Long Weekends 2027: 7 Tips to Book Flights for Less

Every long weekend costs more to fly, but you don't have to pay the full markup. Here are 7 ways to book 2027 long weekend flights for less.

Looking to get the most out of your days off in 2027? Follow this guide to book your long weekend flights at the best prices.

Long weekends are the easiest way to stretch your time off, but flights on those dates almost always cost more. Every long weekend we tracked in 2026 cost more to fly than a normal weekend.

The good news is you don't have to pay the full markup. We dug into RatePunk's fare data to find the days, the holidays, and tips that will save you the most.

Every 2027 Long Weekend at a Glance

First things first, mark your calendar. The federal holidays in 2027 give you 11 long weekends, and here's where each one lands, straight from the U.S. government.

New Year's Day: Friday, January 1 (3 days)
Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Monday, January 18 (3 days)
Presidents' Day: Monday, February 15 (3 days)
Memorial Day: Monday, May 31 (3 days)
Juneteenth (observed): Friday, June 18 (3 days)
Independence Day (observed): Monday, July 5 (3 days)
Labor Day: Monday, September 6 (3 days)
Columbus Day: Monday, October 11 (3 days)
Veterans Day: Thursday, November 11 (4 days, if you take Friday off)
Thanksgiving: Thursday, November 25 (4 days, if you take Friday off)
Christmas Day (observed): Friday, December 24 (3 days)

*We left Thanksgiving and Christmas out of the price comparisons below, but our guide to booking Thanksgiving and Christmas flights covers both.

Of those 11, nine are 3-day weekends in 2027, and Veterans Day and Thanksgiving fall on a Thursday, so take Friday off and you'll get four days in a row.

Long weekend flight prices vary quite a bit. Here's how they stood in 2026, when compared with the normal weekends around them:

Cheapest: Juneteenth and Independence Day, at just 11% and 19% more than a normal weekend.
Middle of the pack: MLK weekend and Columbus Day.
Priciest: Memorial Day, Presidents' Day, and Labor Day.

Some dates also bunch up and push prices around:

New Year's weekend comes right after Christmas, so it's still part of the holiday rush.
Presidents' Day is the Monday after Super Bowl Sunday in 2027.
Spring break follows a few weeks after Presidents' Day. In 2026, that weekend cost 32% more than normal.
Juneteenth and Independence Day are just over two weeks apart.
Thanksgiving is just two weeks after Veterans Day.

1. Stay Until Tuesday or Wednesday

Keep your whole long weekend and just come back a little later. Around Labor Day and Columbus Day in 2026, flying out Friday and coming back Wednesday cost 19% less than the classic Friday-to-Monday trip.

Even one extra day helps, since Friday to Tuesday cost 6.6% less. If you can leave earlier too, the savings grow:

Thursday to Tuesday cost 16% less.
Wednesday to Tuesday cost 27% less.
Wednesday to Wednesday cost 39% less.

2. Fly the Weekend Before or After

If your dates can slide by a week, most of the extra cost goes away. Prices jump on the holiday weekend itself, while the weekends right before and after cost about what they normally do.

Take Presidents' Day in 2026, the holiday weekend cost 104% more than normal, while the weekends on either side cost about the same as usual.

How much more or less each weekend cost than a normal weekend on the same routes, Friday to Monday trips: Jan 23, 4.9% less; Jan 30, 5.9% less; Feb 6, 2.2% more; Presidents' Day weekend (Feb 13), 104% more; Feb 20, 1.7% more; Feb 27, 2.7% less; Mar 6, 8.9% more; Mar 13, 32% more. Round trips within the U.S., fares seen one to three months ahead.

3. Pick the Friday Holidays

Friday holidays are the cheapest long weekends to fly. In 2026, Juneteenth and July 4 both gave you a Friday off, and they cost just 11% and 19% more than a normal weekend.

In 2027, Juneteenth is the Friday holiday to watch. Juneteenth is June 19, a Saturday, so the day off moves to Friday, June 18.

New Year's Day also falls on a Friday in 2027, but that weekend sits in the Christmas rush.

How much more each long weekend cost than a normal weekend on the same routes: Labor Day 2026, 60% more; Columbus Day 2026, 33% more; July 4 2026, 19% more; Juneteenth 2026, 11% more. Round trips within the U.S., fares seen one week to one month ahead.

4. Skip Memorial Day and Labor Day

If you're flying on a budget, Memorial Day and Labor Day are the two to skip. Memorial Day weekend in 2026 cost more than twice as much as the weekends before it, the biggest jump of any winter or spring holiday.

Labor Day had the highest markup of the summer and fall holidays, at 60% more than a normal weekend.

5. Skip the Thursday-to-Sunday Trip

Leaving a day early sounds smart, but it only pays off if you come back late too. A Thursday-to-Sunday trip cost 6.1% more than Friday to Monday.

Stretch the trip into the next week instead. Thursday to Tuesday cost 16% less.

6. Book About Two Months Out

Book about two months ahead, but don't stress about the exact day to book. Fares were lowest eight to nine weeks before the trip and highest in the final week.

The difference is small, though, about 4.8% under the usual fare at best and 6.2% over at worst. Picking the right days to fly saves you way more than picking the right day to book.

7. Plan Winter Long Weekends Early

MLK and Presidents' Day weekends cost more even when they're months away. When we checked fares months ahead, MLK weekend 2027 cost 61% more than a normal weekend nearby, and Presidents' Day weekend cost 32% more.

So plan these two early. Compare the holiday weekend with the weekends around it, and if the gap is big, move your trip by a week.

Frequently Asked Questions

When are the long weekends in 2027?

There are eight, not counting, Veteran's day (falls on a Thursday), Thanksgiving, and Christmas: New Year's Day, MLK Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, and Columbus Day.

Is Memorial Day weekend expensive to fly?

Yes, it's one of the priciest long weekends to fly. In 2026, the same trip on any of the four weekends before Memorial Day cost about half as much. If your dates are flexible, a weekend in early or mid-May is the cheaper bet.

How far ahead should you book flights for a long weekend?

About two months out. For Labor Day and Columbus Day 2026, fares were lowest eight to nine weeks before the trip and highest in the last week.

The difference is small, though. Picking the right days saves you way more than booking early.

Is Veterans Day a long weekend in 2027?

Only if you take a day off. Veterans Day 2027 falls on Thursday, November 11, so take Friday off and you've got four days, Thursday to Sunday.

Are New Year's Day and Good Friday long weekends in 2027?

New Year's Day is. The holiday falls on Friday, January 1, 2027, so you get Friday to Sunday off. Good Friday isn't on the U.S. government’s list of federal holidays.

How We Got These Numbers

We compared round-trip flights within the U.S. on each long weekend, from Veterans Day 2025 to Columbus Day 2026, with the same flights on normal weekends nearby. Winter and summer holidays come from different sets of RatePunk data, so we only compare each with its own group. The 2027 numbers come from fares seen August to October 2026. These are prices shown in searches, not what people paid.

About RatePunk

Reading fares and understanding what makes them move is our area of expertise, and the prices in this article come from our own flight data. RatePunk Flights is a flight-deal service that watches prices from your home airport and alerts you when a flight costs less than usual. You can then book it wherever you like, with the airline itself or a travel site you already use.

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Long Weekends 2027: 7 Tips for Cheaper Flights