Here Are the Best (and Worst) Times to Travel for Christmas

The holiday travel season is here. With it comes long lines in airport security, packed cars on icy roads and the promise of welcoming doorsteps at the end of our journeys.

Over 130 million American adults plan to travel for Christmas this year, according to a survey from The Vacationer. That's almost 20 million more than in 2022, as people return to holiday travel following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Holiday travelers aren't expecting an easy time of it this year—over 59 percent anticipate excessive air travel delays and cancellations. But there's good news. Americans can enjoy holiday travel a little more if they pick the best traveling days and avoid the worst.

Best Travel Days for Christmas 2023

The Vacationer recommends departing earlier in the holidays and returning home a few days after Christmas.

About a week before Christmas is a great time to fly because most people will still be at work. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day may seem counterintuitive, but many people have already arrived at their destinations by then—airports can seem almost empty late in the evening on December 24.

Worst Travel Days for Christmas 2023

The Vacationer says the worst day to fly are:

Many people keep their Christmas travel brief, so they'll arrive right before Christmas and leave right after, making those the worst times to travel.

Average Holiday Flight Prices This Year

According to NerdWallet, travel price inflation is cooling as we enter the 2023 holiday season. Prices are still higher than pre-pandemic levels, but inflation isn't as bad as it was earlier this year or in 2022.

That said, the holidays are still the most expensive time of the year to fly. Even if you book the best departure and return days in 2023, you should still expect higher prices than other times of the year.

How Many Holiday Flights Are Delayed or Canceled?

The U.S. Department of Transportation records flight cancellations throughout the year. Of the 389,000 flights that took off during the winter holidays in 2022, only 60 percent left the airport on time.

Over 30 percent were delayed, and 8 percent of flights were canceled last year. That represents a sharp increase in flight cancellations during the holidays, year over year. For reference, less than 1 percent of holiday flights were cancelled in 2019, when pre-pandemic holiday flight numbers passed 450,000.

The severe storm that blanketed Midwest and Great Lakes airports in snow right before Christmas contributed to many of the flight delays in 2022. Although most delays are due to problems within the air carrier's control, like aircraft maintenance, cleaning and preparation, according to the Department of Transportation.

It's too early to say what the weather will be like this Christmas, and how it will affect flight delays and cancellations. Follow Newsweek for the latest holiday weather updates.

5 Tips to Make Your Holiday Travel Less Stressful

Here are some ways you can have a better holiday travel experience this year:

• Travel on the best days. Take time off so you can leave earlier in the holiday season when most people are still at work.
• Fly direct. When you travel with layovers on the holidays, problems can only compound. Eight percent of flight delays are caused by aircraft arriving late. If you arrive late at a stop, you can miss your connecting flight—a very bad idea during the holidays, when most flights are fully booked.
• Embrace flexibility. Can you visit relatives before or after the winter holidays? If you don't mind shifting your get-togethers around, you can avoid the worst times to travel during the holidays.
• Travel light. Send gifts by post, if possible. The less luggage you carry, the less you stand to lose in hectic holiday airports.
• Be patient. Even if you do everything right, the holidays are still the busiest time of year for travel. Accept that some delays are inevitable and roll with the punches.