Grab a Deal on a Winter Getaway

In the early months of the year, travel demand dips-and so do prices.

- BY EMMA PATCH

If you go on a trip over the holidays, whether for a vacation or a family visit, you'll usually face packed airports and elevated prices for airfare and hotels. But after the December hustle and bustle subsides, opportunities abound for cost-conscious travelers. January and February are consistently the cheapest months of the year to fly, thanks to shrinking demand following the holiday surge. “It flips from one of the most expensive times to one of the cheapest almost overnight—around January 8,” says Scott Keyes, founder of Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights), a travel company that helps people find and book inexpensive airfare. And the deals continue well into the first half of March in many places, before spring break trips begin to increase demand again, says Keyes.

Flights aren’t the only bargains you’ll find. You’ll often see lower prices on lodging, rental cars, airport parking, and entertainment and activities, such as skiing or the theater. Plus, you’ll encounter fewer crowds, which means shorter waits at airport security, better seating options on flights or trains, and more availability at the best restaurants, hotels, resorts and spas.

Bag the best bargains. To book a flight at the best price, experts typically advise that you start monitoring prices several months in advance, especially for international travel. But for trips from January through early March, you have a bit more flexibility. Generally, you can find good deals on flights anywhere from one to two months in advance for domestic travel in the early months of the year. And if you book using rewards points or frequent-flier miles, you may score a bargain even closer to your departure date. For both domestic and international flights, the sweet spot is often three to five weeks before a trip, when you are most likely to need fewer points or miles than you otherwise would for a ticket, maximizing their value, says Keyes.