DELMARVA- According to AAA, the 13 day holiday travel period began Dec. 20 and runs through Jan. 1, with millions of Americans expected to travel nationwide.
AAA projects 122.4 million people will travel during the holiday period, a 2.22 percent increase compared with last year. About 109.5 million Americans are expected to travel by car.
AAA reports record holiday travel out of Delaware, with an estimated 356,000 people traveling for the holidays, most of them driving. In Maryland, nearly 2.5 million people are expected to travel, with about 90 percent choosing to travel by car.
Elizabeth Rives is among those hitting the road this holiday season. She is traveling about six hours from the Delaware coast to Ithaca, New York, to spend the holidays with family. Rives said traveling this time of year brings added stress.
“So it’s not easy to travel in general, but then at Christmas time it’s even more crowded and more difficult,” Rives said. “And then there’s snow involved, especially when you’re going up to Ithaca. So you have to factor that in as well.”
AAA advises travelers to plan ahead. The agency says the worst time to travel Thursday is between 1 and 7 p.m., while the best time to travel is before 10 a.m.