Traveling during the holidays? Avoid these dates on your calendar

NEW YORK — If you’re waiting right until the holidays to take vacation, prepare to pack your patience. A new survey finds Dec. 23 will be the busiest travel day during the holiday season this year.

The poll of 2,000 Americans who plan to travel for the holidays looked into the most hectic travel dates, top destinations, popular modes of transport, and the cost of holiday travel. For those embarking on a trip for the December holidays, Dec. 23 is the most common travel day on the first leg of their trip, with the days following New Year’s Eve being the most common time to head home.

The day before Thanksgiving (which is Nov. 28 this year) will be the most popular travel day for people heading to a Thanksgiving celebration and the most popular timeframe to head home is some time after Nov. 30. For those traveling for New Year’s Day and Eve, the eve itself, Dec. 31, and Jan. 2 will be the busiest days to be on the roads or in the air.

Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of IHG Hotels & Resorts, the research served as a comprehensive report for 2024 holiday travel trends. The poll found that Florida is the top destination for those traveling out of state for Thanksgiving and the December holidays, and New York is the top stop for New Year’s travelers headed to another state.

The least popular destination for Thanksgiving and New Year’s is North Dakota, and Vermont will be the least-visited state in December. While holiday vacationers are most looking forward to seeing family (56%) and eating good food (37%), they’re most dreading the cost of travel (29%) along with navigating lines and crowds (26%) while in transit. 

More than a quarter (27%) even have blackout dates on their calendars during the holiday season when they refuse to travel, with Gen Z (40%) being most likely to have blackout dates. 

Nearly four in five respondents (78%) said that all of their holiday travels will be reserved for visiting family, while a few (22%) have made room for a side quest. Of those, more than a quarter (28%) will be taking a solo trip during the holidays, with baby boomers (38%) and Gen Z (35%) being most likely to take a solo trip during the holidays.

A third (31%) are thinking outside the box and taking a destination vacation with their loved ones, while a small number (4%) are even exploring internationally. Most popular holiday locales and destinations for holiday travel are the city (35%), suburbs (26%), and rural towns (23%).

For those headed to the city, vacationers are looking to get the city holiday experience (24%), shop (18%), and explore the city (21%). For those making their way to the beach for the holidays (12%), a quarter shared that a beach holiday is a tradition in their family (24%) along with the fact that the beach gives their family plenty of activities to keep busy (22%). 

Twelve percent are headed to the mountains to celebrate the holidays, and their reasons include needing to rest and recharge away from day-to-day responsibilities (25%) and to spend as much time outdoors as possible (24%).

Hoping to maximize their time off, nearly one in 10 of those headed to the beach (9%) and mountains (10%) for the holidays are opting to stay at an all-inclusive venue so they can truly relax while on vacation. One in 10 started planning their holiday excursions before June this year and one of the chief reasons for this was simply to get it out of the way so it wouldn’t cause stress later in the year (31%).

A fifth were looking to get the best deals on accommodations and ticket prices and a few (12%) admitted they wanted to make plans so they could decline other invitations.