NJ Thanksgiving Travel 2023: Best and Worst Times to Travel

Thanksgiving is upon us, which means one of the busiest traveling times of the entire year is coming too! Be prepared to travel for extended amounts of time before you chow down this year.

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Millions of people across the country will be traveling by trains, planes, cars, and buses to reach their Thanksgiving dinner destinations, and this Thanksgiving will see one of the busiest travel times in years. So it's best to plan ahead sooner rather than later.

Thanksgiving 2023 will see a predicted 55.4 million people traveling 50 miles or more, which makes this the busiest year since pre-Covid in 2019.

When is the worst times to travel for Thanksgiving 2023?

• AAA predicts that traffic will be the heaviest on the roads on the day before Thanksgiving -Wednesday, Nov 22 between 2pm and 6pm. 
• Driving on Thanksgiving Day will be the worst between 11am and 3pm.
• Travel by air will be busiest on the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Tickets will be the most expensive too.
• Sunday, Nov 26 will be the busiest day to fly back home.

When are the best times to travel for Thanksgiving 2023?

• If you're driving the day before Thanksgiving, it's best to get on the road before 11 am.
• If you're driving on Thanksgiving Day, get on the road before 10 am, or after 5pm.
• If you're driving back home the Sunday after Thanksgiving, hit the road before 12 noon. 

Thanksgiving traffic, congestion and delays are always inevitabilities, but that doesn't mean you should subject yourself to sitting in traffic for hours upon hours, if you can help it. Do yourself a favor and plan accordingly so you're not late for dinner!