Holiday Traveling Should Be Done Early As COVID Still Affects Travel Says AAA

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BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- It's not yet November but AAA says you might want to start thinking about those Thanksgiving plans.

Paul Kastner is hitting the road this Thanksgiving to have dinner with his parents in Virginia.

"About every other year we go down there, my parents are quite elderly and this year we thought we could go down there and bring then thanksgiving dinner, bring the whole family, four kids and all and spend some time with the folks," said Kastner.

Others are still working out the details.

"Yea, it's still a little bit too early," said one person.

"We still don't know what we're going to do, we don't have relatives here in Baltimore," said one traveler.

Ragina Ali with AAA says after the pandemic limited travel last year, there's a strong desire to see family and friends especially during the holidays.

"So what we have seen at AAA has been increasing interest, renewed interest in travel particularly once we started seeing people get the vaccine," said Ali.

She says now is the time to finalize those plans as COVID continues to affect the travel industry.

"We're seeing less flights, we're seeing different protocols at hotels and again staffing shortages across all of our industries," said Ali.

Those driving to their destinations face rising gas prices, up more than a dollar compared to this time last year.

"Gas is a little more expensive right now but that's to be expected," said Kastner.

Experts say it's something people will have to deal with through the holidays.

"Unfortunately, do not expect to see any end in sight," said Ali.

If you need help planning and you're thinking about heading out of town, AAA recommends consulting a travel expert so they can answer all the questions you might have.