GOOCHLAND COUNTY, Va. — AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesperson Morgan Dean said families are willing to brave the traffic and congestion to make memories with friends and loved ones this Thanksgiving.
Eighty-two million Americans are expected to travel nationwide in 2025, which AAA said is a record-setting Thanksgiving travel period.
“Thanksgiving travel numbers are consistently high since the holiday has become synonymous with hitting the roads or catching a flight to spend time with loved ones,” Dean said.
Thanksgiving is the single busiest holiday for travel compared to others like Memorial Day and July 4.
This year, AAA projected an additional 1.3 million travelers on the road compared to last Thanksgiving.
More than 2 million Virginias will be driving to their destinations among 73 million total across the country, which accounts for 90 percent of all travelers.
“Tuesday and Thursday are going to be really, really busy. Best time to leave early in the morning. Worst time to leave on those two days in the afternoon, when that traffic starts to build up,” Dean explained.
CBS 6 Photojournalist Myles Black caught up with families as they stopped for a break at the Goochland Rest Stop off I-64 Monday morning.
Sean Stephenson is traveling to Maryland to spend the holiday with family.
“Not a lot of people out on the roads today. I like driving this time of year too, because you still got so many leaves changing colors, so it's a beautiful day to travel,” he said.
Ray Welch passed through Central Virginia from Florida on his way home to Pennsylvania. Despite leaving days before Thanksgiving, he still ran into some issues.
“It was pretty busy. A couple wrecks on 95 at exit 61. It slowed traffic up pretty good,” Welch added. “We're just trying to beat the crowd. They said Tuesday and Wednesday this year is going to be heavy traffic days, and so we just decided to see if we could beat some of it.”
While Matthew and Gwen Carly were driving to Michigan to spend Thanksgiving with his dad and sister.
“I haven't spent Thanksgiving with my dad since 2021 because he moved in 2022 out of Virginia. So it will be the first one in four years that I've got to spend with him,” Matthew said.
AAA said another six million will be flying to their destinations. Buses and trains could also see an uptick in last-minute bookings this year.
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