Year-end travel surge: AAA predicts historic numbers
AAA predicts that 122.4 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more this holiday season, setting a new record.
- Travelers can still find discounts on flights and accommodations for New Year’s Eve vacations.
- Popular warm-weather vacation destinations include Florida, Mexico, and the Caribbean.
- Find affordable round-trip flights to cities like Las Vegas, Orlando, and Cancun.
The year is coming to an end, but it’s not too late to take one last vacation.
Travelers planning a trip in 2026 can still find cheap flights to domestic and international destinations from Las Vegas to Cancun and St. Lucia.
Florida alone accounts for four of the top 10 New Year’s hottest lodging markets in the U.S., according to Expedia data: Miami, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Key West. “Despite the beach trend, New York, Paris and London remain top choices for travelers looking for big-city countdowns and fireworks,” the company added in an email.
Here’s what you need to know about the most affordable travel destinations in the new year.
Where is the cheapest place to get a flight for the New Year holidays?
Hopper said that from Dec. 29 to Jan. 7, round-trip fares from various U.S. cities will be affordable.
- Flights from New York to West Palm Beach are available for as low as $70. Fares start at $90 from the Big Apple to Orlando, and fares can be as low as $234 to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
- Fares start at $84 from Chicago to Miami, $250 to San Juan, and $300 to Cancun, Mexico.
- Travelers can fly from Dallas to Las Vegas for $87 or to Orlando for $90. Other flights from Texas include flights to Miami from $100 and Fort Lauderdale from $104.
- Flights from Boston to Orlando start from $103 and to San Juan from $270.
Meanwhile, Expedia’s list of destinations under $500 also included Atlantic City. Fort Lauderdale; Orlando; Atlanta; New Orleans from December 27th to January 4th for domestic travel and Guadalajara, Mexico for international travel. Saint Lucia. Cusco, Peru; Stockholm; and São Paulo, Brazil also made the list.
What are the most popular destinations to travel to in the new year?
New York, Las Vegas, Miami, Orlando and Los Angeles are among the most popular destinations in the U.S., according to Expedia room data from Dec. 29 to Jan. 7. Overseas, Cancun, Punta Cana, Tokyo, Paris and London were on the list.
Hopper similarly found that “warm-weather destinations like Florida, Mexico, and the Caribbean are at the top of this year’s New Year’s travel list.”
Where is the cheapest place to stay during the New Year holidays?
Expedia’s data also shows that there are affordable accommodation options in a variety of destinations. “U.S. options for less than $150 per night include Pensacola, Destin and Tallahassee (and Moab, Tulsa and Omaha). International flights for less than $150 per night include Cebu, Phuket/Pattaya, Lima (and) Santo Domingo,” the company said.
What is the best destination for the new year?
On r/Travel, one of Reddit’s largest travel communities with over 2.1 million subscribers, people shared their top destinations to celebrate the New Year.
“People are no longer just accepting curated recommendations and algorithmic suggestions from influencers, they’re pooling collective knowledge from other smart travelers and locals around the world,” Matt Klein, head of foresight at Reddit, told USA TODAY in a statement.
In November posts, Reddit users recalled famous fireworks displays from Sydney Harbor and Taipei 101, Taiwan’s tallest skyscraper, while others watched fireworks from a beach on Kauai. Some people indulge in cultural traditions, such as eating 12 grapes under the table in Mexico, wearing white in Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana district, or celebrating Hogmanay in Scotland.
Other memorable destinations included Auckland, Cape Town, Toronto and Abu Dhabi.
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. Please contact us at ndiller@usatoday.com.
