If you’re planning an international trip and trying to pinch pennies, don’t stress too much about your airfare budget. Just plan ahead and study the best times to book.
While you can often find great deals year-round thanks to regular flash sales from the biggest airlines, you can’t always rely on the timing. In these situations, it’s good to look at wider booking trends and the seasonality of your destination when deciding how far in advance you should book.
When is the best time to buy international flights? Is it worth waiting for a last-minute deal, or should you lock in that airfare right this second?
Our complete guide to the best time to book cheap airfare provides a good summary.
In general, TPG recommends that for international flights, you should plan on booking three to five months ahead of the trip. There are a lot of myths out there about cheap bookings. Things that won’t help? Deleting the cookies on your computer or using a private browser doesn’t change prices. It also doesn’t help to buy on a certain day of the week or time of day, but there are some hacks, like booking a flight departing and returning midweek or booking when business travel demand is slowest.
CheapAir — a website where you can search for inexpensive airfare and compare flights — did its own analysis. It looked at all the possible days to book trips from the U.S. to different regions worldwide and identified which days are best to score the cheapest airfare.
Which days of the week are the cheapest to fly?
Generally, Tuesday and Wednesday are the least expensive days of the week to fly; Sunday is, more often than not, the most expensive. On average, you could save between $25 and $350 by traveling on Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on your destination. When exactly to book, however, does vary among regions.
You’ll find a summary of the website’s other findings and a more detailed breakdown of CheapAir’s results below.
Canada
- Best time to buy: Three weeks to five months before your travel date
- Cheapest month to travel: October
- Most expensive month to travel: July
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Fares in spring and fall tend to be marginally better than those in winter and summer. If you’re traveling as a family, you may find these savings worth it; if you’re a solo traveler, this amount of money is fairly minimal and might not be worth changing your travel plans around to keep in your wallet.
Travel tip: Keep in mind that demand between the U.S. and Canada has fallen in light of the geopolitical situation, so you could have good luck finding deals right now.
Mexico
- Best time to buy: Two weeks to six months before your travel date
- Cheapest month to travel: September
- Most expensive months to travel: August and December
Airfare to Mexico is fairly consistent throughout the year but can be slightly cheaper in September, January and February if you want to save some pennies.
Broadly speaking, you don’t need to give yourself too much time between booking and traveling unless you’re looking for a December getaway. If so, it’s best to book six months before your travel date.
Travel tip: Look for deals from airlines like Alaska Airlines and JetBlue, which often put Mexico flights on sale.
Caribbean
- Best time to buy: One to 11 months before your travel date
- Cheapest months to travel: January, September and October
- Most expensive month to travel: December
Traveling to the Caribbean from the U.S. is relatively straightforward if you’re looking for optimal pricing, with good options dotted throughout every month.
Travel tip: If you’re looking for a Christmas escape, you might want to book around five months before you plan to travel. During summer, you can often find good deals about one to two months before traveling.
South America
- Best time to buy: Five weeks to 11 months before your travel date
- Cheapest months to travel: September, October and February
- Most expensive month to travel: December
Unsurprisingly, it’s more expensive to fly to both Central America and South America during the summer and winter months — particularly around the holidays.
If you’re looking for the perfect window, consider traveling to the region during the spring or fall shoulder seasons, when ticket prices are, on average, about $50 to $60 less than during other seasons.
Travel tip: There are often flight deals to both South and Central America, so keep an eye out for deals from airlines like American Airlines, LATAM and Avianca.
South Pacific
- Best time to buy: One to eight months before your travel date
- Cheapest months to travel: January, April and May
- Most expensive months to travel: November and December
While flights to French Polynesia and other South Pacific hot spots are generally expensive, you can still find deals. CheapAir suggests booking 54 days to eight months prior to your trip. I would set a Google Flights alert and monitor prices for when you want to go; if you see a deal, jump on it.
Travel tip: Try booking from Los Angeles to places like Papeete, French Polynesia, on airlines like French Bee or Air Tahiti Nui, which often run sales.
Asia
- Best time to buy: One to seven months before your travel date
- Cheapest months to travel: January and November
- Most expensive month to travel: June
I’ve found airfare to Asia is generally expensive, but, as with the South Pacific, there are sometimes deals. To find the best prices, book at least a month ahead of time and, ideally, three to five months ahead of your trip. CheapAir reports seven months is ideal, though I’ve found seven months isn’t a perfect sweet spot in my searches.
The busiest months tend to be August and December (around the Christmas rush). If you’re flexible, spring and fall may offer better prices.
Travel tip: Asia is a great place to use points and miles. I’ve had a lot of success booking business-class trips to Asia with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan or American Airlines AAdvantage. If you are paying cash, remember to set those Google Flights alerts.
Europe
- Best time to buy: Five to eight months before your travel date
- Cheapest months to travel: October, November, January, February and March
- Most expensive months to travel: May, June and July
It goes without saying that the most expensive time to travel to Europe is during the summer months. Average airfares will regularly come in at more than $1,100. Plus, once you arrive, you’ll be competing for space with European vacationers looking for some sun closer to home.
That said, I’ve seen deal alerts to Europe for all times of the year. If I pay attention, I can usually find deals for under $500 round-trip, though it may be with a discount airline like Norse Atlantic Airways.
I would also add that the traditional summer high season is starting and ending earlier these days, with peak travel kicking off in May and ending in August.
If you’re flexible with your travel dates, you might find that fall shoulder season fares come in, on average, about $200 less than summer fares. Depending on your destination, you can still chase the weather and sunbathe in sunny climates.
With consistent flights to Europe running throughout all seasons, you can find good fares quite late in the game. If you’d rather get your plans settled early, look to book around six to seven months before you travel.
Travel tip: Look for frequent deals to Europe by following social media accounts like TPG (@thepointsguy on X and Instagram), Thrifty Traveler (@thriftytraveler on X and Instagram) or Going (@goingtweets on X, @going on Instagram).
Middle East
- Best time to buy: Three to six months before your travel date
- Cheapest months to travel: October, November and February
- Most expensive month to travel: December
The sweet spot for booking flights to the Middle East from the U.S. appears to be about three to six months before you’re set to travel.
The winter and summer periods are the busiest here, so if you’re traveling during the spring and fall, you have a little more leeway regarding when to book. You can often find good deals around three months before you travel.
Travel tip: You can sometimes find deals even in the high season. Remember, the weather can be very, very hot here, so if you are willing to travel during the hottest months, you can sometimes score a bargain.
Africa
- Best time to buy: Three to six months before your travel date
- Cheapest months to travel: October, November and February
- Most expensive month to travel: December
If you’re planning an escape to Africa, it’s wise to book your flights as early as possible throughout most of the year. Flights are comparatively expensive.
The only outlier is if you want to visit in spring, when you can often get good deals for flights quite close to your planned departure date — around three months before.
Travel tip: Remember that the rainy season falls during the spring months in some parts of the continent.
Bottom line
If you can plan far ahead, it can pay to book travel many months in advance. If you need a shorter booking window, you can still find good fares as long as you’re flexible with both the destination and the conditions in your chosen locale. (Deals are commonly available during offseason periods when the weather might not be entirely desirable.)
Note: While the above information is a fairly consistent guide to finding the best travel prices, there are always outliers. For example, trips to Munich during Oktoberfest will probably cost more since these are peak tourist times. In these instances, it’s often worth checking for flight deals or holding out for flash sales.
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