Holiday travel ain’t cheap: What to expect in 2025

You've been dreaming of it, planning and saving for it, and yet sometimes, the costs just get away from you. You know what we're talking about. Millions of Americans travel during the holidays, but how much does it really cost? Some costs, like airplane tickets and hotel reservations, are obvious. What you might be missing are the hidden costs, the ones that sneak up on you. Way.com breaks down the cost of traveling during the holidays so you can plan smarter this year.

How much does it cost to travel within the US during the holidays?

Flight ticket prices start to go up around 50 days before departure, according to Google Flights. Similarly, in the weeks before Christmas and New Year's, an analysis by CoStar Group shows hotel prices in the U.S. go up by about 2% or more compared to the same time the year before, even when hotels aren't packed.

And that’s just the big stuff. What often gets missed are the smaller, last-minute expenses you don’t even factor in. This includes airport parking, seat selection, baggage fees, food at the terminal, rideshare surges, or even pet boarding fees back home. They may not show up on your airline confirmation, but they’ll put a dent in your holiday budget.

Holiday travel expenses breakdown

Take airport parking, for instance. It's one of the most overlooked travel expenses and one that sees a price spike during the holidays. Based on Way's airport parking reservation data, average offsite parking prices increase by 8% during the week of Thanksgiving compared to the week before. For Christmas week, prices climb even higher, around 12% above the prior week's average. This means if you're flying out of airports like Los Angeles, Denver, LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy, Chicago O'Hare, or Newark, which already have very expensive parking rates, you can expect to shell out quite a bit. Onsite lots are often priced even higher, and they fill up quickly, leaving late-bookers with fewer and more expensive options.

If you're planning to take a train to your destination, surge pricing can impact how much you'll end up spending. Amtrak also uses dynamic pricing, and users on online forums have reported fare increases before Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Driving might seem like a good idea because average U.S. retail gasoline prices dipped to just above $3 per gallon in late 2024, about 20 cents lower than in 2023. What you must consider, however, is how many other people have the same idea. AAA projected 71.7 million people would travel by car during the Thanksgiving holiday week in 2024. This is about 1.3 million more than in 2023. And if you're in a city like New York, Boston, Seattle, or D.C., you can expect double the traffic, according to INRIX. They forecast that December 22 would be the worst day for road travel in 2024.

What does the average American spend on travel during the holidays?

It might be the season to be jolly, but traveling during the holidays takes a serious chunk of change. Research from Deloitte shows that American travelers expected to spend an average of $3,294 on their longest holiday trip in 2024.

Now consider all those unexpected expenses you don’t usually factor in: airport parking, tolls, pet-boarding, extra gas because of all the traffic. If your wallet ends up feeling a little lighter in January, you’re not imagining it!

Why everything costs more during the holidays

No, you aren’t imagining it. Travel does get costlier during the holidays, thanks to two reasons:

• Everyone's got the same idea as you, and therefore, travel surges during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. A study conducted by Talker for IHG Hotels & Resorts revealed that almost 8 in 10 Americans travel to be with family during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. Due to this increase in demand, airlines and travel accommodation providers see it fit to increase their prices.
• Most airlines, hotels, reservation platforms, and ride apps now use dynamic pricing to adjust their prices during peak periods to increase their revenue. This means that as the holiday season gets closer, the combination of high demand and limited supply will drive up room and airline costs. Not just that, companies may also increase the cost of ancillary services like seat selection or baggage.
• Google Flights data from 2024 shows that the cheapest time to book flights before the holidays is 58 days before the departure date. For instance, in late 2024, the average round‑trip Christmas airfare was $406, 4% higher than at the same time in 2023. What this means is that you must book your flight at least by the end of October; if you wait till November or December to finalize your holiday travel plans, you may end up spending more on flight tickets.

Flying vs. driving vs. train: What’s cheaper (and what’s not)

When it comes to holiday travel, the cheapest option depends on distance, group size, and how early you book. Here’s how the numbers stack up.

Driving

• Driving is often the most cost-effective option for families or a group.
• According to AAA, the average cost per mile for a mid-size sedan is 70.38 cents per mile, which includes gas, maintenance, insurance, depreciation, etc.
• For a 500-mile round trip, that totals about $352. Split between four passengers, it comes to just $88 per person.
• Fuel alone for the same trip would cost $69 to $86, based on July 2025 national gas prices of $3.46 per gallon.

Best value: Families or small groups traveling regionally (under 600 miles round trip).

Flying

• Flights can be quite cost-efficient for solo travelers but tend to be the priciest during the peak holiday season, more so for families and large groups.
• The average domestic ticket was $830 in 2024, while international flights averaged $1,630 a ticket.
• Add-ons like checked bags, seat selection, and airport parking can raise costs by another $75 to $125 per traveler.
• This means that a family of four's total airfare can easily exceed $3,000, especially in the two weeks before Christmas.

Best value: Solo travelers or couples booking well in advance on competitive domestic routes.

Train

• Train travel is priced slightly more reasonably with fewer hidden fees, especially for solo or city-to-city travel.
• On the Amtrak Northeast Corridor, the fare from Boston to Washington, D.C., ranged from $110 (business) to $260 (first).
• Ticket prices for longer routes, like Chicago to Los Angeles, ranged from $200 (coach) to $1,150 (private room) for a round trip.
• Train pricing tends to increase closer to departure, but is typically more stable than airfare.

Best value: Solo travelers or duos on short-to-medium city routes with flexible travel windows.

The table below shows a breakdown of the pros and cons of each of these modes of travel.

Way.com

What’s the smartest way to travel for the holidays?

There’s no one-size-fits-all mode of travel when it comes to the holidays. It all depends on what your priorities are and what your specific situation is. If it’s a last-minute trip with your family and the dog, then a road trip would be ideal. If it’s just you and your partner traveling to Hawai’i, you have to catch a plane and start planning and booking now!

At the heart of it, the best choice for you depends on three basic factors: your budget, your distance, and how flexible you need your schedule to be.

What matters most is planning as early as possible and choosing what fits your version of a peaceful holiday journey. If your holiday plan includes a flight or a long drive, the Way app can take a few things off your plate. This includes reserving airport parking, getting gas cashbacks, or locating EV chargers near you, making your trip much smoother. Because getting there shouldn’t cost more energy than the trip is worth.

This story was produced by Way.com and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.