Here’s How To Survive This Year’s Record Levels Of Thanksgiving Travel Delays
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Thanksgiving travel is going to be a beast this year. We’re talking the worst it’s been in more than a decade.
Your Turkey Day travel could take up to three times longer than your normal trip time, according to a report from AAA.
There are going to be 50.9 million Americans traveling this year, and most of those folks are driving. AAA is anticipating a whopping 1.6 million more road trippers than last Thanksgiving. Therefore, traffic could be a nightmare in some high-volume cities.
Unsurprisingly, the worst times for travel are Tuesday and Wednesday. Rush hour on Tuesday will be the worst in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, New York, Washington, Seattle and Detroit, while Wednesday afternoon and evening will be the roughest for those driving through Atlanta and Houston. (See the full list from AAA here.)
If you have any flexibility in your travel plans, we’d recommend changing things up a bit. No one wants to begin a holiday in traffic hell. Try to get out of your city on Monday, or at least before rush hour hits.
Driving long-distance? Avoid routes passing through major cities. It might even be worth it to get off the interstate and take some smaller state highways. That might mean abandoning Google’s suggested directions and looking at — gasp — a real map.
And sometimes, you’ve got no other choice but to head out into the thick of it. In that case, download a good podcast (or three) and bring your favorite sing-along jams. If you’re going to be stuck in a car, you might as well be entertained.
Why are so many people hitting the road this year, you ask? It’s actually kind of a mystery. While flights are cheap (the lowest prices since 2o13), gas and car rental prices are higher than they’ve been in years. Maybe people are just hyperfocused on getting a slice of Grandma’s pumpkin pie. That stuff is priceless.
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