HAMPTON ROADS, Va. – The 2018 Thanksgiving weekend is expected to see 54.3 million Americans traveling at least 50 miles away from home, according to AAA.
This is the highest Thanksgiving travel volume since 2005, with 2.5 million more people taking to the nation’s roads, skies, rails and waterways than last year – a 4.8 percent increase. 1.3 million people in Virginia alone are expected to travel this year.
With all those travelers comes projected congestion. Travel times in the most congested cities in the U.S. could be as much as four times longer than a normal trip.
In most cases, the best days to travel will be on Thanksgiving Day, Friday or Saturday. Drivers should expect increased travel times on Sunday, as most holiday travelers will be making their way home after the long weekend.
For those flying, don’t forget to account for drive times to the airport as well as long security lines. Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving are expected to be the most popular air travel days, with the highest average price per ticket.
