Consumer Alert: Everything you need to know before you travel this Thanksgiving

Here are a few pro strategies for surviving your holiday trip*

Are you ready for the busiest Thanksgiving for travel ever? 

No? Well, after you read this definitive, authoritative guide to holiday travel, you will be.

We've already discussed what lies ahead and most of you are going to avoid traveling during Thanksgiving week. 

But you don't have to. 

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Sure, it'll be the busiest week for Thanksgiving for travel in modern times. Air travel will be particularly hectic, but there's a silver lining that few Thanksgiving travelers know about. Of course, I'll also offer my irreverent holiday travel advice.

It's officially the busiest Thanksgiving for travel

AAA forecasts that 79.9 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the Thanksgiving holiday period, setting a new travel record. 

This year’s projections reflect a 1.7 million increase in travelers compared to last year and a 2 million jump over 2019.

How busy will it be?

Air travel

• 5.84 million people will fly domestically, a 2 percent increase from 2023 and an 11 percent jump from 2019.

• Airfares are up 3 percent compared to last year, but international flight bookings are up 23 percent.

Busiest travel days: Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday will be absolute madness. More on that in a minute.

Travel by car

• A record 71.7 million Americans will travel by car, an increase of 1.3 million compared to 2023.

• Gas prices are lower than last year, with the national average potentially dipping below $3 per gallon for the first time since 2021.

• The busiest car rental locations include Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, and Orlando.

Busiest travel days for rentals: Wednesday before Thanksgiving; Monday and Tuesday after the holiday for returns.

Other modes of transportation:

• Nearly 2.3 million people will travel by bus, train, or cruise, a nearly 9 percent increase from 2023 and an 18 percent increase over 2019.

• The post-pandemic surge in cruise demand continues, with bookings up 20 percent from last Thanksgiving.

Busiest travel days: It's difficult to generalize, but these usually follow the same patterns as air travel.

The takeaway: Use apps like Waze to get ahead of traffic and get to the airport early.

The airport will be busier than ever

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is also projecting the busiest Thanksgiving travel period on record. It predicts an estimated 18.3 million passengers will pass through security checkpoints from Tuesday, Nov. 26 to Monday, Dec. 2. 

That's a 6 percent increase in volume compared to 2023 and a 17 percent increase from 2022. 

Busiest travel days

• Tuesday, Nov. 26: 2.8 million travelers.

• Wednesday, Nov. 27: 2.9 million travelers.

• Sunday, Dec. 1: More than 3 million travelers.

The takeaway: TSA says "plan ahead" and use TSA PreCheck lines to expedite your trip. To that, I would add: Give yourself an extra hour to get to the airport — or, better yet, avoid air travel if possible.

Here's your Thanksgiving weather forecast

Back-to-back storms could complicate travel plans as millions of Americans hit the roads and skies for Thanksgiving, according to AccuWeather. 

Pre-Thanksgiving: Early travelers this weekend may face rain and mountain snow on the West Coast, along with gusty winds and rain and snow mix in the Northeast.

Thanksgiving Day: Rain is expected in the central U.S., thunderstorms along the Gulf Coast, and cold rain and snow showers in parts of the interior Northwest and Four Corners region.

Black Friday: Rain and showers could affect drivers and shoppers along the Gulf Coast and East Coast.

The takeaway: If you can get ahead of the weather by leaving a little early, do so. "Buckle up," says AccuWeather's lead long-range expert, Paul Pastelok. Things could get a little bumpy.

Where's everyone going?

Here are the top Thanksgiving destinations, according to AAA.

Domestic

1. Orlando, FL

2. Miami, FL

3. Fort Lauderdale, FL

4. New York, NY

5. Anaheim/Los Angeles, CA

6. Tampa, FL

7. Honolulu, HI

8. San Francisco, CA

9. Las Vegas, NV

10. Atlanta, GA

Overseas

1. Budapest, Hungary

2. Mexicali, Mexico

3. San Juan, Puerto Rico

4. Cancun, Mexico

5. Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

6. Rome, Italy

7. Amsterdam, Netherlands

8. Paris, France

9. Barcelona, Spain

10. Munich, Germany

The takeaway: If you want to avoid crowds and high prices, steer clear of these places.

There's a silver lining, Thanksgiving travelers!

Don't despair, say our contrarian friends at Kayak. There's some good news for holiday travelers.

For example, don't listen to anyone who says cancellations and delays are getting worse. Kayak says 81 percent of Americans think flight delays have gotten worse over the last three years.

But research shows that's not the case.

In fact, only 0.33 percent of flights were canceled last Thanksgiving — down 28% from the year before. So there.

Another fallacy: There are more delays during the holiday season than any other time of year. (84 percent of American travelers surveyed believe that holiday travel is delayed or canceled more frequently than any other time of year.)

But according to last year’s data, only 5 percent of flights were delayed more than 60 minutes over Thanksgiving and only 6 percent over the December holiday period.

The takeaway: Don't listen to the doom and gloom if you're flying this Thanksgiving — it may not be as bad as you think. (Results may vary.)

Timing is everything

One more thing. The time of day you fly matters.

The earlier your flight, the better. Later in the day, the chance of a delay increases — and that's especially true for Christmas and New Year's. 

The takeaway: Leave before 8 a.m. and you should be fine. Anything after 4 p.m. and you're taking your chances. 

Irreverent but highly useful Thanksgiving travel advice

Here's my holiday travel advice, based on three decades of covering this spectacle:

• If you can avoid traveling during the holidays, this is the year to do it. 

• If you already have plans, get an early start. Head to the airport an hour earlier than usual. If you're traveling by car, start your drive in the early morning, when fewer vehicles are on the road.

• Be skeptical of media coverage, especially if they reheat leftover Thanksgiving travel advice. This year, the rules are a little different.

What's your take?

I'd love to hear your best Thanksgiving travel advice. What would you advise your fellow travelers to do — or not to do? The comments are open.

* Our apologies to Norman Rockwell, who inspired our illustrations of annoyed turkeys at the airport.