It’s going to get crazy out there in a few weeks; airports and highways will be bustling with all the holiday travelers making their way home. If you’re going to be in that horde, you’ll want to read further about increasing your chances of making the journey the most stress-free possible—you know, along with the millions of Americans alongside you.
The Vacationer has created a 2023 Holiday Travel Survey to understand the battlefield better. For instance, 50.44 percent of Americans plan to travel for Christmas (last year, that was only 42.98 percent, and we all know how crowded last year was!) That means 131 million people will be packing a bag and trying to get from A to Z. But luckily, everyone’s pretty aware of the risks involved; the survey reports that more than 59 percent of American adults have “little or no” confidence in the airlines’ ability to avoid delays and cancellations this holiday season.
Hopefully, by this point, you already have your airline tickets—it’s recommended to buy them months in advance to avoid paying more and enduring the middle seat, unattractive flight times, and poor connections—but if you’re a last-minute decider, you’ll want to know the best days to book a flight (or head onto the road). In a separate article, the Vacationer laid out the best days to travel for those determined to make it happen. Please note that these rules are for 2023 only since Christmas is a moveable holiday, unlike Thanksgiving which is always held on a Thursday.
For 2023, the best days to depart on your trip include December 18, 19, or 20...and if you are okay with missing Christmas Eve festivities—or arriving right in the middle of them—December 24 is another good departure date. The best return dates are December 28 and 29.
On the other side of the chocolate coin, the worst days to depart are December 21, 22 or 23, and the worst return dates are December 26 and 27.
The general trend here seems to be that the earlier you can set off on your journey, the better, so if your schedule is lax enough to give you ample time at your destination, take advantage of that. The same is true of the return: if you can wait out the people who are back in the air or in their vehicle the day after Christmas, you’ll have much better luck and avoid some of the crowds. And after all, if it’s worth it to make your way there, why not stay longer?