Long Island Thanksgiving Travel 2018: Best, Worst Times To Drive

If you thought traveling through New York during the Thanksgiving holiday was a nightmare last year, this year you can fuhgeddaboudit.

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.

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, AAA says.

“Consumers have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season: higher wages, more disposable income and rising levels of household wealth,” Bill Sutherland, AAA Travel senior vice president, said in a press release. “This is translating into more travelers kicking off the holiday season with a Thanksgiving getaway, building on a positive year for the travel industry.”

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.

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.

Best and Worst Times to Travel

Experts recommend avoid driving all together if you can. If that's not an option, maybe download a couple of audiobooks to keep you occupied in traffic.

New York is listed as the second most popular city for Thanksgiving travel in the nation, and— along with San Francisco and Boston— will see the country's largest delays of nearly quadruple normal drive times, AAA says.

"Our advice to drivers is to avoid commuting times in major cities altogether or plan alternative routes,” Trevor Reed, transportation analyst at INRIX, a company that collaborated with AAA to figure out recent travel trends.

According to AAA, the worst time to travel in New York during the holiday is on Tuesday, Nov. 20 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Traffic will start being worse than normal starting on Monday, Nov. 19, with the worst times to drive being the early evening commute period.

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.

The biggest traffic hotspot in New York this year is predicted to be the westbound Cross Bronx Expressway, near Exit 7 to the Hamilton Bridge. If you're traveling from New Jersey or other states, peak traffic is expected to multiply the normal commute by 3.5, 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.

“Motorists have become accustomed to this year’s more expensive gas prices and won’t let higher fuel costs deter them from taking Thanksgiving road trips,” AAA gas price expert Jeanette Casselano said.

Traveling by Long Island Rail Road

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says it will operate on special schedules from Wednesday through Sunday to accommodate the demands of travelers on Thanksgiving weekend.

• Wednesday: Eleven extra afternoon eastbound trains will handle the rush of customers heading home early for the holiday weekend.
• Thursday: There will be six extra westbound trains and 11 extra eastbound trains in the afternoon to accommodate Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade travel.
• Friday: The LIRR will run a regular weekday schedule with tickets at off-peak fares.
• Saturday and Sunday: The LIRR will have an additional four morning westbound trains and six afternoon eastbound trains to meet the holiday season demand, which will continue every weekend until the end of December.

Go here for additional details.

Traveling By Plane

AAA recommends to account for long security lines and longer drive times to the airport.

John F. Kennedy International Airport is expected to be one of the busiest airports for Thanksgiving travel. The other busiest airports will be Orlando International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport. Orlando, New York City and Anaheim were named this year's top travel locations, respectively.

The worst time to drive to New York's busiest airport, JFK, is Tuesday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., and the worst road to get there is the Long Island Expressway East. That commute will take about 1 hour and 19 minutes from downtown NYC.

So if you're waiting for a last-minute deal to open up, try to avoid those busy hubs if you can, and may the odds be ever in your favor.

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