It Could Be Cheaper to Go to Europe Than Fly Home This Thanksgiving

Travelers have had it good the last few years: Domestic flight prices within the U.S. are as low as we can remember. And yet it’ll still likely be a better deal to fly to Europe for Thanksgiving than to fly home for the holidays.

Every year, we beg our travelers, readers, and Thrifty Traveler Premium subscribers to look abroad for Thanksgiving:

• Traveling over Thanksgiving is an amazing way to maximize your time off. If you get both Thursday and Friday off, you could depart Wednesday for a six-night trip to Europe … and use just two vacation days!
• Thanksgiving is generally a quiet time in Europe: You could see some of the most popular attractions on the globe and still feel like you have the place to yourself.
• And in some cities, the end of November is when Europe’s quaint Christmas markets begin.

But here’s the most important reason to consider skipping turkey and heading abroad instead: It’s one of the cheapest times of year to leave the U.S. – and one of the most expensive (and stressful times) stretches of travel within the U.S. 

Everywhere but here, Thanksgiving is just a Thursday in November. So when you punch in London-Heathrow (LHR) into Google Flights, you’re going to see off-season pricing across the pond: As low as $500 roundtrip, sometimes less! But if you put in Lansing, Michigan (LAN) for your trip home … you’re going to see some ugly prices. 

The focus on flying domestically for the holiday means international travel demand evaporates over Thanksgiving, leading to extremely low prices – nowhere better than Europe. That’s why we think you should look across the pond for your Thanksgiving getaway this year. 

Look, I don’t envy making that phone call to mom and dad that you’re not going to make it home this year. But I have a solution: “Why don’t you meet us in Europe, instead!”

Are Flights Really Cheaper to Europe than Within the U.S. This Thanksgiving?

If you’re located in a major U.S. airport hub like the Washington, D.C. area, New York City, or Chicago, domestic flights this Thanksgiving actually may not be that bad.

In fact, based on our thousands of searches a day, airfare for this Thanksgiving is lower than usual in the United States. Not so fast, though: Lower than usual still means $300, $400, or $500-plus roundtrip fares to get you to Thanksgiving dinner and back in time for your work week. 

If you don’t live at a major airport hub, the typical Thanksgiving airfare pain can be expected once again in 2024. Let’s use our friends in Lansing, Michigan (LAN) as an example once again. Here’s what you’re looking at for Thanksgiving weekend roundtrip flights from LAN this year on a Google Flights Explore map. 

Not pretty…

But if you expand that Explore map to Europe, you’ll find this.

For less than the cost of a flight to New York City (JFK), Orlando (MCO), or St. Louis (STL), you could book your dream trip to Portugal (OPO) instead. And this isn’t a cherry-picked example. These cheap fares to Portugal spread far and wide through the U.S. 

Lansing is, admittedly, a very small U.S. city. But even hub cities like Houston-Intercontinental (IAH) and Denver (DEN) can face similar struggles. From Houston, for instance, domestic flight prices are also looking tough at close to $400 or more over Thanksgiving…

But not if you want to fly to Spain! For the same weekend (returning on Tuesday instead of Sunday), you can fly to Barcelona (BCN) or Madrid (MAD) for cheap – under $500, in fact! 

And from Denver (DEN), where a fast-growing population is always looking for a flight home to the Midwest or beyond, Thanksgiving fares are also stiflingly high. 

But if you want to skip the Midwest this Thanksgiving holiday, you can fly to Munich for the start of Christmas markets season instead. Sounds like a good trade, right? 

A few other Icelandair cities jumped on board to offer these low fares to Munich over Thanksgiving, too. 

When you compare and contrast domestic and international flight prices this Thanksgiving, the trend is clear: The best value – and often the lowest fares – are flying to Europe instead of to your hometown this year. 

The Keys to Booking a Thanksgiving Trip Abroad? 

Here are some tips to get the cheapest Thanksgiving airfare to Europe this year: 

Book Tuesday and Wednesday Flights

Like we mentioned above, in Europe, Thanksgiving week is just a regular week. And that means the cheapest fares are going to be on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. 

Book a flight leaving the U.S. on either day and returning on either day for the lowest fares. Leaving on Thanksgiving is also an option on some routes. 

If you want to return to the U.S. on that Sunday, you’re also going to pay for it. Sunday, Dec. 1 will be one of the busiest and most expensive travel days of the year. Steer clear of the airports that day at all costs! 

Prepare for Travel Headaches on the Way Out

Besides Sunday, Tuesday, Nov. 26 and Wednesday, Nov. 27 are going to be two of the busiest travel days of the year, too. Sadly, those are also the cheapest days to fly to Europe this year, so when you depart, prepare for some headaches. 

There’s a distinct possibility for long lines at TSA, for instance. Arrive early and pack your patience. 

Don’t Check a Bag

The longest lines at airports recently have been at checked bag counters, and that’s especially the case over the holidays. 

Infrequent travelers who overpack into monster suitcases will swarm airport lobbies during Thanksgiving. Rise above and pack light. A carry-on is your friend if you want to travel over Thanksgiving. 

Where to Find the Best Deals for A Thanksgiving Trip 

We’ve touched on Portugal, Spain, and Germany for low Thanksgiving fares this year, but all across Europe you can find ridiculous value. 

Thanks to the dozens of airlines criss-crossing the ocean every day, there are plenty of options for travelers to hop over to the continent for a Thanksgiving trip. And perhaps no airline screams cheap flights like the Irish carrier Aer Lingus. 

Aer Lingus is the single best reason to book a Thanksgiving trip to Dublin, Ireland (DUB). The airline’s super cheap fares and easy, nonstop itineraries are the perfect reason to book your trip. Especially when prices dip this low…

This Chicago-O’Hare (ORD) to Dublin (DUB) fare is a good example, and if you only have the weekend, you can even fly home Sunday for the same price! 

A little further on is England, where a trip to London (LHR or LGW) over Thanksgiving is just what the doctor ordered for many Americans. 

These nonstop fares were a result of some cutthroat competition on these routes across the pond. 

North of London, you’ll find Scotland and its famous Scottish Highlands. With competition so fierce to the U.K., these fares all stayed incredibly cheap, too. 

Best yet, you can book a sub-$600 roundtrip fare to Scotland this Thanksgiving from more than 100 U.S. and Canadian cities, too! The list was too big to fit into a screenshot, but here’s just how many different travelers can get to Scotland this Thanksgiving. 

Finally, we even found fares like these flying all the way to Athens, Greece (ATH) this Thanksgiving. Flying Turkish Airlines, you can even build in a stopover in Istanbul for the same price! That’s two cities for the price of one over the holidays. What’s not to love?!

Travelers on the east coast and in Chicago-O’Hare (ORD) were the lucky winners on this deal. 

Here’s one for the bougie among us: Nonstop business class flights to Switzerland this Thanksgiving! Why pay thousands of dollars for a lie-flat seat when you can book for as low as 55,000 points each way!

SWISS business class is one of my favorites in the sky. These fares, bookable with Air Canada and Avianca LifeMiles (transferrable from nearly all the major banks), can get you a luxurious ride to your Thanksgiving trip this year. 

Bottom Line

It might be more affordable to fly to Europe this Thanksgiving than it will be to fly home for the holiday. 

Extremely cheap flight prices abroad should make you pause before booking an exorbitantly expensive trip home for Thanksgiving in 2024. Think bigger – think abroad.