Holiday Travel Expected To Set Record: When To Get Out Of IL This Year

ACROSS ILLINOIS — Holiday travelers in Illinois can expect crowded highways and airports this year, according to AAA, which projects a record 119.3 million people will travel 50 or miles from home during the 12-day holiday travel period.

With Christmas — and the first day of Hanukkah — falling on a Wednesday, the 2024 holiday travel period runs from Saturday, Dec. 21, through Wednesday, Jan. 1. Both the weekend before and after Christmas are expected to be the busiest for travel, according to AAA. About 3 million more people are traveling this year than last, the auto club said, explaining part of the increase is due to a longer travel period this year.

Nearly 107 million people, 90 percent of those heading out of town for the holidays, will drive to their destinations. That’s 2.5 million more people on the highways than during last year’s travel period, but shy of 2019’s record of 108 million.

Those flying to their destinations — a record 7.85 million, up from 7.5 million last year — will pay about 4 percent more for domestic flights, with an average ticket costing $830. International flights are 13 percent more expensive than last year, costing an average of $1,360 a ticket.

Driving the record number of people taking road trips are lower gas prices, according to AAA. The national average for a gallon of gas was around $3.12 in the final two weeks of 2023. In Illinois, the average price for gas was $3.239 a gallon on Dec. 12, according to AAA.

In Chicago, the worst time to hit the highway is 4:45 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 22, according to AAA. There will be a 69 percent increase in traffic congestion late on the afternoon of Dec. 22, and AAA predicts it will take 2 hours and 2 minute to get from Chicago to Milwaukee via Interstate 94.

Some people are expected to travel outside the period defined by AAA to beat the rush. According to the auto club and its data partner, INRIX, the worst and best travel times in the upcoming days are:

• Thursday, Dec. 19: 3-8 p.m. (worst) and before 11 a.m. (best)
• Friday, Dec. 20: 1-8 p.m. (worst) and before 11 a.m. (best)
• Saturday, Dec. 21: 4-8 p.m. (worst) and before 2 p.m. (best)
• Sunday, Dec. 22: 3-8 p.m. (worst) and before noon (best)
• Monday, Dec. 23: 1-6 p.m. (worst) and before 11 a.m.(best)
• Tuesday, Dec. 24: Minimal traffic impact expected
• Wednesday, Dec. 25: Minimal traffic impact expected
• Thursday, Dec. 26: 12-5 p.m. (worst) and before 11 a.m. (best)
• Friday, Dec. 27: 3-7 p.m. (worst) and before 2 p.m. (best)
• Saturday, Dec. 28: 1:30-7 p.m. (worst) and before 2 p.m. (best)
• Sunday, Dec. 29: 12-6 p.m. (worst) and before 11 a.m. (best)
• Monday, Dec. 30: 5-7 p.m. (worst) and before 2 p.m. (best)
• Tuesday, Dec. 31: Minimal traffic impact expected
• Wednesday, Jan. 1: Minimal traffic impact expected
• Thursday, Jan. 2: 4-8 p.m. (worst) and before 3 p.m. (best)

Rental car rates are up, with Hertz reporting high demand in Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Oahu and, in Florida, Orlando, Miami and Tampa. Other top domestic travel destinations are Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Honolulu; Charleston, South Carolina; New Orleans; and New York.

Travelers whose routes take them through Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Oregon, and Washington, D.C., should check local traffic and avoid certain routes if possible. More details about peak congestion times is found in the AAA announcement.