Over 55M expected to travel over Thanksgiving holiday; The best times to get on the road

Thanksgiving is just about here and that means many Americans will be making their way around the country to visit friends and family.

will travel over Thanksgiving weekend, which is a 2.3% increase from last year.

Aixa Diaz, spokesperson and media relations manager for AAA, spoke with The National Desk about holiday travel bouncing back big time following the pandemic.

AAA has been tracking holiday travel since the year 2000 and we're projecting this to be the third busiest on record," Diaz said.

Most Thanksgiving travelers will travel by car to their destinations. AAA projects that over 49 million Americans will drive, an increase of just under 2% compared to last year.

AAA tracks holiday travel numbers from Wednesday through Sunday.

"Obviously, some people either leave earlier or come back maybe before Sunday or after Sunday," Diaz said.

Diaz said 4.7 million people are expected to fly over Thanksgiving.

"That number is particularly important and impressive because that's a 6% jump compared to last year," Diaz said. "So, even though we've been paying a pretty penny for ticket prices, for airfares, we're seeing that people still have that desire to travel especially post-pandemic."

Diaz said AAA is seeing numbers that rival 2019, and while the numbers are not quite there yet for Thanksgiving, they have seen that travel is comparable to before the pandemic.

With so many people choosing to take to the roads this holiday, Diaz had some advice for when drivers should consider heading out to avoid a traffic headache.

If you have flexibility. What I like to do is I like to go just Thanksgiving morning itself," Diaz said. "I drive to my family for Thanksgiving. So we leave 6 a.m. on that Thursday and we're there with plenty of time to have Thanksgiving dinner together and enjoy the long weekend.

However, Diaz said if people are traveling on Wednesday, between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. is the worst time to be on the roads.

"Try to avoid being on the roads, especially those interstates on Wednesday afternoon and evening because what happens is that's when holiday travelers mix with commuters," Diaz said.

Diaz said drivers should leave as early as possible and says traveling on Monday or Tuesday is even better.

"Some people have the flexibility of hybrid work now and remote work where they could leave during the weekend, on Saturday, Sunday, ahead of Thanksgiving, work remotely from their destination and then enjoy their family and friends," Diaz said.

Diaz also recommends bringing snacks and your emergency kit in the car while traveling in case of delays. She recommends items like extra water, granola bars, a blanket and a first aid kit.

"If there were to be an emergency on the road, be prepared," Diaz said.