As a sales season, Black Friday long ago turned the weekend corner to extend to Cyber Monday. And it’s still growing as Travel Tuesday gains traction.
In a recent report, the consultancy McKinsey & Company found that bookings for hotels, cruises and airlines spiked on Travel Tuesday 2023. Airline purchases soared, beating the average for sales over two weeks on either side of the date by more than 60 percent. Cruise bookings jumped 50 percent.
“More people are investing in travel and experiences than ever before,” said Hayley Berg, the lead economist at the travel booking app Hopper. “On the flip side, we’ve seen more marketing and more providers participating, so it’s really snowballing.”
This year, after wading through hundreds of sales, I found some of the best deals I’ve seen since the pandemic. Consider the following offers the tip of the iceberg; chances are if you want to book a hotel, airline ticket, rental car, tour or cruise for 2025, you’ll find a sale on it, many of them through Dec. 8.
As always, caveat emptor. Among pitfalls, many sales will be prepaid and nonrefundable, be subject to blackout dates and hew to off-season or first-quarter travel, so read the terms and conditions carefully.
Flight deals
Through Dec. 4, TAP Air Portugal is offering round-trip flights starting at $379 to Lisbon, Madrid, Dublin and other European destinations from its U.S. airports, including Newark Liberty International Airport, for travel from mid-January to mid-May.
Travel Tuesday is an especially good time to book airline tickets, according to Hopper, which found more than 3,300 routes from U.S. airports on sale last Travel Tuesday, and nearly twice the deals compared to Black Friday 2023.
Half of its customers booked flights and hotels in the next year and the other half took advantage of last-minute trips in November and December.
Global tours for less
Group tour operators are expanding their sales this year.
The adventure travel company Geographic Expeditions (known as GeoEx) will hold its first Travel Tuesday sale, which will run through Dec. 6, taking $1,000 off a selection of 2025 trips, including 10 days in Patagonia, Argentina, and 14 days in Mongolia (trips normally range from $11,250 to $12,650 a person).
The tour operator Collette has increased its annual seasonal sale, offering up to 25 percent off 2025 bookings made through Dec. 4. Trips range from 16 days in Japan and South Korea, marked down 15 percent to $6,034 a person, to 10 days in Portugal, down 25 percent at $1,499 a person.
CIE Tours has extended its sale from a week in 2023 to four weeks. Running through Dec. 7, the sale — up to 15 percent off — applies to all trips. Before the discount, six days based in Glasgow, with excursions to nearby castles, Loch Lomond and the Isle of Arran, costs $1,845 a person.
On Tuesday, the small-group tour specialist Explore Worldwide is offering discounts of up to 20 percent on more than 1,500 departures in 2025. Deals include $400 off an eight-day walking trip on Italy’s Amalfi Coast in March and April (normally $1,990 a person); and $1,280 off a 14-day trip in Japan during spring’s cherry blossom season (normally $6,390 a person).
Cruise offers
Cruise lines have long embraced the Thanksgiving sales season with promotions announced by major operators, including the trans-Atlantic specialist Cunard, family-friendly Norwegian Cruise Line and high-end Silversea.
Among cruise companies offering first-time sales, the small-ship line St. Hilda Sea Adventures, which specializes in the Scottish islands, will take up to 20 percent off departures in April and May when booked through Dec. 20 (code: SPRING25). Six- to 10-night trips start at $2,630 before the discount.
On the Great Lakes, Victory Cruise Lines will launch a pair of boats operating between Chicago and Toronto in spring. During its sale, running through Dec. 4, nine-night trips will start at $5,799 a person, which is $1,000 less than normal for a shared double-occupancy cabin. The deal also includes a complimentary shore excursion.
If swimming with sea lions off the Galápagos Islands is on your wish list, check out Ecoventura’s sale through Dec. 6. Eight-day sailings on ships accommodating 20 passengers normally cost $10,500 a person, but during the sale will drop to $8,400.
The expedition line HX will offer a number of its cruises at 40 to 50 percent off until Dec. 9, including a nine-day trip to the Galápagos (sale priced from $6,774 a person); some sailings will partner with the National Audubon Society to seek out the islands’ avian stars. Twelve-day HX trips to Antarctica start at $8,596 a person during the sale.
AdventureSmith Explorations, an agency that specializes in small-ship cruising, is a good place to look for expedition cruise sales, including a web page devoted to Antarctica deals.
New lodging discounts
Hotel deals litter the sales landscape. This year major brands such as Marriott, IHG and Hyatt are tying their sales to loyalty program membership with earlier or exclusive access or bigger discounts. Fortunately, joining is free.
Urban options include the 33 Hotel, New York City, Seaport at 40 percent off through Dec. 3; discounted rates start at $159.
In Chicago, the new Korean-owned L7 Chicago by LOTTE has rooms discounted 30 percent through Dec. 8 for 2025 travel (normally from $135).
Resort newcomers include the 10-villa Trobbu Tulum in Mexico, which is opening in January. During the sale, which ends on Tuesday, its three-bedroom homes will start at $630 a night, reflecting a 30 percent discount.
In Hawaii, new hotels with deals range high to low. A luxury newcomer near Hilo on the Big Island, the adults-only, all-inclusive Hamakua Hotel, will offer seven nights for the price of four through Tuesday (from $699 a night; code: Cyber).
The more affordable Romer House Waikiki in Honolulu is offering 40 percent off rates that start at $119 a night after the discount through Dec. 6 (code: BFCM24).
Experiences on sale
Attractions and day-trip operators are increasingly offering sales that can help you plan activities at a discount.
For example, Traveling Spoon, an Airbnb-style platform that connects travelers with local food experiences in 70 countries, will offer its first Travel Tuesday sale. Use the code TRAVEL24 to get 15 percent off experiences such as a meal in a host’s home in Kyoto, Japan (normally $56), a mixology class in Barbados ($56) and a pasta-making session in Tuscany ($224).
Get some exercise while speed-touring Rome with ArcheoRunning, offering running tours of the Eternal City. During its sale, through Tuesday, private groups of up to four travelers can get a 75-minute running tour and a four-hour walking tour of the Trastevere neighborhood for 390 euros (about $415), or 35 percent off (code: ARFriday2024).
In southwest Colorado, the Springs Resort in Pagosa will sell two-day passes for the price of one at $67 through Tuesday (code: TRAVEL).
For more deals on attractions as well as hotels and rental cars, check Booking.com during its sale, which runs through Dec. 4.
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