July 4 Travel: Best Time To Get Out Of Coventry

COVENTRY, RI — Heading out of town this 4th of July? Expect company on Coventry roads.

Nearly 48 million Americans plan to travel 50 miles or more during the June 30-July 4 holiday weekend, according to AAA. Of those people, a record 42 million will travel by car, the auto club said in a news release.

"The volume of travelers we expect to see over Independence Day is a definite sign that summer travel is kicking into high gear," said Paula Twidale, the senior vice president of AAA Travel. "Earlier this year, we started seeing the demand for travel increase, and it’s not tapering off. People are ready for a break and despite things costing more, they are finding ways to still take that much-needed vacation."

If you're among those driving, you might want to avoid certain peak travel times leading up to the holiday.

Overall, here are the worst and best times to travel during the five-day period.
Thursday, June 30

• Worst time: 2-8 p.m.
• Best time: Before 7 a.m./after 8 p.m.

Friday, July 1

• Worst time: Noon-9 p.m.
• Best time: Before 10 a.m./after 9 p.m.

Saturday, July 2

• Worst time: 2-4 p.m.
• Best time: Before noon; after 7 p.m.

Sunday, July 3

• Low congestion is expected all day

Monday, July 4

• Low congestion is expected all day

Top U.S. destinations this year are Orlando, Florida; Seattle, Washington; New York City; Anaheim, California; Anchorage, Alaska; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; Honolulu, Hawaii; Denver, Colorado; and Chicago, Illinois.At the same time 4th of July travel by car is picking up, air travel is declining — in part because of continued disruptions in flight schedules, AAA said.

• Related: 4th Of July Fireworks Safety: How To Avoid Blowing Off Your Finger

This year, about 3.55 million people plan to travel by air. That’s a 1.5 percent increase over last year but a 9.3 percent decrease from 2019, when 3.91 million Americans flew somewhere to celebrate the 4th of July.

An estimated 2.42 million Americans plan to celebrate July 4th with cruises or travel to their destinations by train or bus. That’s a big, 168 percent jump over 2021, but nowhere near pre-pandemic 2019 levels of 3.54 million people in that travel category.

Overall, travel during the 4th of July holiday will increase 3.7 percent from 2021, bringing volumes just shy of 2019 records, AAA said.