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Booking a last-minute fall trip? Here’s where travelers are heading this year.

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Booking a last-minute fall trip? Here’s where travelers are heading this year.

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  • The fall period between Labor Day and before the holiday season offers some of the best deals of the year.
  • Big cities top the list for fall trips this year, including Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Orlando.
  • There are still “great domestic deals” available on round-trip flights for less than $100 to cities including Charleston, South Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; and San Diego, California.

Fall may have already arrived, but you still have time to book an autumn getaway – likely at a good price.

The shoulder season that follows the summer travel rush can be a prime time to take trips without blowing your budget. “It’s not too late to get a last-minute fall travel deal,” Hayley Berg, Lead Economist at Hopper, told USA TODAY in an email. “The fall period between Labor Day and before the holiday season offers some of the best deals of the year.”

If you need some inspiration, a few destinations – both in the U.S. and overseas – are particularly popular this year. Here’s where travelers are headed and what to know about booking.

What are the top fall travel destinations?

“Big cities top the list for fall trips this year,” Berg said. “Las Vegas and Los Angeles are among the top booked domestic destinations, along with Orlando, Florida.” Hopper’s latest data included flights departing in September and October.

Among international destinations, Cancun and Mexico City were in demand, along with cities like London and Rome.

Expedia found similar results based on searches for flights between Sept. 3 and Nov. 15, according to its Fall Travel Outlook released late last month. Las Vegas, New York and Orlando claimed the top three spots for stateside trips, while Cancun, Paris and London were the most popular for travelers going abroad.

How expensive is fall travel?

There are still “great domestic deals” available on round-trip flights for less than $100 to cities including Charleston, South Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; and San Diego, California, according to Berg.

“You can also score some great international deals during the fall as well as beat the summer crowds,” she said. “On Hopper, we are seeing deals as low as $400 round-trip to places like Paris, Dublin, Barcelona and London.”

Some destinations saw significant price drops compared to summer. Airfares to Seattle, Washington, and Oslo, Norway, were 36% cheaper for fall, for example, while Brussels, Belgium, and Berlin, Germany, were down 34% and 33%, respectively.

Expedia found that the average ticket price for Seattle was nearly 20% lower for fall as compared with May 24 through Sept. 3. Honolulu was down 15%, and Houston dropped by 10%. Internationally, Toronto, Canada, was down more than 25%, followed by Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic at 25% and London at close to 15%.

Deals can be found on other travel expenses, too. Hopper found that hotel rates for fall averaged $231 per night, with rooms running as low as $126. Daily rates for rental cars were $34 on average, a 20% drop from $43 during summer.

How can I get a fall travel deal?

Berg recommended setting price alerts – which notify travelers if airfare decreases – now and booking within the next two weeks.

Booking air travel for the middle of the week rather than a weekend can also cut costs, she noted. Flying out on a Tuesday or Wednesday could result in savings of more than 30% on airfare.

“If you can be flexible, depart and return mid-week to shave over $150 off your round-trip ticket,” Berg added.

Expedia also recommended departing on Monday for domestic flights, based on its demand for flights between September and November of 2023 as compared with the same period in 2022. However, for international flights, Saturday was passengers’ best bet.

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.

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