The cheapest time to fly to Europe: months, weeks and when to book

The short answer: winter, minus the holidays

Fares follow demand. The weeks when the fewest people want to travel are usually the cheapest, and for most of Europe that means the winter months, once Christmas and New Year are over. January, February and early March are often the quietest weeks of the year, and November, between the October half-term and the run-up to Christmas, is another low point.

There is a trade-off. Winter days are short, northern cities are cold and some seasonal flights and hotels on the coasts close until spring. If you want cheap flights and decent weather, shoulder season is usually the better choice: April to early June and September to October. Our guide to Europe in shoulder season covers those months in more detail.

Month by month: what to expect

This is the general pattern we see for flights from the UK and the US to European cities. It’s our own guide, not a price promise: one route can buck the trend, so always check the fares for your dates.

The weeks that cost more

A cheap month can still have expensive weeks. In the UK, half-terms in February, late May and late October, plus Easter and the summer holidays, are when families travel and fares rise. Schools and councils set their own term dates, so GOV.UK points you to your local council for the exact weeks. Our half-term flights guide explains how to plan around them.

From the US, summer and the Thanksgiving and Christmas periods are the busiest. In Europe itself, local holidays and events matter too: a big trade fair, a marathon or a football final can fill a city’s hotels and flights for a few days. Search a few days either side before you settle on dates.

• UK school holidays: Easter, summer and the three half-term weeks
• Christmas and New Year, on both sides of the Atlantic
• Public holidays and long weekends in the country you’re visiting
• Major events, such as trade fairs, marathons and big concerts

How far ahead to book

Google’s October 2026 travel trends post, based on several years of Google Flights prices for trips from the US, found that the lowest average fares to Europe came about three months before departure, and that waiting until the last few weeks rarely paid off. It also found the difference between booking on one day of the week rather than another to be negligible, so don’t wait for a Tuesday.

Those are averages for US departures, not a rule. For short flights from the UK, budget airlines release seats many months ahead and the cheapest ones tend to sell first, so booking early is usually safer than waiting for a sale. For summer and school holidays, we’d book as soon as your dates are fixed. Our guide to when to book international flights goes into more detail, and are last-minute flights cheaper? explains why late deals are a gamble.

Other ways to pay less

When you fly within the week matters more than when you book. Midweek flights are often cheaper than Friday and Sunday ones, especially on city-break routes. The time of day helps too: early-morning and late-evening flights can be cheaper, though check the cost of getting to the airport.

Compare airports. From London, prices to the same city can vary a lot between Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton; our London airports guide shows which airlines use which. From the US, a one-stop route through a European hub can be much cheaper than a nonstop. And an open-jaw trip, flying into one city and home from another, saves backtracking.

Finally, compare the full price, not the headline fare. Many short flights in Europe include only a small under-seat bag, so add the cost of a cabin case or a checked bag before you compare. Our hand luggage and bag fees guide shows what each airline includes.

Where to go when it’s cheap

Winter suits city breaks built around museums, food and indoor sights. Paris, Rome and Amsterdam are good examples. For milder winter weather, look south to Lisbon and Barcelona, or east to Istanbul, which sits outside the Schengen area.

Our route pages show flight times and, when we have them, recent fares by month: try London to Paris, London to Lisbon, Manchester to Barcelona, New York to Rome and New York to Lisbon.

Border rules for UK and US travellers

British and American visitors don’t need a visa for short trips to the Schengen area, but can stay for no more than 90 days in any 180-day period across the whole area. GOV.UK adds that British passports must have been issued less than 10 years before you arrive and be valid for at least three months after the day you plan to leave.

The EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) now registers visitors’ fingerprints and photo at the border on their first trip, so allow extra time. ETIAS, the EU’s planned travel authorisation, isn’t in operation yet; when it starts it will cost EUR 20. Our EES and ETIAS guide has the details.

Questions people ask