Getting ready to hit the road for the holidays? Prepare to hit the brakes, a lot.
AAA expects about 104 million Americans to hop in their cars for the holidays, up 1.8% from last year. This end of year holiday travel period, which runs from Dec. 23 through Jan. 1, is forecast to be the second busiest travel period since 2000.
The worst days in D.C. are expected to be Saturday, Dec. 23, and Friday, Dec. 29, when travel times could be up to double the norm. But the next 10 days will be busier than usual on the roads across the board.
So, how do you avoid some of that sitting in traffic stress? WTOP Traffic Reporter Reada Kessler said it might be a good idea to “pack your patience” if you are driving somewhere this holiday season.
“It might be a good time to take some of the back roads instead of the heavily traveled highways,” Kessler said. “You may think by taking the backroads this is going to make your trip longer. Time wise it may look like its longer but I always think that it is best to be moving throughout that entire time than to be sitting in delays and just watch the time ticking away.”
A basic rule of thumb to give yourself a lot of extra time to get where you’re going until the new year. If you can drive before noon or after 7 p.m., do it. Traffic will be lighter.
“If you want to avoid the heavily traveled times, I always suggest leaving super early or a little later in the evening,” Kessler advised. “Try to get on the roadways when you don’t think most people are going to be on them as well.”
And, of course, have entertainment at the ready if you are traveling with little ones.
“If you’re traveling with young kids, bring books, bring games, and make sure those devices are fully charged,” Kessler said.
There is a little good news, the peak bad traffic hours during this travel period should not be as bad as Thanksgiving travel, as there are more travel days to spread out the driving this time.
This year’s travel projection is only the second highest on record since AAA started noting these travel trends. The busiest holiday travel period since 2000 was in 2019, when 108 million people were on the roads for the holidays.
Traveling by plane
You should also give yourself lots of extra time if you’re heading to the airport on Friday, with TSA expecting this to be one of the hairiest days for air travel. The agency expects to screen more than 2.5 million passengers on each of these high-density holiday travel days.
WTOP’s Acacia James asked travelers at Dulles International Airport how early they are showing up for their flights.
Manny, who is headed to Panama, said he showed up for his flight three hours early.
“You gotta be an early bird, you can’t go wrong,” Manny suggested.
Susan Oliver, a mother going to Belize with her adult sons, also said she got to the airport three hours early to make sure she made it through the long lines.
“Leave early. I’m about three hours early for my flight, and I’m just looking for a nice place to have coffee and watch the crowds,” Oliver said. Other flyers said you could cut it a little closer.
“Two hours before you board,” said Jennifer West from Fredericksburg. “Because we’ve seen all the lines that have been advertised on the news, and we know that it’s coming and it’s going to get worse throughout the day.”
No matter what time frame each traveler recommended, they all agreed that you should get to the airport early if you want to safely make your flight.
WTOP’s Acacia James and Emily Venezky contributed to this report.
