How to Find the Best Travel Options During Thanksgiving

If you’re gutsy enough to travel anywhere in the United States on the busiest travel day of the year, you deserve that extra slice of pumpkin pie. To assuage the potential hours of flight finding and bargain hunting, follow some of these money-saving tips.

Although the best time to book may have passed, there are still deals to be had. First, consider traveling on Thanksgiving Day. While it may not be ideal in terms of time, possible road and air traffic and unpredictable weather delays, flights are heaps cheaper than if you were to fly the day before or the day after Thanksgiving.

Those with extra time off and who don’t mind a few extra days with family can even fly the weekend before Thanksgiving. Flights aren’t as expensive as the week after, and a change of scenery may be just what you need before the tense Christmas season.

Keep an eye on flight prices with flight alerts. Available on most price-watch websites (like kayak.com), you can configure price alerts to contact you when a price has fallen for a particular itinerary.

If the thought of scouring the Web for the cheapest flight makes you want to scrap the whole turkey-and-gravy idea altogether, consider driving. Despite the questionable traffic roadblocks, gas prices have been falling so it may be a lot friendlier on your wallet to drive yourself. Bonus: You won’t have to bother with lengthy lines at the airport and cranky, turkey-stuffed travelers.