Thanksgiving Travel 2023: Back To Busy, AAA Says

LONG ISLAND, NY — This year — that is, the five-day period Nov. 22-26 — will be the third-busiest Thanksgiving for travel since auto club AAA began tracking such things in 2000.

It is expected to beat out last year, which AAA predicted would be the third-busiest — and one reason is that most drivers will be paying less for gas than last Thanksgiving, when prices brushed up against $4 a gallon.

For the holiday, AAA projects 49.1 million travelers will get behind the wheel, an increase of 1.7 percent compared to 2022; 4.7 million people will fly, an increase of 6.6 percent; and the number of people leaving home by bus, train or cruise over Thanksgiving will be up nearly 11 percent to 1.55 million.

AAA’s data partner INRIX expects severe congestion in U.S. metro areas — especially around Atlanta, Chicago, New York City and Los Angeles.

Of the five days, the worst time to travel is 2-6 p.m. Wednesday. If you're going to drive on Wednesday, do so before 11 a.m., the auto club suggests. It's Sunday morning that will produce the worst congestion in the New York Metro Area, AAA predicted — from the Jersey Shore north via the Garden State Parkway.

In its Thanksgiving travel prediction released Monday, AAA said gas prices have been coming down "despite global tensions causing ripples through the oil market."

For the Nassau-Suffolk metro area, the average price at the pump was $3.527 on Monday, AAA said. That's down from a month ago, when the average price was $3.748, and 32 cents lower than this time last year.