The holidays may seem like they’re a long way off, but they’ll be here before you know it. And this is the time of year when you need to be thinking about holiday travel – because if you wait until after Halloween, it’s almost too late.
As you probably know by now, a lot of people choose to cram themselves on airplanes and hurtle through the air at 50,000 feet all in the name of Thanksgiving and Christmas. The holiday travel crowds are expected to be busier than ever this season and the smart traveler will do their part to avoid the 10 busiest airports during Thanksgiving.
If you have plans to travel to any of the locations below during the holidays, you might want to look into flying into smaller airports that are located nearby. It might add a bit to your costs, but sometimes paying a bit more is worth it if you can avoid the hassles of long airport lines and delayed flights that lead to missed connecting flights.
>> Thanksgiving in 2012 is on Thursday, November 22
>> Learn more about how to find Thanksgiving travel deals
Top 10 Busiest US Airports during Thanksgiving
- Chicago, IL – Chicago O’Hare (ORD) find cheap flights to Chicago for Thanksgiving
- Los Angeles, CA – Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) find cheap flights to Los Angeles for Thanksgiving
- Newark, NJ – Newark International Airport (EWR) find cheap flights to Newark for Thanksgiving
- Boston, MA – Logan International Airport (BOS) find cheap flights to Boston for Thanksgiving
- Denver, CO – Denver International Airport (DEN) find cheap flights to Denver for Thanksgiving
- New York, NY – La Guardia Airport (LGA) find cheap flights to New York for Thanksgiving
- Orlando, FL – Orlando International Airport (MCO) find cheap flights to Orlando for Thanksgiving
- Atlanta, GA – Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) find cheap flights to Atlanta for Thanksgiving
- San Francisco, CA – San Francisco International Airport (SFO) find cheap flights to San Francisco for Thanksgiving
- Phoenix, AZ – Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) find cheap flights to Phoenix for Thanksgiving
If you’ve got yourself thinking, “Ok, I get it, we’re in a recession,” while watching the news, you aren’t the only one. We know the economy is bad. We know it needs fixing. However, I simply refuse to hibernate in my closet until things perk up economically. Nope. In fact, now is a great time to do just the opposite—with great travel deals to be had, it’s hard to not want to take advantage of some of the great prices and take advantage of the recession deals and go on vacation. 
If you are one of those people who likes to try to score last minute deals on travel, you may be in luck this year if you’ve waited to book your spring break trip. Expedia is now offering some pretty fantastic deals on spring break trips that include free nights. This way, all you’ll have to do is pick a destination that fits your budget, make sure you pack your swimsuit and get ready for spring break travels. 
Despite the fact that I speak poor to mediocre Spanish, I am a huge fan of traveling to and around Latin America. What’s not to love about beautiful beaches, warm, sunny weather, great food and cheap prices? Especially with some of the unbelievable deals happening right now on vacation to Mexico, it may hard to resist not hoping on a plane and enjoy a Caribbean getaway. 
You might not guess that spring break is quickly approaching if you live on the east coast and were stuck in the snow storm that came through last week, but the arrival of March means more than daylight savings and warmer weather—it also means it’s time to book you spring break vacation. If you’re on a tight budget this year, but want to soak up some sunshine, Southwest is offering some fantastic deals on Los Angeles vacations right now. 
As the youngest person around the office, I am frequently at the butt of jokes having to do with my… let’s call it, youthful inexperience. While I may still have a whole lot to learn about pretty much everything, I also think my coworkers are a little jealous I can still take advantage of the great deals and student prices on STA, which is always offering up great deals on airfare for those students and lucky ones under 26. 
If you are constantly scoping out the latest deals on airfare from around the web, then you’ve probably noticed that fares are lower now than they have been in the last 5 years. Apparently the bad economy has been good for travelers (that is if you still have the cash to be able to go anywhere), but the deals don’t stop at just airfare. In fact, everything from across the travel industry is discounted right now, from hotels to car rentals. 
As things start to thaw out with the warmer spring temperatures, airfares are continuing to melt down as well. Rough economic times for many mean that travel is now more affordable than it has been in years, making it an ideal time to pack a bag and book a weekend getaway or a great vacation. In fact, United is now offering some fantastic deals on vacations starting at under $200. 
Things are starting to thaw out again after a long winter, and as the weather heats up, so may your desire to get away. With the economy still hurting, cities like Las Vegas that rely heavily on a struggling tourism industry are being forced to roll out some absolutely fabulous deals to encourage travelers to still head to Sin City. 
The stimulus bill is all the talk in our capitol and as people around the country continue to freak out about the economy, travel just keeps staying cheap. If you are one of the many people who has recently lost their job, then maybe you have a lot of extra time on your hands to go on a real adventure. Or, perhaps, you are lucky enough to still be gainfully employed and just want to take advantage of some of the killer prices out there and explore the world.