In case you hadn’t noticed, Thanksgiving—the busiest travel period of the year—is almost upon us. According to one study from Orbitz, Thanksgiving fares are up 2 percent, while Christmas fares are up 5 percent. But the numbers are actually worse: Overall, fares have increased by 17 percent since last year, despite the fact that jet fuel prices have dropped 10 percent.

Yes, there is extreme sticker shock out there with airline fares these days, but don’t get totally discouraged. Here are some tips that can help save some cash.

Trends: Go West

Some of us can’t control where our families are throwing Thanksgiving dinner, but if you do have a choice in the matter, try to avoid the East Coast. Your best bets for affordable travel are west of Louisiana:

Hawaii

Fares to Hawaii are uncharacteristically low this Thanksgiving. Fares are down a total of four percent before Thanksgiving and eight percent after.

Dallas

Fares to Dallas have also decreased by two percent before Thanksgiving.

Skip Florida

Fares to Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, and Miami fares are up between seven percent and 25 percent this fall. Get your palm tree fix in Hawaii or LA instead.

Post-Thanksgiving Fares

Immediately after Thanksgiving the fare deals can be found to LA, Denver, Maui, and Phoenix.

Post-Thanksgiving fares to LA, Denver, Maui, and Phoenix cost two to eight percent less this year than last year.

Take Advantage of the Free 24-Hour Cancellation Policy

All flights booked at least a week in advance still protect you—airlines still offer a complimentary 24-hour cancellation policy. Some airlines even have a free cancellation policy within seven days of departure, but check with the individual airline first.

Hopper.com claims that you can save an average of $67 dollars by trying this: Two out of three ticket prices will drop at some point within the 24-hour period with an average savings of 14 percent. About one in six fares will drop at least 20 percent, so it’s worth a shot.

Fly on the Day of the Holiday

Let’s face it…there’s a reason they made the movie Planes Trains and Automobiles—to acknowledge the madness of trying to fly on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. So fly on the first flight out on Thanksgiving morning (same applies on Christmas morning). If you really play it smart and fly on Thanksgiving morning, stay long enough to carve the turkey and deal with all your relatives, then fly on the first flight out Friday morning. Then, while everyone else in your family is stuck on the freeway trying to get to a mall on black Friday, they can look up in the air and wave goodbye to you, because you’re already on your way home. This is a win-win for everyone. You’ve satisfied your family obligations. You didn’t pay excessive airline ticket fares, and you returned home in time to watch as much bad football imaginable.

Book on Sunday

For the past 10 to 15 years, the operating strategy among smart travelers was that the best time of the day to book a discounted airline ticket was one minute after midnight on a Tuesday (12:01 a.m. Wednesday). Now, research points to Sunday as the day with the cheapest fares. Why is this happening? It may be because there are much fewer discount fares in general, but more importantly, airline executives have a nasty habit of starting their work week by raising fares.

Don’t Wait Another Day

The average American spends 12 days searching for airfare before booking. But during that period of time, each fare climbs 5 percent, reaching an increase of $15 per ticket. For all holiday travel, fares are expected to increase $8 from here on out, which means you’re much less likely to find last-minute deals.

Try Multiple Airport Options

Those of us flying out from large cities have a couple airport options. Make sure to check all of them before booking.

For Southern Californians, two of the three airports with the lowest fares are right in your backyard: Long Beach is the cheapest, while Burbank is the third cheapest. For Miami, try Fort Lauderdale, which has the fourth-lowest fare nationwide. For Dallas, try Dallas Love Field instead of Dallas-Fort Worth. Huntsville, Alabama? Try Birmingham instead.

Other tips for a stress-free flight:

Sign up for TSA PreCheck

Recently, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced that it is planning on expanding TSA PreCheck next year. The program did not do as well as the TSA had hoped this year, but more participants could mean a smoother process.

Overall, TSA PreCheck can save you some time—most lines are shorter, and travelers don’t have to take off their shoes or pull out their laptops. Those little things can make a real difference when you’re trying to get through security at a crowded airport.

Free In-Flight Entertainment

Air Canada, JetBlue, and Virgin America already offer free in-flight entertainment for all passengers, but Southwest and United have recently implemented programs for the tech-savvy. Southwest passengers will be able to watch live and on-demand programming for free from Dish on any Wi-Fi-enabled device. United’s program, on the other hand, benefits Apple users: those with iPads and iPhones will be able to watch on-demand programs directly on their devices using an app.

For more Thanksgiving travel tips, check out:

• Thanksgiving 2014: Travel Deals & Turkey Dinners
• Despite Rising Airfares, You Can Still Save on Thanksgiving Travel
• Travel Tip: Planning Your Trip for Thanksgiving 2014

By Brittany Malooly for PeterGreenberg.com