Everyone in Northwest Arkansas who intends to take a one- or two-week junket this summer is likely to have figured out where they’ll be going by now, or they’ve already traveled.
That doesn’t prevent an additional weekend trip to somewhere from Northwest Arkansas National Airport. August airfares are good right now, so long as you’re not picky about your days of travel.
FareFlightNWA used Google Flights to seek out the lowest-priced weekend trips from XNA in August. All of them could be had for $225 or less roundtrip, not counting the fees a passenger might choose to pay for checked bags, seat selection, early boarding, etc.
Be warned: Airfares were checked on the morning of June 30, and it’s possible they’ll change. They almost always do.
These were the less-than-$225 options:
Nashville ($81 roundtrip): It’s Allegiant Air and the trip is Aug. 14-17. It gives you two full days in Nashville and has you back in Arkansas before dinnertime on that Sunday. No trip was less expensive than this one using our criteria.
Destin ($83): The Allegiant flight to Florida’s Gulf Coast leaves late in the afternoon on Aug. 15 and returns to Arkansas super early in the morning on Aug. 17. That’s not much time in Florida. Great price, but bad schedule. Hard pass. Keep shopping.
Gulf Shores ($96): If the Florida Gulf Coast is your preference, this is a way better option than Allegiant to Destin. This Allegiant nonstop to XNA’s newest destination leaves Arkansas in the afternoon on Aug. 14 and returns to Arkansas late in the day on Aug. 17. You’d get two full days in Florida and most of a third day, too.
Houston ($189): Here’s one of the oddities on this list, and it’s United Airlines. It flies nonstop from XNA to Houston multiple times a day. This particular price is for travel on Thursday, Aug. 21 to Sunday, Aug. 24, but it’s easy to see via Google Flights that United has great fares to Houston on most Wednesdays, Saturdays and a smattering of other days.
Chicago O’Hare ($209): This is the best option on this entire list for a few reasons, and the main one is flight time flexibility. American Airlines offers this Chicago trip with three departure times for that $209 price (5:10 am, 7:05 am, 2:11 pm). Flight departs XNA on Aug. 7 and returns Aug. 10. Are you thrifty or only when it comes to airfare? If you truly are, you’ll take the Blue Line train from O’Hare to downtown. It’s a great way to start seeing the city.
New Orleans ($118): This is a Breeze Airways trip from Aug. 14-17. You’re likely to have a great flying experience on Breeze if you haven’t tried it out. Only drawback is New Orleans is sure to be blazing hot in August. Is it really that much hotter than Arkansas, though? It’s not.
Orlando/Sanford ($108): Allegiant takes you there on Aug. 15-18. The flight times aren’t super early. That’s good.
Fort Lauderdale ($95): Let’s be clear: Allegiant markets this trip as Fort Lauderdale/Miami, but you’ll be landing at the Fort Lauderdale airport on Aug. 15 and returning home on Aug. 18. Yes, Allegiant dominates this FareFlightNWA list.
Denver ($118): This Thursday-Sunday trip is Aug. 21-24, and it’s on Frontier Airlines. Frontier’s pricing is just about always this good. The most expensive trip we could find in August or September on Frontier to Denver was $222 roundtrip.
Los Angeles ($217): This is an American Airlines flight scheduled for Aug. 16-18 and the amount of time in LA isn’t great for the amount of flight time (3.5 hours each way). We’d say pay the $237 fare to make the American trip to LA occur from Aug. 14-18, giving you three full days.
Las Vegas ($187): Sin City’s biggest sin is hotel resort fees, but that’s not the purpose of this list. Vegas has been the most affordable destination from XNA for almost 15 years, and it’s because Allegiant committed to flying there long ago and stuck with it. This departure is Aug. 28; returns to Arkansas in the early morning on Aug. 31.
