Travel

Domestic airfares for Thanksgiving are at their highest level in ten years, according to Hopper's holiday index. It puts the average round trip at $402, up $95 or 31% from last year. Christmas round trips average $452. The most expensive return day is Sunday, Nov. 29, at about $604. Monday, Nov. 23, is the cheapest day to depart. Hopper advises booking by the end of October. Other trackers show smaller rises: Going reports Thanksgiving fares up 15%. Cirium schedule data cited by Forbes shows U.S. carriers have cut about 3% of domestic seats for late November and December. Fuel is a major cost pressure. Delta said its third-quarter jet fuel bill rose 60%, or about $1.6 billion, and that passengers kept booking despite higher fares.

MEMPHIS — Southwest Airlines began nonstop service between Frederick W. Smith International Airport, the former Memphis International, and Austin on Oct. 1. The flight runs six days a week, Sunday through Friday. Delta Air Lines ended its once-daily Memphis-Austin flights after Oct. 5, citing the need to align with demand. That leaves Southwest as the only airline on the route. Delta has also dropped its Memphis-JFK nonstop. The route was suspended in June with a planned September return, but Delta later said it would not come back. The airline still flies three times daily to LaGuardia. Airport officials said earlier this year that Memphis had 36 destinations in 2026, up from 31 in 2021. The authority renamed the airport for FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith on Aug. 11.

AMBON, Indonesia — Scalloped hammerhead schools are still showing off Indonesia's Banda Sea, but the season is nearly over. Liveaboards cross between Komodo and Raja Ampat from about mid-September to early November, and operators rate October and November best for hammerheads at Manuk, Suanggi, Serua and Nil Desperandum. A second, smaller window runs March to April. The sites are open-ocean seamounts, so the trip is liveaboard-only, typically 10 to 12 nights. A dive-site guide lists depths of 10 to 40 metres, strong current and visibility up to about 50 metres, and recommends 50 or more logged dives. One operator reports hammerheads on most dives, but that is its own log, and others stress the schools sit deep, move and are not guaranteed. From Memphis there are no direct flights. Boats start from Ambon, reached via Jakarta or Makassar, and finish in Sorong. Crossings sell out many months ahead, so this is a plan for next season.

KHAO LAK, Thailand — Thailand's Mu Ko Similan National Park reopened on Oct. 15 and stays open until May 15, 2027. By law it is closed to all diving and landings the rest of the year. Guides citing the Department of National Parks schedule say sites that give Oct. 1 or Nov. 1 as the opening date are wrong. One operator reports a daily quota of 3,850 visitors, 525 of them divers. Foreign adults pay a 500 baht park fee, plus 200 baht a day for diving. Visibility is cited at 20 to 30 metres. Water is around 29°C, with calmest seas and clearest water from about November or December to April. Elephant Head Rock has boulder swim-throughs past 40 metres and strong currents, which makes it an experienced-diver site. North Point can only be reached by liveaboard. Most boats leave from Thap Lamu pier at Khao Lak, with Phuket as the gateway airport. From Memphis it is a multi-connection itinerary through a U.S. and an Asian hub.

COLOMBO — British Airways begins winter-season nonstop flights between London Gatwick and Colombo on Friday, Oct. 23, three times a week on Boeing 777s. It is the carrier's first service to the island since 2015, and SriLankan Airlines already flies Heathrow–Colombo. Sri Lanka's Tourism board reports the UK has sent more than 170,000 visitors this year. Local surf outlets note the south-coast season starts around now. Beyond beaches, the island offers hill-country rail routes, wildlife parks and ancient cities. From Memphis there is no nonstop service. Plan on a U.S. gateway connection to London, and a Heathrow–Gatwick transfer if a separate ticket is used. Americans need an Electronic Travel Authorization for stays up to 30 days. The State Department rates Sri Lanka Level 2, citing unrest, terrorism and unexploded ordnance in the north and east. It advises staying on well-used roads there and avoiding demonstrations.

CHRISTIANSTED, U.S. Virgin Islands — United Airlines starts weekly nonstop flights between Newark and St. Croix on Saturday, Oct. 31, using a 126-seat Boeing 737-700. The Airways trade site reports the flight leaves Newark at 9:03 a.m. and lands at 1:20 p.m. The return leaves at 2:25 p.m. Caribbean trade press says the island has had no nonstop to the New York area since Continental stopped flying it in 1994. St. Croix is the largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is known for Danish colonial towns, snorkeling and quieter beaches than neighboring St. Thomas. Because it is a U.S. territory, American citizens do not need a passport, and State Department country advisories do not cover it. Memphis travelers would still connect, typically through a hub such as Charlotte, Miami or Newark. Winter is the dry high season. Hurricane season officially ends Nov. 30.