JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Over the next few days, millions of people will be traveling by plane and car to get to their destination by Christmas.
The American Automobile Association (AAA) expects Saturday to be the most congested day for drivers on the road this holiday season. They say they could see travel times increase by 20%.
There was a steady stream of cars on I-95 south Friday ahead of Christmas.
“We’re traveling from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and we’re going to Orlando,” Kendra said.
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News4JAX went to a gas station and a rest stop to catch up with drivers.
“I’m coming from Orlando to New York,” Andrew Speers said.
Most of them told us the ride was pretty easy, and that they hit most of their traffic once they crossed into Florida.
According to AAA, they expect nearly 104 million people to drive to their holiday destination this year. That’s up 1.8% over last year.
“We normally travel throughout the holidays so it’s like always crowded on like Thanksgiving and Christmas wise so it’s fun to do. It gives us something to do,” Shannon Wingrove said.
Driving isn’t the only travel method seeing an increase this year.
According to AAA, airports are expected to be the busiest they’ve ever been over the Christmas and New Year’s travel period.
But airport travelers News4JAX spoke to on Friday said they didn’t encounter anything out of the ordinary.
“We ran into very little traffic on the way here and once we got inside the airport there’s not a lot of people like a though there would be,” Bernardita Prado said.
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And since Saturday is expected to be congested on the road, News4JAX asked drivers if they’re glad they’re going to beat the rush.
“Definitely glad we’re missing that. We’ll already be in our hotel and everything so hopefully it’s good,” Mackenzie Wingrove said.