Christmas Tree at Union Station by Joseph Gage via Flickr
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Cue up “All I Want for Christmas is You”… the holiday season has arrived!
And with it, you might be prepping to shell out big bucks on turkeys, gifts, and holiday party outfits. Traveling home to visit the fam isn’t free either, but in some cases, it might be cheaper than you think.
Year-round, you can trust Wanderu to find you the best deals on bus and train travel. We partner with hundreds of bus and train carriers, which gives us unique access to pricing trends across the ground travel industry. So we set out to see how much it really costs to take the bus or train this holiday season.
We dug into the data, and found that inflation isn’t impacting all travel modes equally. Depending on the routes you take, your trip home might cost a lot less than usual!
Naughty or nice, you deserve the best price. So let’s dive in and see where travel costs are rising and falling.
Travel Costs for Thanksgiving 2023
Bus Travel
Generally, bus tickets for Thanksgiving 2023 are cheaper or about the same price as last year.
All featured fares represent the average price of a one-way bus ticket within the period of November 18-26, 2023 and the corresponding weeks of Thanksgiving for previous years.
The table above shows the average price of all bus trips during the week of Thanksgiving, as well as average prices for short, mid-length, and long trips based on the distance traveled. This lets us compare the year-over-year price changes for different kinds of bus trips; from short jaunts to long-haul trips that may cross several state lines.
Although the overall average price of a Thanksgiving bus ticket is higher than last year’s, if we look closer, we see some price reductions. Short trips (between 10 and 50 miles long) are 13.2% cheaper than last year, so you might luck out and score a great deal if you’re not traveling too far. Long-haul trips (between 201 and 400 miles long) are also a little cheaper than in 2022, by about 5.3%.
Across the board, from short to long-haul trips, bus ticket prices are higher than they were two years ago, in 2021.
Train Travel
Next up, we turn our magnifying glass to train tickets to see how their prices have changed in the past few years.
Train tickets for Thanksgiving 2023 are cheaper than last year across the board, but still a bit more expensive than 2021 (especially for long trips).
All featured fares represent the average price of a one-way train ticket within the period of November 18-26, 2023 and the corresponding weeks of Thanksgiving for previous years.
Across all route lengths, we see a trendline in train ticket prices. Prices rose from 2021 to 2022, but have gone back down closer to 2021 rates this year. This trend is most dramatic in long-haul train routes; in 2021, the average ticket cost about $217, which rose to $286 in 2022, and settled back to $262 for 2023. This is still an increase from 2021’s low rates, but at least it’s cheaper than 2022’s relatively high prices.
While it’s hard to pinpoint one clear reason why the average train price has decreased, it could be partially due to Amtrak‘s restructured fare classes, which offer a limited number of “sale” tickets on most routes for lower prices than normal.
Comparing the Cost of Bus vs. Train
Even though bus tickets have gone up over the past two years, taking the bus is still cheaper than taking the train for Thanksgiving 2023.
The table below shows the average cost per mile when you travel by bus or train this Thanksgiving. Cost per mile is defined as the price of a ticket, divided by the miles traveled on the trip.
Cost per mile based on the average price of a one-way bus or train ticket within the period of November 18-26, 2023 and the corresponding weeks of Thanksgiving for previous years, divided by the distance traveled on each route.
On a per-mile basis, taking the bus is a cheaper option than taking the train. For Thanksgiving, passengers will pay an average of $0.30 per mile traveling by bus, compared to $0.53 per mile traveling by train.
The chart below gives us a look at how the average cost per mile has changed in the past few years.
Cost per mile based on the average price of a one-way bus or train ticket within the period of November 18-26, 2023 and the corresponding weeks of Thanksgiving for previous years, divided by the distance traveled on each route.
Like we saw with average ticket prices, the cost of traveling by train hit a peak in 2022, and has cooled off slightly since then. Bus travel’s cost per mile, on the other hand, has remained more steady, with an increase from $0.26 per mile in 2022 to $0.30 per mile in 2023.
Thanksgiving Travel Costs for Specific Cities
We also dug into the average price for trips departing from some of the country’s biggest cities, to see how travel costs have changed year over year for travelers living in each of these cities.
All featured fares represent the average price of a one-way bus or train ticket departing from the given city within the period of November 18-26, 2023 and the corresponding weeks of Thanksgiving for previous years.
For travelers that live in most of these cities, expect cheaper train ticket prices this year than last year — sorry, L.A. and Houston, y’all are the exceptions.
However, Houston is one of several cities that has cheaper bus ticket prices than last year; unlike the national average, which shows an increase compared to 2022. For those traveling out of most of these cities, bus tickets will cost more than they did last year. Philadelphia and NYC will see the highest increases: of 28% and 21%, respectively.
Travel Costs for Christmas 2023
Bus Travel
After you’ve traveled for Turkey Day, you’ve got just a few weeks before it’s time to turn around and head home for Christmas or other December holidays. The next few tables show travel trends for December 22 through 26 of each year, which is one of ground travel’s busiest periods in the whole year.
Bus tickets for Christmas 2023 are cheaper than last year across the board.
All featured fares represent the average price of a one-way bus ticket within the period of December 22-26 of each year.
Luckily, short trips are over 16% less expensive than 2022 on average, so you can expect to save a few bucks on your bus trips under 50 miles. Long-haul trips (between 201 and 400 miles) are also cheaper than 2022, and even slightly cheaper than 2021’s average price.
Train Travel
If the Polar Express is more your vibe this time of year, you’ll be excited to see some lower train prices than in 2022.
Train tickets for Christmas 2023 are up to 26% cheaper than last year. Short- and long-haul trips are more expensive compared 2021, but trips on distances of 51-200 miles are cheaper even compared to 2021.
All featured fares represent the average price of a one-way train ticket within the period of December 22-26 of each year.
Mid-length train routes (51 to 200 miles) will see the biggest relief in train prices this year, with average ticket prices 26% lower than 2022. While short and long-haul trips also have cheaper prices than 2022, those prices are not quite as low as we saw in 2021.
Comparing the Cost of Bus vs. Train
Like for Thanksgiving, taking the bus is cheaper than taking the train for Christmas travel.
Cost per mile based on the average price of a one-way bus or train ticket within the period of December 22-26 of each year, divided by the distance traveled on each route.
For Christmas, passengers will pay an average of $0.28 per mile traveled by bus, compared to $0.39 per mile traveling by train. Notice that this is a bit cheaper than the average cost per mile during Thanksgiving, which was $0.30 for bus and $0.53 for train. A couple cents per mile can really add up, and when those cents turn into dollars, your wallet will thank you.
The yearly change in cost per mile shows an even more dramatic curve (at least for trains) for Christmas.
Cost per mile based on the average price of a one-way bus or train ticket within the period of December 22-26 of each year, divided by the distance traveled on each route.
Like for Thanksgiving, 2022 was the high point for the cost of Christmas train travel; the cost per mile has decreased by more than 30% for Christmas train tickets this year.
The cost per mile for bus travel each Christmas has remained relatively constant, with a slight uptick this year to $0.28 per mile.
Christmas Travel Costs for Specific Cities
Christmas travel departing from each of these cities shows a similar trend to Thanksgiving travel: bus tickets are generally more expensive than last year, while train prices are lower on average.
All featured fares represent the average price of a one-way bus or train ticket departing from the given city within the period of December 22-26, 2023, and the corresponding weeks of Christmas for previous years.
Travelers in Philadelphia, Boston, New York City, and Houston will see the biggest jumps in the price of their bus trips, where the average ticket price for Christmas is more than 25% higher than last year. Higher bus prices and decreasing train prices might convince some of these travelers to opt for a train trip, when the price difference between travel modes is much smaller than usual.
Train prices for Christmas 2023 are lower than last year for all of these major cities, with the exception of Los Angeles. Miami, Dallas, and New York have significantly cheaper average train prices than 2022, so we recommend hopping on the good deals before they’re all snapped up!
Planning Holiday Travel with Wanderu
Speaking of deals, we’ve got some evergreen 🎄 tips to find the best deals on buses and trains for the holiday season.
- Search on Wanderu. Wanderu partners with hundreds of bus and train carriers, so you can compare all your ground travel options in one place. We help you find the cheapest bus & train tickets, so you can travel for less.
- Book in advance. The earlier you can book your travel, the better. Bus and train tickets tend to get more expensive as the holidays approach.
- Be flexible (if you can). On holiday weeks, tons of people aim to travel on the same day, which makes scoring cheap tickets highly competitive. Traveling a day earlier or later can make a big difference in the price of your ticket.
Now is the time to book your holiday travel and score the best prices. Hit up Wanderu online or on our app to search, compare, and book in a snap. Happy travels!
Methodology
The data in this study is based on pricing data aggregated from hundreds of bus and train carriers partnered with Wanderu. We limited our study to the top 1,000 routes within the U.S. Next, we found the average price of one-way bus and train trips during the week of Thanksgiving (from the Saturday before to the Sunday after Thanksgiving) and Christmas (December 22 to December 26) in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Then we crunched some numbers and determined how much average ticket prices have changed year-over-year to show the pricing trends outlined in the study.
You are welcome to use the information on this page, crediting Wanderu. If you do so, please link back to this page so wanderers around the world can see how we did this study.
