8 Places to Escape the Holidays

Spend Thanksgiving in Europe and Give Thanks for Rock-Bottom Airfares

For Europeans, the fourth Thursday in November is just another workday. "Europe is seeing some of the best deals worldwide over Thanksgiving," says Kevin Turner, spokesman for Kayak.com. "People don’t think to head there during this time of year, but lines for tourist attractions are virtually nonexistent, and the weather is still incredibly pleasant, especially in milder places." A round-trip flight from New York to Rome over Thanksgiving will cost $630 versus $1,050 to fly to Rome during July. "Even better, go to Turkey!" says Peter Greenberg, travel editor for CBS News. He says that there are flights on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving from Los Angeles to Istanbul for $600. Compare that to the $609 you'd spend to get from New York to D.C. on US Airways. If you need another reason to head to Europe before the New Year, consider this: Due to airline consolidation, flight capacity will most likely be cut from 5 to 10 percent in 2012, and travel experts predict this will cause a spike in ticket prices.