Best, Worst Travel Times for Thanksgiving in New Hampshire

Thanksgiving is all about food, football, premature Christmas shopping, and traffic.

Don't kid yourself, the last holiday before the Holidays is all about beating the rush to get to the mall, the supermarket, or your in-laws. With that in mind, Google Maps is trying to fill you in on some travel tips and secrets to make it easier to get around New Hampshire.

Google curated data from Android device users who have their location on while driving. Data was taken from 25 U.S. cities in 2015.

Electronics store, toy store, sporting goods store, ATM, video game store

In New Hampshire, the top trending categories for directions requests were electronics stores, toy stores, sporting goods stores, video game stores, and ATMs - one of the few states where ATMs was a trending destination.

Google doesn't provide best times to travel to or from New Hampshire as a state, but it uses Boston as a major regional hub. There aren't many groundbreaking tips, but you'll want to remember to start early and avoid late-afternoon travel. According to Google:

• The best day to leave is Sunday before Thanksgiving at 6 a.m. Avoid traveling around 3 p.m. when traffic is at its worst.

• The worst day to leave is the day before Thanksgiving (Wednesday). If you have to leave on Wednesday, your best bet is to hit the road at 7 a.m. and avoid driving around 3 p.m.

• The best day to return is the day after Thanksgiving (Friday). If you can leave the day after Thanksgiving, your best bet is to hit the road at 6 a.m. Avoid traveling around 4 p.m. when traffic is at its worst.

• The worst day to return is the Saturday after Thanksgiving. If you have to return on Saturday, leave by 6 a.m. and avoid traveling around 4 p.m. when traffic is at its worst.

Also: if you're flying, try to book a flight mid-week, like on a Tuesday. An aviation industry expert out of Boston's Logan Airport said Sundays are always busy times to fly, as are the days directly after holidays. Cutting it close is a bad idea – bad weather and airflow problems can make you miss Thanksgiving dinner entirely.

Photo courtesy of geograph.ie