Trying to save on travel this year? Consider "detour destinations" — oft-overshadowed places near perennial hotspots worth a closer look for the budget-conscious or crowd-weary.

Why it matters: Travel prices rose 10% from September 2019 to September 2024, per a recent NerdWallet analysis, leaving many searching for cheaper ways to get away.

Driving the news: "Detour destinations" will be a big 2025 travel trend, predicts Expedia's annual year-ahead outlook.

• "63% of consumers say they are likely to visit a detour destination on their next trip."
• Among Expedia's trending "detour destinations:" Reims, France (detour from Paris); Brescia, Italy (detour from Milan); Cozumel, Mexico (detour from Cancun); Santa Barbara, California (detour from Los Angeles) and Waikato, New Zealand (detour from Auckland).

Zoom in: Some travelers are embracing what Expedia calls "goods getaways," or traveling in search of a viral item they can't find back home — that chocolate bar from Dubai, for instance.

• "When going on vacation, 39% of travelers visit grocery stores or supermarkets and 44% shop for local goods they can't get at home."

What they found: Booking.com's own list of trending destinations includes Sanya, China; Trieste, Italy; João Pessoa, Brazil; Tromsø, Norway and Willemstad, Curaçao.

Reality check: As much as travelers gripe about rising prices, they aren't stopping people from booking trips.

• 24.3 million people flew in August, "reflecting a 4% increase in U.S. domestic trips and a 3% increase in international trips compared to August 2023," per ticketing infrastructure firm Airlines Reporting Corp.

What's next: Having trouble putting an itinerary together for next year? Let AI take the wheel — 2025's version of closing your eyes and throwing a dart at a map.

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Night-sky tourism, or "noctourism," is set to be another major travel trend this year, Booking.com predicts.

Why it matters: The trend could bring travelers — and their dollars — to more remote locales with better night skies.

How it works: You don't have to leave the country to get a great view of the cosmos, but you typically want to get away from big cities and their light pollution.

• The U.S. is home to over 100 dark sky sanctuaries, parks and more, according to DarkSky, which calls itself "the globally recognized authority on light pollution issues and night sky conservancy."
• You can use Dark Site Finder's online map to help you plan some noctourism of your own.

Zoom in: Indiana doesn't contain any dark sky sanctuaries.

• The closest spot for central Indiana residents is Middle Fork River Forest Preserve in Champaign County, Illinois.
• Yes, but: Some Indiana spots still have low-enough light pollution to warrant a road trip, such as the Indiana Dunes National Park.
• Kemil Beach is the best place for stargazing in the park.

If you go: Try downloading apps like Sky Guide, which uses your GPS coordinates to help you ID what planets and stars you're seeing in the evening sky — just keep the brightness low to avoid ruining your night vision.

• Also consider grabbing a flashlight or headlamp with red LEDs, for the same reason.

The bottom line: Some astronomers and stargazers are worried that the ever-increasing amount of satellites and space junk in low Earth orbit could mar our views of the night sky, so get your noctourism in now while the view remains spectacular.

🍀 Notre Dame beat the Georgia Bulldogs last night, 23-10, in the Sugar Bowl. The Fighting Irish will face Penn State in the Orange Bowl for the College Football Playoff semifinals Jan. 9. (CBS Sports)

🏗️ Construction will begin this year on a $19 million art, retail and condo building to serve as the gateway to Carmel's Arts and Design district. (IBJ)

🎓 As fewer high school graduates go to college, admission is getting easier for those who are still applying. Most Indiana colleges and universities have higher acceptance rates now than a decade ago. (WFYI)

What initially seemed like a release of pent-up demand for air travel immediately following the worst of COVID-19 now looks like a never-ending climb.

Driving the news: Record numbers of travelers took to the skies last year, according to the latest TSA data.

• Nearly 3.1 million people passed through U.S. airport security checkpoints on Dec. 1 (the Sunday after Thanksgiving) — an all-time agency high.
• 2024's numbers were consistently been above those of 2023, just as 2023's figures were above those of 2022, and so on.

Zoom in: More than 10 million people passed through the Indianapolis International Airport last year — a record.

The bottom line: If your flights seem particularly jam-packed lately, well, you're not wrong.

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With air travel on the rise, the nation's top ranked medium-sized airport is meeting demand by rolling out a slate of new flights throughout 2025.

Why it matters: The additions at Indianapolis International Airport range from low-cost trips to spring break hotspots and the long-awaited return of travel to Europe.

Zoom in: Here are new flights coming to IND later this year.

• Southwest Airlines is adding a daily nonstop flight from Indianapolis to Nashville on March 6.
• Frontier Airlines will begin nonstop flights to Tampa on March 6, and Atlanta on March 7.
• Aer Lingus will offer four weekly flights to Dublin beginning May 3. The flight creates connections to 20 destinations beyond the Emerald Isle, including London, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Rome.
• Allegiant Air will start a nonstop flight to Portland, Oregon beginning May 23.
• Delta Air Lines will launch a new nonstop flight between Indianapolis and Austin, Texas, on May 7.
• Southwest Airlines will resume nonstop flights to Chicago's Midway International Airport with twice-daily service starting Aug. 5.