Holiday travel will pick up before Thanksgiving next week, and Jen Maki with Divine Destinations says it will be “off the charts.”

“Everybody wants to travel,” Maki said. “Our numbers are over year over year and certainly back to pre-pandemic numbers. So yes, it’s definitely high season.”

She says it’s probably too late to plan a Caribbean cruise this Christmas or an all-inclusive stay for New Year’s, but travelers can start to look ahead.

“We’ve been booking holiday travel for basically this whole last year. And some of the clients that are going away for Christmas vacations, they booked last Christmas,” Maki said.

She suggests booking now and giving the gift of travel for next year.

“If we think about what we give as gifts, especially if we’re talking about our children, I think really experiences and memories more than anything is what we want to give, but unfortunately we tend to get sucked into a lot of those Black Friday deals,” Maki said.

Even if airfare isn’t available yet, Maki feels booking 12-24 months in advance can save travelers money.

“And that really goes for anytime. Whether it’s a popular spring break or a holiday time, we can definitely get that booked in advance a year, even two years in advance,” she said.