Amazing Places That Still Have Affordable Flights in December

Andrew Lisa

Tue, Nov 15, 2022, 5:00 PM 4 min read

If you’re planning to travel around Christmastime — or in December, in general — it’s going to cost you. Travelers are staring down the priciest airfare in five years, with the industry consensus expecting the average flight to run into the high $400s.

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But if you can book before mid-November, you don’t have to settle for average.

Whether you’re planning a vacation to an exotic tropical destination with palm trees and white-sand beaches or a trip to grandma’s house a few states away, there are still plenty of deals to be had. Here’s where to look.

Travelocity Flight and Hotel Deals Under $400

Travelocity by Expedia is advertising dozens of sub-$400 December travel packages that include accommodations, hotel taxes, fees and round-trip economy airfare with available departures and destinations across the country. If you want to spend a little more, you can always upgrade to a swankier hotel.

Here’s a partial list of available packages for December:

Dec. 4-7: Hilton Vacation Club Mystic Dunes Orlando flying Frontier Airlines out of New York for $195 per person.
Dec. 4-7: Crystal Palms Beach Resort in St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida, flying Spirit Airlines out of Boston for $380 per person.
Dec. 6-8: Bally’s Las Vegas flying Spirit Airlines out of Dallas for $101 per person.
Dec. 9-11: Le Méridien Essex Chicago flying Frontier Airlines out of Dallas for $288 per person.
Dec. 9-12: Commerce Casino & Hotel in Los Angeles flying Spirit Airlines out of Chicago for $362 per person.
Dec. 10-12: Coast Gateway Hotel in Seattle flying Spirit Airlines out of Los Angeles for $295 per person.
Dec. 16-18: MOXY Phoenix Temple in Arizona flying Spirit Airlines out of Minneapolis-St. Paul for $250 per person.
Dec. 16-18: The Viv Hotel in Anaheim flying Frontier Airlines out of Denver for $325 per person.

Vacation Express: Last-Minute All-Inclusive Deals

Vacation Express is offering deep discounts on flights and all-inclusive resort getaways departing from airports in more than 40 select cities to destinations in Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean.

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All of the deals are complete vacation packages. The listed price for each includes meals, unlimited drinks, activities, non-stop round-trip airfare, accommodations, hotel taxes and local representatives. In many resorts, kids stay and eat for free, and some are offering valuable resort credits worth up to $600. Destinations include exotic hotspots like Cancun, Riviera Maya, Punta Cana, Jamaica, Cozumel, Costa Rica, Aruba and the Bahamas. Book today for travel dates through Dec. 15.

Here is just a sampling of starting prices from the more than three dozen available departing cities for three-night all-inclusive packages, including non-stop round-trip airfare:

Atlanta: $785
Baltimore: $659
Charlotte: $658
Chicago: $625
Dallas: $599
Ft. Lauderdale: $537
Indianapolis: $679
Los Angeles: $749
Memphis: $829
Miami: $699
Milwaukee: $879
Nashville: $729
Newark: $598
Philadelphia: $713
St. Louis: $695
Tampa: $529

Discount All-Inclusive Vacation Packages Without Airfare

If you’re a savvy travel booker who can score a deal on airfare, you can save a bundle of money on all-inclusive resort deals in exotic destinations. Travelocity is offering dozens of December packages that include everything you need for a luxury beachside vacation except for the ride there and back. Most are fully refundable up to 24 hours before you’re set to arrive.

Consider that with discounts as steep as these, you don’t even need to score the cheapest airline tickets to save money on your vacation.

Here’s a small sample of what’s available:

Dec. 4-8: Dos Playas by Faranda in Cancun for $199 per night, down from $349 for savings of 43%.
Dec. 4-8: Be Live Collection in Punta Cana for $112 per night, down from $250 for savings of 55%.
Dec. 4-8: Vamar Vallarta Marina and Beach Resort in Puerto Vallarta for $142 per night, down from $229 for savings of 38%.
Dec. 7-11: Hotel Riu Tequila in Playa del Carmen for $176 per night, down from $392 for savings of 55%.

Expedia’s Christmas Vacation Deals and Cheap December Flights

If you’re planning to travel on or around the holiday itself, it’s not too late to book one of Expedia’s Christmas vacation deals. The site has a special page dedicated solely to Christmas travel that you can book in November. The offerings include stays, flights or a combination of the two.

You can shop by theme (deals under $500, National Park vacation deals, etc.), length of stay (three-day deals, five-day deals, etc.), by top destinations like Las Vegas or Orlando, or by state. The page has links to specific deals in all 50 of them.

If it’s only airfare you need, check out Expedia’s “Cheap December Flights” page, where you’ll find only low-cost and discounted airfare specifically for the last month of the year that you can still book right now.

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