New Year 2025 Flight Deals
Along with Christmas, New Year's is usually one of the most expensive times to fly, no matter where you're going. There are still deals out there, but your chances aren't as good if you're not on the ball. However, with Flyoclick, you can get the deals and discounts for sure for all your trips this holiday season.
We all love to travel during the winter break, but expensive flights can ruin the mood. Here are some tips to help you get the cheapest flight possible, as well as more travel tips for the 2025–2026 New Year's season.
Why do flights around New Year's cost so much?
For most years, flying around New Year's is very expensive. This is because many people want to fly, but companies only have so many seats available, so prices go up.
In particular, the three weeks before and after Christmas and New Year's are usually the most expensive times of the year to fly. Usually beginning around December 17 and going through about January 7.
When is the best time to book a flight for the New Year?
Tickets for most planes start going on sale about 12 months before the trip. Southwest Airlines is one of the few airlines that doesn't share prices until a few months in advance. So flights for next year's New Year's are going on sale right now, at the end of December.
If you wait until the last minute to book, prices will likely go up. You don't want to book too early, though, because you might miss a price drop later.
You should try to book your trip 3–7 months ahead of time for a domestic trip this holiday season and 4–10 months ahead of time for a foreign trip. This is what we call the "Goldilocks Window." You are much more likely to get the cheap seats because you booked your flight a long time before most other people.
Still, from February to July, it's not a good idea to book any old food. The best time to book is when a really good fare comes up, which is most likely to happen during that time.
Unfortunately, the closer you get to New Year's, especially in the next few months, the less likely you are to find anything close to a "cheap" trip. There are almost never any cheap flights or backup flights in any given year. That's when the best you can probably hope for is to reduce your losses.
How much do tickets cost for the New Year?
Over New Year's, a great deal if you live in a big American city like New York City, Los Angeles, etc. would be to fly round-trip for about $500 to Europe or Asia. For New Year's, a great deal to Europe if you live in a smaller area will cost around $600 round-trip.
The same is true for destinations: you should expect to pay more if the target market is small.
Of course, those are the best (though not very unusual) prices to get a plane ticket from February to July. A good trip for the New Year booked in October would cost more than $800.
After reading all of that, if you still want to fly somewhere over the holidays, here's how to find cheap flights for the New Year.
Plan your trip for the New Year in 2025
As was already said, your chances of getting a cheap flight for New Year's drop by a lot by the fall. This year, not so. Fares have dropped a lot in the past few months. We're also finding an unexpectedly high number of deals on last-minute flights, especially to vacation spots outside of the United States. We expect this trend to continue through the holidays. This is why.
This year, the number of travelers (aka demand) is pretty much back to where it was before the pandemic. However, the number of planes and routes available from top airlines is also up because they have expanded their services in many key areas. When airlines have a lot of empty seats, they are more likely to lower prices on trips that they normally wouldn't. That means great deals for tourists, even on flights during a time of year when they are usually more expensive.
Even though we still say to book early to get the best deals, if you're just now thinking about traveling for New Year's, 2025 might be the year you can still find a great deal.
Also, don't miss out on deals in the best rooms. Still, the amount of business travel hasn't returned to where it was before the pandemic. However, there have been some great deals recently on business class seats that don't cost much more than an economy seat. As long as you're going to pay extra to fly over New Year's, why not do it in a better seat?
How to get cheap flights for the New Year
Pick a different airport to save money.
You're more likely to find a cheap flight if you can change where you want to go. On the other hand, it might cost $600 to go from Milwaukee to Fort Lauderdale and only $300 to go from Chicago to Miami. You can still save money if you book that trip and then drive or take a cab to fill in the gaps.
In the same way, tickets from New York City to Paris might cost $1,000, but tickets from New York City to London might only cost $500. If you just want to get away, you can change your route. It's easy to hop from London to Paris, and it will still cost you a lot less than $1,000 to fly there straight. We have a whole guide on how to book this kind of flight, which we call the "Greek Islands Trick.”
Think about going on a different trip date.
If you want to save money on flights and have flexible vacation dates, we strongly advise against buying flights around New Year's and going at a different time of year. You can still find cheap flights in the winter, especially between the end of November and the beginning of December and between January and February.
Sometimes moving your dates around by just one or two days can help. Say, you could go back home on January 10 instead of January 8. It's sometimes cheaper to fly on New Year's Eve, so if you don't want to celebrate but still want to take a trip, you could fly to your destination on Christmas Day and return on New Year's Eve. You could also fly out on New Year's Eve and return after the first week of January.
If you just want to get away, use the Google Flights Explore map.
Google Flights' Explore Map shows you the least expensive places to go from where you live during the dates you choose. You can see the best options to places all over the world if you're open to going anywhere, or you can narrow down your search to a specific area for your time frame.
Tips for traveling in the new year
It might be cheaper to fly in the early morning or late evening on New Year's Eve. It's not a good time to fly, but if it works for you, it might save you money.
Get there extra early. Remember that there will be long lines, just like at any other busy time. If you're going on a trip with people from other countries, you should also give yourself extra time for things like going through customs and immigration.
You can't bring fireworks on board, sorry. You can get the free MyTSA app to make sure you know what you can and can't bring.
There are a huge number of places in the US and abroad where you could go for New Year's. Here are some ideas for places to visit for New Year's 2025–2026, whether you want a chill vibe or a party that goes on all night.
Iceland: The days will be short and cold, but you might see the northern lights. Reykjavik only lets fireworks go off on New Year's Eve. For hours, the whole city is filled with millions of colored explosions. There are also bonfires and a general party vibe in the whole city all night. Check out our guide to Iceland.
Spain: drinking cava and going from tapas to tapas. What's not to love about Spain on New Year's? If you go to a big city like Barcelona or Madrid or a small town like Valencia, you'll find a party.
Miami is another great place to party. On and off the beach, Miami has lively dance parties that bring the heat. Don't forget to book your table or tickets ahead of time; the best parties and places fill up fast.
A wild party is not what you want to do in Santa Fe. Instead, go to the quiet town of Santa Fe. You can start the new year off with some blissful rest by visiting art galleries, going hiking, or going to the hot springs nearby.
Dubai: Everything in Dubai seems to be trying to be the biggest, newest, or fastest. The New Year's celebrations are no different, with parties at clubs, on boats, and on the beaches, and fireworks going off all over the city. (Check out our guide to Dubai.)
The best places to look for cheap New Year's trip tickets
We always tell people to start their search with just a simple call to Flyoclick. Our agents will guide you through the top airlines and make it easy to see which times are the cheapest and which nearby airports have better deals.
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