These Are the Worst Times to Travel This Thanksgiving
Avoid the crowds (or try to).
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Thanksgiving travel can be a doozy, whether you’re going to your destination by plane, train, or automobile. We already know we can expect plenty of traffic, long lines, and crowded travel hubs, but if you time it right you can make your journey just a little bit easier.
AAA projects that 79.9 million people will be traveling over 50 miles for the holiday—that number is up 2.1% from last year. Out of that number, 71.7 million people will be traveling by car, making an additional 1.3 million travelers on the road compared to last year. The reason for the increase in car travel? Gas prices are lower this Thanksgiving than they were last year. If you’re doing a rental car this year, we hope you’ve already booked it—Hertz says Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Oahu, Orlando, and Phoenix are the cities with the highest rental demand this year.
As for air travel, it looks like a new record will be set—AAA projects 5.84 million people will fly domestically this holiday, which is an increase of 2% from last year and a nearly 11% increase over 2019. But unlike gas prices, airline fares aren’t down across the board this year. In fact, according to AAA booking data, air travelers are paying 3% more for domestic Thanksgiving flights this year. Interestingly, international flight bookings are up 23% this Thanksgiving because international airfares are down 5%.
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And 2.3 million people are expected to travel via bus, train, and cruise ship. AAA reports that the category is seeing an increase of almost 9% this year and an 18% jump over 2019. The popularity of cruising has helped those numbers grow.
While you can’t exactly change your travel plans if you’re flying, if your schedule is a little bit more flexible this year, you might want to plan to be out on the road when congestion is low. AAA mapped out the best and worst times to travel below, plus peak congestion times in select metro areas in the West:
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Best Times to Travel:
- Monday, November 25: Before 11:00 AM
- Tuesday, November 26: Before 10:00 AM
- Wednesday, November 27: Before 10:00 AM
- Thursday, November 28: Minimal traffic impact expected
- Friday, November 29: After 1:00 PM
- Saturday, November 30: Before 1:00 PM
- Sunday, December 1: Before 1:00 PM
- Monday, December 2: Before 8 AM/After 7 PM
Worst Times to Travel
- Monday, November 25: 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM
- Tuesday, November 26: 1:00 PM – 7: 00 PM
- Wednesday, November 27: 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM
- Thursday, November 28: Minimal traffic impact expected
- Friday, November 29: 7:00 AM – 10:00 AM
- Saturday, November 30: 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM
- Sunday, December 1: 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM
- Monday, December 2: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Peak Congestion Times:
- Fort Collins to Denver via I-25S: Friday, November 29th at 1:00 PM; 1 hours 16 minutes travel time
- Los Angeles to Bakersfield via 1-5N: Wednesday, November 27th at 7:45 PM; 3 hours and 49 minutes travel time
- Portland to Eugene via I-5S: Tuesday, November 26th at 3:45 PM; 2 hours and 16 minutes travel time
- Palm Springs to San Diego via I-15S: Saturday, November 30th at 4:45 PM; 2 hours and 53 minutes travel time
- San Francisco to Sacramento via I-80E: Tuesday, November 26th at 7:30 PM; 3 hours 2 minutes travel time
- Seattle to Ellensburg via I-90W: Tuesday, November 26th at 7:00PM; 3 hours 31 minutes travel time
