The Best Times to Buy Flights to Europe (Backed by Data)

Dreaming of a European holiday? If you want to be sipping an Aperol Spritz on the Mediterranean seaside, wandering the narrow streets of an old town, or cruising the Alpine slopes on skis, you’re not alone. International flights to the old continent are packed full – trust me, I just got off of one.

And we know that many full flights mean very few cheap flights, which is a real bummer for those of us in search of a good deal for our next trip. Flight prices seem to be at an all-time high when it comes to crossing the Atlantic, and that’s if you can find seats on the flight you want at all.

While the best times to buy flights to Europe will depend a lot on your destination and vacation plans, there are certainly some tips and tricks to finding more affordable airfare. Frequent travelers know all about travel hacking and flight trackers, but is there more of a science behind finding cheap fares?

As someone who crosses the pond regularly, I have a fair bit of experience in finding the best time to book flights, and I’m obsessed with the data, tips, and tricks that get me the best deals. Read on to see my take on when and how you should be booking flights to Europe.

The Prime Booking Window for Cheap Flights to Europe

You’ve probably heard that the cheapest day to book flights is Tuesday – while that’s totally false, there are indeed a few factors to consider in terms of when exactly to buy airline tickets. Firstly, you need to consider when the travel will actually take place; then, there’s an important timeframe for buying tickets before then.

That timeframe is at least 3 to 6 months before your intended date of travel. If you wait any longer than that, your chances of getting a decent flight deal rapidly decrease. And in some cases, you may even want to consider booking even further out than that – the summertime high season is one that I find is best booked as far in advance as possible.

Now that that’s out of the way and you know how far in advance you should be looking let’s get into the prime times to actually travel – the other component to finding airfare deals. Before you hit Google Flights, know these important periods and how they’ll affect your final price.

Summertime High Season

Without a doubt, the summer months are Europe’s busiest – especially for coastal countries like France, Italy, Spain, and Greece, but also…