Delta Follows Southwest In Surprise Social Media Ban

With the cost of both airfare and hotels shooting up in the last year, cost is the biggest factor affecting people’s travel plans.

A recent survey from NerdWallet found that 23% of Americans are not taking a trip this summer for financial reasons. Out of those who are, 92% are taking some kind of measure to decrease total cost — the most common strategies are picking cheaper hotels and driving instead of flying.

DON’T MISS: A Top Airline Just Accidentally Gave a Passenger $250,000 In Plane Tickets

The good news is that, at least for one week in July, flight prices are lower than they were a year ago.

This Is How Much It Will Cost To Fly Over Fourth Of July

According to a recent comparison by travel platform Hopper, the average domestic flight booked through their site for between June 29 and July 5 will cost $301 — a 27% drop from the $412 seen during the same week last year. This is the first year that prices have reached rates seen pre-pandemic in 2019.

“Most travelers are making a long weekend out of the holiday, with the most popular trip dates departing on Friday June 30th, returning on Tuesday, July 4th,” wrote Hopper’s Hayley Berg. “Savvy travelers departing Saturday, July 1st and returning Monday or Tuesday of the holiday weekend are saving an average of $74 per ticket or 26% off peak airfare.”

Hotels, meanwhile, are in line with the prices seen a year ago — the average hotel stay over the Fourth of July weekend will set one back $197 but will rise much higher in many popular cities.

Car rentals have infamously skyrocketed after the pandemic and, this year, have slowly started to stabilize. According to Hopper’s analysis, the average rental cost of $47 a day is a 25% drop from the same holiday period in 2022.

These Are The Cheapest (And Most Expensive) Cities To Spend Fourth Of July

The good news does not extend toward international flights. Compared to a year ago, flying to a major European city over Fourth of July weekend will set one back $1,370 — this adds up to 33% or $340 more per ticket than a year ago.

“Trips to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean will be the least expensive for international travelers, at less than half the price of a trip to Europe or Asia,” Berg writes.

In terms of where people are going, usual suspects like New York, LA and Las Vegas were some of the most-booked hotel destinations. Popular international destinations include London, Madrid and Bangkok — in the latter, the average hotel averages just $47 a night.

For flights, people are picking less expensive cities — Las Vegas, Atlanta and New Orleans are the most popular domestic flights booked while international travelers are going to Mexico’s Cancun and Toronto and Calgary in Canada. As mentioned above, doing so is significantly cheaper both due to their proximity to the United States and the current spike in demand for travel to many European cities.

“Airports will be busiest the Thursday and Friday before the holiday weekend with more than 3.7 million passengers expected to depart from US airports,” writes Berg. “Return flights will be packed on Wednesday following the 4th of July holiday, with 3.5 million passengers expected to depart.”