Indiana Thanksgiving Travel 2018: Best, Worst Times To Drive

ACROSS INDIANA — Nearly 54.3 million motorists will travel 50 miles or more this Thanksgiving, which will be the highest number of travelers since 2005 and 2.5 million more travelers than last year, AAA says, adding that Indianapolis' I-475 loop is included in the congestion hot spots to look out for.

The roads are expected to be the most congested form of travel. About 48.5 million of these travelers will drive to and from their destinations between Wednesday, Nov. 21 and Sunday, Nov. 25.

Planning on hitting the road? As of Wednesday morning, the average price of gas in Indiana is $2.39, below the national average of $2.60 a gallon, AAA's Gas Price map shows.

About 4.27 million people will fly over this holiday weekend, which is a 5.4 percent increase from last year and the highest growth of holiday travel over other forms of transportation, AAA says.

On Wednesday morning, Indianapolis International Airport tweeted a reminder to those with holiday flights, "Remember there will be increased travel this week due to the holiday. Please allow extra time to get to the airport." This is around the same time frame nearly 80 percent of flights to and from IND were reported to be on schedule. (Subscribe to the Indianapolis Patch daily newsletter which is delivered to your inbox once a day to keep you updated with breaking news and other updates, for free. Make sure to "Like" Indianapolis Patch on Facebook).

Another reported 1.48 million people will get to their destination via cruise, train or bus.
Whether you're traveling by car, train or plane, Patch has compiled traffic tips and statistics to help you get through this traffic-heavy weekend as seamlessly as possible.

>>Let us know in the comment section or on Facebook how your Thanksgiving travel is going.

Best and Worst Times to Travel

The best days to travel will be on Thanksgiving Day, Friday or Saturday. Most people will be making their way home on Saturday, so drivers should expect longer travel times, AAA says.

If you have an economy button on your car, you might want to keep it on until further notice. AAA says Thanksgiving gas prices will the highest they've been in four years— with a national average of $2.79 as of November 1, which .31 cents more than a year ago.

Paige McAtee also contributed to this piece.

Image via Shutterstock