The Best And Worst Times To Travel This Thanksgiving

BOSTON (CBS) – Ready to hit the road this Thanksgiving? You'll want to plan ahead, because this could be one of the busiest travel seasons in years.

AAA says more than 55 million people are expected to travel more than 50 miles away from home next week. That would make it the second-highest Thanksgiving travel volume since AAA began tracking in 2000.

So when are the best and worst times to be piling into the car for a trip to grandma's?

AAA and Massport say that the Wednesday before Thanksgiving from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. will be the worst driving time. Delays are expected to be 3.4x as bad as normal during that period.

If you have to drive, the agencies say your best options are off-peak travel times like early mornings and late in the evening after 9 p.m.

To keep traffic moving, the HOV lane on I-93 between Boston and Quincy is planning extended hours on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon. And if you're trying to avoid gridlock by traveling Thanksgiving night, there will be free coffee at highway service plazas from 10 p.m. Thursday to 5 a.m. Friday.

If you're driving to Logan Airport, where air travel is already picking up for the holiday, parking is expected to be at or near capacity. Travelers are being urged to take public transportation if possible.