Florida Has One of the Busiest Roads to Travel During the Holidays

Thanksgiving is one the way, and if you're traveling this holiday season, be careful, because Florida has one of the busiest roads to travel over the Thanksgiving holiday. In general, travel is going to be busy, as AAA projects 79.9 million travelers will travel 50 miles or more from home over the Thanksgiving holiday travel period. That period includes the Tuesday before through the Monday after Thanksgiving Day. According to AAA, during that time, around 80 million travelers are expected to be on the road, which is an increase of 1.7 million people compared to 2023 and 2 million more than in 2019. Florida Travel Will Get Busy Around Thanksgiving For Florida, the famed Fort Myers to Tampa route via I-75 N is one of the busiest in the country. The worst time to drive this stretch will be Friday the 29th at 10:30 a.m., according to AAA. During that time, travel is expected to take 69% longer than usual. It's going to be a very busy time on the roads, in general, this holiday, as AAA projects a record 71.7 million people will travel by car. They note that number is "an additional 1.3 million travelers on the road compared to last year" and also "surpasses pre-pandemic numbers when 70.6 million people drove to their Thanksgiving destinations in 2019." According to AAA's gas prices indicator, gas prices are lower this Thanksgiving season compared to last season. They state the national average last Thanksgiving Day was $3.26, and this season, they're projecting that "falling oil prices this autumn may help push the national average below $3 a gallon for the first time since 2021, and that could happen before drivers hit the road for Thanksgiving." If you're looking to rent a car this holiday, you're not alone. Per AAA's car rental partner Hertz, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Oahu, Orlando and Phoenix all have the highest rental demand for Thanksgiving. If you want to avoid the crowds, note that the busiest car pick-up day is usually the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and the busiest days to return your ride will probably be the Monday and Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Sending traditional Christmas cards and packages could be on the rise, too, so make sure to hit shipping deadlines. Air travel is also expected to hit a new record. Per AAA, 5.84 million people are expected to fly domestically this holiday. That's an increase of 2% compared to 2023 and even about 11% more than in 2019. So, air travel is way up. Contact me with your travel stories.