LANSING — If you’re traveling a fair distance from home over the Thanksgiving holiday period, be prepared to fight for elbow room on the roads, in the airport or at the bus or train station.
About 2.6 million Michiganders are expected to travel at least 50 miles from home between Tuesday, Nov. 25 and Monday, Dec. 1, AAA−The Auto Club Group said. That about 1.4% more than last year and represents a new record for Thanksgiving travel in Michigan.
Nationally, AAA said it expects about 81.8 million people will travel over the holiday period, an increase of 1.6 million over 2024. Thanksgiving is the busiest travel holiday, surpassing Memorial Day and Independence Day, the auto club said.
“Whether it’s driving across the state or flying across the country, people are making time to connect with loved ones,” Debbie Haas, AAA’s vice president for travel, said in a news release. “Even with concerns about flight cancellations, travelers are showing flexibility and resilience and relying most on driving.”
The vast majority of Michigan travelers (about 2.3 million) will go by car, AAA said. That number is up 1% from last year. Another 224,600 will fly to their destinations, and about 80,155 will use other modes of travel, including train or bus. The latter number is up more than 8% over last year, AAA said.
Road trips by car
Nationally, about 73 million will go by automobile, representing nearly 90% of all travelers, AAA said. But that number could rise if travelers decide to scrap air travel plans because of potential flight disruptions.
The biggest demands for rental cars are in Orlando, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Miami and Newark, AAA said. It so happens that domestic car rental rates are down 15% from last year, it noted.
Gas prices are about the same as last year, averaging a couple of cents above $3 a gallon in Michigan. That’s down from the week before but above the average price from mid-October. And the Lansing area was among the highest among the state’s metro areas.
Motorists are paying an average of $45 for a 15-gallon tank of gasoline, AAA said.
In the Lansing-East Lansing area, the average prices of unleaded regular was $3.013 per gallon, AAA said on Nov. 17. In October, gas was selling for about $2.767 per gallon here. The average price for unleaded was lowest in the Traverse City ($2.81), Marquette ($2.90) and Flint ($2.95) metro areas and highest in the Ann Arbor ($3.11), Metro Detroit ($3.05) and Lansing ($3.03) metro areas as of Sunday.
Traveling by air
About 225,000 Michiganders are expected to fly domestically over the holiday period, but AAA warned that number could end up lower than projected because of flight cancelations or people choosing other travel options.
Nationally, about 6 million people are expected to fly to their destinations.
Travelers aren’t likely to see cancellations at Capital Region International Airport, which saw ony minimal impacts from the lengthy federal government shutdown that is now over, officials said.
“Everything is running smoothly and on time, as of now,” airport spokesperson Katherine Japinga said Nov. 17.
Round-trip airfares are averaging around $700, similar to last year, AAA said. It’s cheaper to fly on Thanksgiving day, but return flights on Sunday and Monday tend to be the most expensive, it said.
“With recent flight reductions and the potential for last-minute cancellations, we encourage air travelers to build flexibility into their plans,” Haas said in the news release. “Consider flying on less busy days, booking early morning departures when delays are less likely, and having a backup plan in case your flight is disrupted. Whether that means adjusting your return date or being ready to drive, a little preparation can go a long way in helping you navigate the unexpected.”
Other travel modes
Bus, train and cruise travel is expected to rise 8.5% nationally, reaching nearly 2.5 million travelers, with more than 80,000 Michigan residents traveling that way over the Thanksgiving holiday, AAA said.
Cruise travel continues to surge, with AAA projecting 20.7 million U.S. cruise passengers in 2025 and 21.7 million in 2026. Thanksgiving cruises to the Caribbean are especially popular, the auto club said.
Where are all those people going?
Florida is the most popular domestic destination, thanks to the area’s theme parks and cruise ports, AAA said.
The international list is a mix of Europe, the Caribbean, and Australia, with Paris, France, Amsterdam, Netherlands and Vienna, Austria leading the list, it said.
Will financial concerns put a lid on things?
Deloitte’s 2025 Holiday Travel Survey suggests that although more Americans may be planning to travel this year between Thanksgiving and mid-January, they have financial concerns that might be casting a shadow over the holiday travel season.
Many travelers are expected to scale back their travel plans or overall travel spending, Deloitte said.
“These shifts could have important implications for travel providers, hospitality businesses, and the broader tourism sector as they plan for the months ahead,” Deloitte said.
Deloitte’s findings are based on a survey of 3,896 Americans between Sept. 26 and Oct. 3, 2025. Of these, 2,099 respondents who are planning to travel between Thanksgiving and mid-January qualified as holiday travelers, the firm said.
Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on X @KBPalm_lsj
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Thanksgiving holiday travel expected to rise again, set new record
Reporting by Ken Palmer, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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