As the summer season winds down, travelers are looking to fall for more affordable getaways. Airfares are falling, and foliage-rich regions are trending—not to mention cities on the in-demand Eras Tour itinerary. Expedia’s Fall Travel Outlook reveals the destinations that are tempting travelers as off-peak pricing sets in, available now for your fall travel inspo.
Airfare historically drops about 10% compared to summer months as well as hotel rates and other travel costs as many destinations enter their “shoulder season” between the peak of summer and the holidays. Fall brings not only lower costs, but also lighter crowds in many popular cities. Las Vegas tops Expedia’s list of fall travel destinations, based on flight searches. New York, Orlando, Los Angeles and Boston are also on the minds of fall travelers, followed by Miami, Honolulu, Nashville, Anaheim and Chicago.
Other cities are seeing a big jump in interest. Leaf-peeping destinations like Ann Arbor and Lake Tahoe are obviously trending hotspots this fall, but Indianapolis has seen the biggest increase in flight searches—120%—as excitement over the bucket-list Eras Tour, hitting the city in November, grows. New Orleans has seen a 40% increase in searches as well, with Taylor Swift coming to town in October. According to Expedia, Indianapolis, Cape May, Ann Arbor, South Lake Tahoe, Green Bay, Cleveland, New Orleans, Fort Myers, Sequoia National Park and Nantucket are trending as hot fall travel destinations.
Expedia also reveals that fall travelers can save 15% by flying on a Monday or Saturday rather than Tuesday or Thursday. Average ticket prices are expected to be nearly $100 cheaper than peak summer prices during the week of September 3.
Specific destinations that are seeing significant decreases in average ticket prices include Seattle (down nearly 20%), Honolulu (down 15%), Houston (down 10%), Denver (down 10%) and Los Angeles (down 10%). Now is the time to take advantage of shoulder season savings.