight. If you book a flexible, main cabin or higher ticket, there is no downside to booking a good fare earlier than Jan. 8. If the price of your ticket drops during that sweet spot, you can always rebook at the lower price!
Tips for Getting the Best Deal on Spring Break Flights
We just covered rule number one for getting a great deal on spring break flights: Book soon and book flexibly.
But there's another great way to save big on your spring break flights, and that's by picking the best day to fly. We've been busting the “best day to book flights is on a Tuesday” myth for years and years, when the actual truth is the day you book matters way, way less than the days you fly.
Here's an example. We sent a flight deal to our Thrifty Traveler Premium members a few weeks ago, including some fantastic availability flying to Key West, Florida (EYW) during March – prime spring break season. If you want to do a traditional spring break trip and fly out on Saturday and back on Sunday, you're going to pay for it…
When you book that fare for the whole family, that number really starts to add up. You might be looking at $2,000 or more before you even start thinking about hotels and activities.
Here's what to do instead: Aim for the middle of the week.
That's half the price if you opt to fly from Tuesday to Tuesday. You can also find the same fares on Wednesday to Wednesday (or Wednesday to Tuesday as well). Sure, you're sacrificing a few of your kids' days off and they might need to miss an extra day or two of school on either end, but that might be worth it to pay half-price for your vacation. That part is up to you.
The days you fly matter much more than the days you book. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are going to be your best bet at snagging a nice spring break deal.
The Best Spring Break Flight Deals (So Far)
We've got great news for warm weather fans because most of the destinations where flights are cheapest for spring break 2025 include a sunny beach. The Key West fares I showed you above are the latest example of this. We sent these fares just a few days ago, and most of them are still available to book right now!
Key West airfare usually creeps into the $500s or $600s – especially during that peak March month. So I'd recommend booking these fast before the lowest fares disappear.
On the other side of the country from the Florida sun, there are the impeccable beaches on the Hawaiian Islands.
This Hawaii flight deal was available from close to 100 U.S. and Canadian airports with many of them containing March availability. This fare from San Diego (SAN) to Maui (OGG) is a perfect example of a cheap and easy spring break flight. And while only the west coast saw sub-$200 roundtrip fares, there were some excellent rates from the rest of the country, too.
If you have islands on the mind, you've probably already heard of Hawaii and Tahiti. But there's a brand new flight from the U.S. that's starting this spring that can take you to an island you likely haven't heard of: South Caicos, Turks & Caicos.
Starting in February, American Airlines is starting flights to South Caicos (XSC), and just a few days ago, American put those flights on sale to the exotic island.
When these flights were announced, they were closer to $1,000 roundtrip, but American slashed fares from dozens of U.S. cities down to XSC with best availability in March and April!
So now you know about South Caicos, but have you heard of a little place called Cancún?
Of course you've heard of Cancún, Mexico (CUN) – a classic of the spring break genre for decades now. People love Cancún's weather, beaches, hotels, and convenience. Every airline flies to CUN, which leads to fares like these.
Take Newark (EWR) for example, where several flights operate between the NYC airport and CUN every day. Because of all that capacity and competition, you could choose any of these fares to get a great deal on nonstop flights to CUN. And while these aren't all nonstop, travelers from all of these cities could also secure cheap spring break flights to CUN this March and April, too.
A laid-back beach getaway just isn't every traveler's cup of tea, though. Some people want – or need– adventure in their travels. For them, spring break in the Swiss Alps might be your jam.
We found about 150 U.S. and Canadian departure cities offering cheap flights to Zurich (ZRH) this February, March, and April – which is the tail-end of ski season in the Alps. You'll arrive to the Alps in a winter wonderland, but with the sunniest weather of the ski season in March.
Travelers in Orlando (MCO) saw some of the lowest fares for this Spring Break itinerary to Europe. For the Euro-curious that aren't into a mountain vacation, you can also find some value flying to Italy during Spring Break, too!
This Italy flight deal was a jaw-dropper. Most of the best availability was during the winter, but many of the 100+ departure cities on this deal included March and April availability, including from Miami (MIA).
Those are all excellent ways to fly to Italy, but there's a best way for travelers with some credit card points. Flying Emirates to Milan (MXP) or Athens (ATH) from New York City.
As you can see in this screenshot from our flight deal alert, you have to book these fares with Emirates Skywards miles. But those aren't actually that hard to come by. If you have American Express, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, or Citi points, you transfer them to Emirates at a 1:1 ratio to get the miles you need!
This might be the best deal in award travel right now. Emirates has one of the nicest economy experiences in the world, and they just made the cost of these flights cheaper in points and miles!
You can book this exact same deal to Athens, Greece (ATH), too. And you should!
Bottom Line
Tied to their spring break calendars, most families tend to wait until the middle of winter to start thinking about their week off. By that time, though, flight prices are already on the rise.
It pays to start looking and booking spring break flights now. And we're already seeing cheap flights to plenty of spring break destinations for the times you want to go!