AAA: Nearly 80 Million Americans Expected to Travel This Thanksgiving

A jaw dropping number of Americans plan to hit the road next week.

Thanksgiving is one of the busiest holidays when it comes to travel. Airports, train stations, and transportation crews everywhere are bracing for a record this year.

AAA has just issued its official outlook for Thanksgiving 2024 and it doesn't bode well for anyone who plans to visit anyone during the holiday.

This year, a whopping 80 million Americans will drive, fly, or travel over 50 miles from home this Thanksgiving.

That is 1.7 million more travelers seen in 2023 and 2 million more than 2019's numbers.

Not only that, the Thanksgiving holiday travel period will be even longer than years prior. For the first time in AAA history, their estimates now include the Tuesday before and the Monday after Thanksgiving.

The majority of travelers will hit the road this year, with 71,74 million Americans driving to their destination, as opposed to the nearly 5.85 million traveling by flight and the nearly 2.3 million using another mode of transportation.

When it comes to driving, AAA says we will see 1.3 million more drivers on the road than last year.

This beats the record set in 2019, when 70.6 million Americans traveled by car for Thanksgiving.

One suggestion for the increase is gas prices, which are a lot lower than last year. For the first time since 2021, the national average for a gallon of regular gas is under $3.

Last year, the national average was $3.26.

It'll also be a record Thanksgiving at the airports, with 5.84 million people flying to their destination this year.

Read More: NY Airports Have the Worst Holiday Wait Times in America

Again, the previous record was set in 2019 when 5.28 people took to the skies around the holiday.

Traveling by bus, cruises, and trains is also seeing a sharp increase in numbers. This category is buoyed by cruises, which have skyrocketed in popularity post-pandemic.

In fact, bookings for international and domestic cruises are up 20% from last year.

Now that you know just how many people will be traveling this year, when are the worst times to travel?

INRIX, a provider of transportation data and insights, says New York will see some of the worst traffic in the country and can see travel times increase by 133 percent.

Those who must drive are encouraged to avoid driving during these hours and days.

• Monday, Nov 25, between 1PM and 5PM
• Tuesday, Nov 26, between 1PM and 7PM
• Wednesday, Nov 27, between 1PM and 5PM
• Friday, Nov 29, between 7AM and 10AM
• Saturday, Nov 30, between 4PM and 8PM
• Sunday, Dec 1, between 12PM and 6PM
• Mon, Dec 2, between 9AM and 6PM

The study also highlighted the best times to hit the road, which are as follows:

• Monday, Nov 25, before 11AM
• Tuesday, Nov 26, before 10AM
• Wednesday, Nov 27, before 10AM
• Thursday, Nov 28, any time
• Friday, Nov 29, after 1PM
• Saturday, Nov 30, before 1PM
• Sunday, Dec 1, before 1PM
• Mon, Dec 2, before 8AM or after 7PM

New York will also be a top travel destination this year, coming in as the fourth busiest travel hotspot of the year.

The most travelers will head to Orlando and Miami, which respectively placed 1st and 2nd, while Fort Lauderdale claimed third place.

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