Best, Worst Times To Travel On L.I. This Christmas Holiday

The holidays are the busiest times to travel, with millions heading home to celebrate with family and friends - or maybe traveling to get away from them.

According to AAA, about 107.3 million Americans are expected to be traveling between Saturday, Dec. 23 and Monday, Jan. 1 -- the highest year end travel volume on record.

The majority of people -- a total of 97.4 million to be exact -- are expected to be driving this holiday, a 3 percent increase from last year.

In addition, a total of 6.4 million people are expected to be flying -- a 4.1 percent increase from last year and 3.6 million are expected to travel by trains, buses, rails or cruise ships.

According to INRIX, an analytics company, drivers will experience the greatest amount of congestion before the holiday week – on Wednesday, Dec. 20 and Thursday, Dec. 21 – in the late afternoon as commuters leave work early and mix with holiday travelers.

Drivers traveling through New York City could see travel times peak at three times a normal trip between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m., according to AAA.

“With record-level travelers hitting the road this holiday, drivers must be prepared for delays in major metros,” Dr. Graham Cookson, chief economist and head of research at INRIX, said. “Our advice to drivers is to avoid peak times altogether or consider alternative routes.”

Some good news for drivers this holiday season though, gas prices have decreased both nationally and in New York State, according to a AAA report.

The national average for gas is $2.44, down three cents per gallon from the week before and New York State gas prices decreased by one cent to $2.66 per gallon.

Lower prices should continue through January which traditionally is the month with the lowest demand for the year.

“More expensive gas prices are not swaying holiday revelers to stay home,” Bill Sutherland, AAA senior vice president, Travel and Publishing said. “In fact, across the board this year, travel has increased year-over-year for every major holiday weekend – Memorial Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving – and we project the same for the year-end holiday period. We’ve seen the strong economy and growing consumer confidence fuel holiday travel all year long.”

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