Is Christmas Day a big travel day?
And much like how few people travel on Thanksgiving Day itself, relatively few people travel on Christmas Day or New Year's Day. Dec. 27 (most crowded).
It is better to drive on Christmas Day than on Christmas Eve. Most people are at home on Christmas Day, and most businesses are closed, so traffic is very light. In addition, weather conditions are generally favorable for travel on Christmas Day in the Northern USA.
The two days before Christmas Eve, the 22nd and 23rd, are going to be busy travel days. I recommend avoiding them and departing earlier in the week if you can. Avoid the Monday and Tuesday after Christmas for your return flight.
AAA estimates about 55 million Americans travel over 50 miles from home for the Thanksgiving holiday compared to nearly 120 million traveling during Christmas and New Year's Day.
- The Day Before Thanksgiving. It turns out that it's a myth that the day before Thanksgiving is the busiest travel day of the year; summer weekends win that distinction. ...
- Fridays in Summer. ...
- Christmas. ...
- July 4. ...
- Memorial Day. ...
- Spring Break. ...
- New Year's Eve. ...
- Labor Day.
- The day before Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving Day. The Thanksgiving holiday is one of the busiest travel days of the year, and for a good reason. ...
- Christmas Eve and New Year's day. ...
- Weekends. ...
- Mondays. ...
- The third and fourth of July.
Are There Better Days To Drive Long Distances? If you are looking for the best day to drive long-distance, Sunday is the day that tends to have the least amount of traffic on the roads. However, Tuesdays have the least amount of crashes according to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration).
Sunday— a day analogous to rest. If you are on the roads on Sunday, you may notice significantly less traffic than, say, your morning weekday commute. So, with less drivers the roads should be safer, right? Well — the short answer is yes, roads are safer on Sunday, sort of...
In general, public holidays and Black Friday, in particular, provide great discounts for cars. October, November, and December are great to go looking for deals if you're looking to purchase a new car or even a used one. The end of a month or quarter usually translates into more-than-decent deals.
The most congested days on the road are expected to be the Friday before Christmas, Dec. 27-28 and Jan 2, according to INRIX, a provider of transportation analytics and insights.
Is traffic worse on Christmas?
The busiest days on the road are expected to be the Friday before Christmas and the Friday before New Year's Day.
Blame higher prices on rising jet fuel prices, fewer scheduled flights, and pent-up travel demand. The Friday before Christmas is shaping up to be one of the busiest travel days of the year.
Key findings include the following: Just one in three Americans plans to travel for Christmas (33% likely to travel, 59% unlikely), and even fewer plan to travel for Thanksgiving (29% likely, 61% unlikely) 68% of Thanksgiving travelers plan to stay with family or friends, while 22% plan to stay in a hotel.
The average Thanksgiving long-distance trip length is 214 miles, compared with 275 miles over the Christmas/New Year's holiday. For the remainder of the year, average trip distance is 261 miles. Most holiday travel is domestic.
MedStar Health surveyed 1,143 adults in the D.C./Baltimore area, and 74% said Christmas is stressful, while 26% said the holiday is not stressful at all.
Airport crowds dramatically increase in the days before and after Christmas, but Christmas Eve and Christmas Day crowds are usually light. Crowds also ease up the farther away from the holiday you get.
Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson international airport topped the list as the world's busiest airport for the second year in a row. The airport had an increase of 23.8% to 93,699,630 passengers in 2022.
Just as with Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve is also a good day to travel. According to the CheapAir holiday report, "NYE is the most economical day to fly" since travelers are typically flying before the holiday and not the day itself.
Are Airports Busy on Christmas Eve? While flying on Christmas Eve is thought of as a big no-no because it's just one day before Christmas, experts say that it's the lightest travel day of the year. Sure, Christmas Eve flights may not dazzle you with tremendous savings over a trip elsewhere during the year.
If you are looking for the best day to drive long-distance, Sunday is the day that tends to have the least amount of traffic on the roads. However, Tuesdays have the least amount of crashes according to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration).
Are airports busier on Christmas Eve?
The week surrounding the holidays is one of the busiest of the year. Although on the two main days, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day the airports have fewer crowds, the surrounding days are exceptionally hectic.
Christmas Day does not generally translate to home for the holidays for many passenger carriers, as flights still carry about their operations just like any other day.