The winter holiday season is one of the busiest times of year for travel, but with the pandemic still raging, the risk to travel will be higher than ever.

Searches for “holiday travel” decreased by 43 percent compared to last year, according to USA Today. About 41 percent of people who are expected to travel this holiday season say they're making reservations with social distancing in mind.

While deals may be available for travelers, people who wait for last-minute fare drops will likely get the cheapest bookings, according to Christopher Elliott, a travel expert and USA Today columnist.

“The people who are going to get the best deals are the ones who are going to wait until the very end,” Elliott told NY1. He said people should also take advantage of cancel without penalty policies.

Airline tickets for both Thanksgiving weekend and the December holiday week are down more than 30 percent. Hotel rates are down 10 percent for Thanksgiving weekend, but are up 3 percent for the December travel period.

To avoid the holiday rush, Elliott says people will find airports to be ghost towns when they travel the day of a holiday. But that won’t be the case for drivers hitting the road.

A big trend that has emerged during the pandemic has been road trips. Car rental rates are up 2.5 percent for Thanksgiving and 7 percent for December.