WASHINGTON, D.C.—AAA tasks 81.8 million individuals will journey no less than 50 miles from residence over the Thanksgiving vacation interval from Tuesday, November 25 to Monday, December 1. This yr’s home journey forecast contains an extra 1.6 million vacationers in comparison with final Thanksgiving, setting a brand new total file.
“Thanksgiving journey numbers are all the time spectacular as a result of this vacation has turn out to be synonymous with heading out of city to spend time with family members,” mentioned Stacey Barber, vp of AAA Journey. “Individuals are prepared to courageous the crowds and make last-minute changes to their plans to make lifelong reminiscences, whether or not it’s visiting prolonged household or assembly up with associates.”
Thanksgiving Vacationers by Mode of Transportation
By Automobile: AAA tasks no less than 73 million individuals will journey by automobile, which marks practically 90 % of Thanksgiving vacationers and an extra 1.3 million individuals on the street in comparison with final Thanksgiving. That quantity may find yourself being increased if some air vacationers resolve to drive as a substitute of fly following latest flight cancellations.
Based on AAA automobile rental accomplice Hertz, Wednesday is anticipated to be the busiest pick-up day. The highest 5 markets with the best demand are Orlando, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Newark. Based on AAA reserving knowledge, home automobile leases are 15 % cheaper this Thanksgiving in comparison with final yr.
Relating to fuel costs, drivers are paying about the identical as final yr, when the nationwide common for a gallon of normal gasoline was $3.06 on Thanksgiving Day. AAA additionally recommends checking your battery and tire strain. Final Thanksgiving vacation interval, AAA responded to almost 600,000 emergency roadside help calls to assist stranded drivers with points like lifeless batteries, flat tires, and empty gasoline tanks.
AAA and MADD remind vacationers concerning the risks of impaired driving. This time of yr may be significantly lethal on the roads. Based on the Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration, from 2019 to 2023, the dying toll in drunk-driving crashes throughout Thanksgiving festivities was 868, representing greater than one-third (35 %) of all fatalities in site visitors crashes throughout that vacation interval. Have a plan in place earlier than Thanksgiving, and use a rideshare, designate a sober driver, or take public transit to make sure everybody’s security.
By Air: Based on AAA, 6 million U.S. vacationers are anticipated to take home flights over the Thanksgiving vacation interval, a 2 % improve in comparison with 2024. That determine may find yourself being barely decrease as some air vacationers make different plans following latest flight cancellations. The variety of Thanksgiving air vacationers over the previous a number of years—except for 2020—has been between 5 and 6 million.
Based on AAA knowledge, which relies on what vacationers paid after they booked their Thanksgiving journeys, a round-trip home flight is averaging $700, which has similarities to final yr. It’s cheaper to fly on Thanksgiving Day itself, however the flight house is what drives up the ticket value since Sunday and Monday are the busiest return days.
By Different Modes: Journey by different modes is anticipated to extend by 8.5 % to almost 2.5 million individuals. These vacationers are taking journeys by bus, practice, and cruise. Buses and trains may see an uptick in last-minute bookings this yr.
Cruising is constructing on its file post-pandemic development. This yr alone, AAA is projecting 20.7 million American cruise passengers. That quantity is even increased for 2026, with AAA forecasting 21.7 million U.S. vacationers taking ocean cruises.
AAA’s Thanksgiving Prime Locations
The highest vacation locations listed under are primarily based on AAA reserving knowledge for the Thanksgiving journey interval. Florida is the preferred home vacation spot, due to the world’s theme parks and cruise ports. The worldwide record is a mixture of Europe, the Caribbean, and Australia, for its heat spring climate this time of yr.
Home
- Orlando, Florida
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Miami, Florida
- Anaheim/Los Angeles, California
- Tampa, Florida
- New York, New York
- San Francisco, California
- Honolulu, Hawaii
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Atlanta, Georgia
Worldwide
- Paris, France
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Vienna, Austria
- Cancun, Mexico
- Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
- Basel, Switzerland
- Sydney, Australia
- Barcelona, Spain
- Budapest, Hungary
- Oranjestad, Aruba
