If you’re planning to travel to a relative’s house for Thanksgiving, keeping an eye on traffic is a must. Not knowing the best time to hit the road can cause unnecessary stress and make the holidays less enjoyable. But there’s good news — you can learn when is a good time to travel, and what time frame to avoid, depending on the day you decide to head out.
Also, if you plan on shopping Black Friday deals in stores rather than online, there are a few hours during the day that you’ll want to stay home to avoid the busy crowd.
Google this week shared a prediction of what the traffic will be like this week, leading up to Thanksgiving and Black Friday. We’ll tell you the best times to make your travel plans, as well as shopping plans. For more, here are some Google Maps tips you should use for your holiday travel.
The best and worst time to travel for Thanksgiving
If you’re going out of town to have your Thanksgiving meal at a friend or family member’s house, you’ll probably want to travel when you’ll experience the fewest delays. According to Google, the best time to hit the road is the Monday or Tuesday before Thanksgiving at around 8 p.m.
You should avoid traveling on Tuesday and Wednesday between the hours of 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. when Thanksgiving traffic is at its peak. Not to mention, that’s typically when the rush hour traffic happens from those leaving work.
If you can’t leave until Thanksgiving Day, you’ll want to make sure you leave before noon or after 4 p.m. Google says you should stay off the road between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Also, if you’re flying on a Saturday, add some extra time to your schedule if you need to be there around 11 a.m. — that’s typically when airports are busiest.
The best time to head home after Thanksgiving
If you’re staying a night or two at a friend or family member’s house while traveling, there’s a better time to leave to avoid getting stuck in traffic. If you’re leaving Saturday or Sunday, don’t even think about setting out between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. unless you don’t mind the congestion. Instead, try to leave at around 7 p.m. or later.
