You Can Save the Most By Traveling on This Day, This Summer

Book on Tuesday, but travel on...

Mother and daughter holding hands while boarding a plane outside
As we head into an extremely busy and pricey travel season, this advice should help.
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Summer travel is rarely “inexpensive,” but fortunately there are a handful of ways to save here and there. In fact, even the day of the week you choose to travel on can have an effect on the price of certain variables, like airfare. According to a new report from Travel + Leisure, which weighed data provided by the metasearch engine and travel agency Skyscanner, Sunday was found to be the cheapest day of the week to travel this summer. Travelers who fly on Sundays will save up to 5% off the cost of their tickets in July and August.

And while 5% sounds meager, that can add up quickly for frequent fliers and for those traveling with families. Further, according to Expedia’s 2023 Air Travel Hacks Report, that number is actually closer to 15% when talking about Sunday international flights.

Get Ready for Another Summer of Travel Mayhem
High demand and staffing shortages are expected. Anyone else feeling deja vu?

“Our research shows that Americans are willing to make sacrifices…in order to save for their summer vacations, but are less likely to shop around in the way they would when doing their weekly shop or clothes,” Skyscanner travel trends and destination expert Laura Lindsay told T+L. “There’s so much money to be saved if consumers compare their travel options, so we’re building the tools for travelers to do this quickly and easily.”

For years, experts have touted Tuesdays and Wednesdays as being the cheapest days to book airfare, which lends itself further to the idea that flexibility is actually the secret to saving on booking. As T+L notes, Skyscanner actually allows users to search “everywhere” instead of a specific destination to find the best deals, but several other platforms — Google Travel, for example — offer similar features. The more flexible you are, from the day you book to the day you travel, the cheaper your trip gets. Per Skyscanner, travelers who plan a trip during the last week of the school summer holiday can save an average of 31% more than those who travel during the first week of the break.

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